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Light Lens Lab 35mm f/1.4 Aspherical "11873" Review

  
 
_jim_
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p.31 #1 · Light Lens Lab 35mm f/1.4 Aspherical "11873" Review


Jenny by Jim Fischer, on Flickr

Mirror Group Photo by Jim Fischer, on Flickr
Leica M5, Light Lens Lab 35mm f/1.4 Aspherical '11873,' Fomapan 100, Adox XT-3 1:1

Dad by Jim Fischer, on Flickr

Dad by Jim Fischer, on Flickr

Jim by Jim Fischer, on Flickr
Leica M5, Light Lens Lab 35mm f/1.4 Aspherical '11873,' Cinestill 800T.



Jul 18, 2026 at 10:00 AM
Fred Miranda
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p.31 #2 · Light Lens Lab 35mm f/1.4 Aspherical "11873" Review


_jim_ wrote:
https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/55391972145_6009aa79c9_h.jpgJenny by Jim Fischer, on Flickr

https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/55391561336_4ce0f563e8_h.jpgMirror Group Photo by Jim Fischer, on Flickr
Leica M5, Light Lens Lab 35mm f/1.4 Aspherical '11873,' Fomapan 100, Adox XT-3 1:1

https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/55401146005_ef1c41b425_h.jpgDad by Jim Fischer, on Flickr

https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/55401328775_8870e11590_h.jpgDad by Jim Fischer, on Flickr

https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/55400859683_6a2949b649_h.jpgJim by Jim Fischer, on Flickr
Leica M5, Light Lens Lab 35mm f/1.4 Aspherical '11873,' Cinestill 800T.


Hi Jim,
Awesome!
I forgot to ask you a while back, were you able to figure out that internal texture in the highlights? I call it a "gritty" look, but I think you know what I'm referring to. I recall you mentioned having a tech take a look, and they thought it might be fixable, perhaps by cleaning the elements? I'm considering buying this lens and wanted to see what you ended up finding out.
Fred



Jul 18, 2026 at 12:05 PM
_jim_
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p.31 #3 · Light Lens Lab 35mm f/1.4 Aspherical "11873" Review


Fred Miranda wrote:
Hi Jim,
Awesome!
I forgot to ask you a while back, were you able to figure out that internal texture in the highlights? I call it a "gritty" look, but I think you know what I'm referring to. I recall you mentioned having a tech take a look, and they thought it might be fixable, perhaps by cleaning the elements? I'm considering buying this lens and wanted to see what you ended up finding out.
Fred


The tech said that there was an oily residue behind the front element. They cleaned it, but were unwilling to take the lens apart any further. Sadly, the cleaning resulted in no change to deformity/texture in the specular highlights.



Jul 18, 2026 at 02:26 PM
Fred Miranda
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p.31 #4 · Light Lens Lab 35mm f/1.4 Aspherical "11873" Review


_jim_ wrote:
The tech said that there was an oily residue behind the front element. They cleaned it, but were unwilling to take the lens apart any further. Sadly, the cleaning resulted in no change to deformity/texture in the specular highlights.


Thanks for confirming this. So it sounds like we're likely looking at two separate things: one, there was oil residue, and two, the internal texture is probably a byproduct of the aspherical molding process they use, meaning it's likely a characteristic present in all copies of the lens.



Jul 18, 2026 at 02:44 PM
 


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p.31 #5 · Light Lens Lab 35mm f/1.4 Aspherical "11873" Review


_jim_ wrote:
https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/55391972145_6009aa79c9_h.jpgJenny by Jim Fischer, on Flickr

https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/55391561336_4ce0f563e8_h.jpgMirror Group Photo by Jim Fischer, on Flickr
Leica M5, Light Lens Lab 35mm f/1.4 Aspherical '11873,' Fomapan 100, Adox XT-3 1:1

https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/55401146005_ef1c41b425_h.jpgDad by Jim Fischer, on Flickr

https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/55401328775_8870e11590_h.jpgDad by Jim Fischer, on Flickr

https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/55400859683_6a2949b649_h.jpgJim by Jim Fischer, on Flickr
Leica M5, Light Lens Lab 35mm f/1.4 Aspherical '11873,' Cinestill 800T.


Such great pictures of your dad. It reminds me I need to do a better job at photographing my family, especially since I see them so rarely.



Jul 18, 2026 at 03:28 PM
Fred Miranda
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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.




Jul 18, 2026 at 04:39 PM
Fred Miranda
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p.31 #7 · Light Lens Lab 35mm f/1.4 Aspherical "11873" Review


Now let's do the same, comparing the LLL 35mm f/1.4 to the Leica 35mm f/1.4 Summilux Steel Rim (pre-ASPH).

Vignetting is significantly higher on the Leica Steel Rim, and all its aberrations are much more pronounced. We see noticeably more spherical aberration and coma, while color error is somewhat masked by these other aberrations. Field curvature, on the other hand, is more neutral. This is better shown than described, so without further ado, here's the comparison:





Leica 35mm f/1.4 Summilux Steel Rim (TOP), LLL 35mm f/1.4 11873 (BOTTOM)







Higher SA, glow for the Leica







Coma is comically higher on the Leica. :)







Coma is comically higher on the Leica. :)







More neutral field curvature on the Leica, which translates to a smoother background rendering, more out of focus, as it should be.







More neutral field curvature on the Leica, which translates to a smoother background rendering, more out of focus, as it should be.












Similar out-of-focus rendering in the background at center, though the highlights have a different character.







Stronger purple fringing on the LLL, and stronger coma on the Leica. This is also comically bad, but it's part of their character.







More neutral field curvature on the Leica, which translates to a smoother background rendering, more out of focus, as it should be.




Jul 18, 2026 at 04:48 PM
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