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p.31 #6 · Light Lens Lab 35mm f/1.4 Aspherical "11873" Review | |
This comparison between the Light Lens Lab 35mm f/1.4 Aspherical and the Leica 35mm f/1.4 Summilux FLE and Leica 35mm f/1.4 Summilux Steel Rim (pre-ASPH) is very telling, and I wanted to share it with you all.
It reveals a lot about field curvature shape at mid-distance (around 3.5m), vignetting, coma, spherical aberration, color aberration, and overall rendering, so there's plenty to unpack here. 
First, a comparison between the Leica 35mm f/1.4 Summilux FLE and the LLL 35mm f/1.4 AA, both wide open. At first glance they don't look all that different, but once you look closely at rendering and other characteristics, they turn out to be quite different lenses. The Light Lens Lab shows very obvious outward field curvature at this distance: the subject is sharp at 3.5m in the center, but the far edges of the frame are also sharp rather than falling out of focus. The FLE handles this more naturally, with a more expected falloff.
As for spherical aberration, the LLL shows more of it, and its color aberration and coma are easier to see than to describe in words. Both lenses have uncorrected aberrations, but they're clearly not the same in character. There's also slightly higher vignetting on the 11873, though the difference isn't dramatic.
Let's start with the Leica 35mm f/1.4 Summilux FLE versus the LLL 35mm f/1.4 AA, both wide open at 3.5m (mid-distance):

Leica 35mm f/1.4 Summilux FLE (TOP) versus the LLL 35mm f/1.4 AA (BOTTOM)

Focused area: the LLL shows slightly more spherical aberration and coma. Both lenses exhibit some color error.

Focused area: the LLL shows slightly more spherical aberration and coma. Both lenses exhibit some color error.

This crop is very telling: coma is a bit more pronounced on the Leica, color aberration looks similar between the two, but here we start to see the effect of field curvature toward the edges, making the out-of-focus area appear sharper on the LLL.

Out-of-focus background: much smoother on the FLE. It looks more natural, thanks to more neutral field curvature.

Out-of-focus background: much smoother on the FLE. It looks more natural, thanks to more neutral field curvature.

Out-of-focus background: much smoother on the FLE. It looks more natural, thanks to more neutral field curvature.

Out-of-focus background near the center looks fairly similar between the two, similar blur, though the highlight shapes differ slightly.

Out-of-focus background near the center looks fairly similar between the two, similar blur, though the highlight shapes differ slightly.

Focused area: the LLL shows slightly more spherical aberration and coma. Both lenses exhibit some color error.

Out-of-focus background: much smoother on the FLE. It looks more natural, thanks to more neutral field curvature.
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