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

  
 
mas_akala
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p.32 #1 · Light Lens Lab 35mm f/1.4 Aspherical "11873" Review


Uofoducks15 wrote:
It does seem a bit silly to have a “limited edition” titanium version and then bring it back again but I’m glad others that missed out are able to order it.




It does seem a bit strange. Maybe based on Fred's comment they are just clearing out the remaining inventory of parts. It does show as sold out again already.



Aug 11, 2026 at 01:17 PM
dumplinknet
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p.32 #2 · Light Lens Lab 35mm f/1.4 Aspherical "11873" Review


I've never been a fan of field curvature where the corners start to sharpen up/become more in focus than the center.

Fred, how would you describe this? Inwards or outwards?

Fred Miranda wrote:
That's a great question, and I think it's an optical design decision. What you call outwards, I'd call inwards. For instance, the Zeiss 28/2 Distagon has inward curvature because the field bends toward the camera (foreground) at the sides. I prefer this type of curvature since it helps with depth of field in landscapes. The outward type (bends towards infinity), like the LLL 35/1.4 and others you mentioned, is much more common, especially in 35mm and 50mm lenses.

The issue with the LLL 35/1.4 AA on Sony is that the lens already has strong field curvature by design, so on
...Show more



Aug 11, 2026 at 01:19 PM
Fred Miranda
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p.32 #3 · Light Lens Lab 35mm f/1.4 Aspherical "11873" Review


dumplinknet wrote:
I've never been a fan of field curvature where the corners start to sharpen up/become more in focus than the center.

Fred, how would you describe this? Inwards or outwards?



Outwards. That's the more common type. At mid-distance, say a subject is in focus at the center, the field curvature extends outwards toward the edges, which sit at a longer distance. So the edges, which should technically be out of focus, end up looking sharper than they should.

This is actually the same effect a thicker sensor stack has on an image. If a Leica M lens already shows this behavior on the Leica M, using it on a Sony will make that effect even more extreme. (Like the LLL 35/1.4 AA)



Aug 11, 2026 at 02:23 PM
nehemiahphoto
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p.32 #4 · Light Lens Lab 35mm f/1.4 Aspherical "11873" Review


Fred Miranda wrote:
That's a great question, and I think it's an optical design decision. What you call outwards, I'd call inwards. For instance, the Zeiss 28/2 Distagon has inward curvature because the field bends toward the camera (foreground) at the sides. I prefer this type of curvature since it helps with depth of field in landscapes. The outward type (bends towards infinity), like the LLL 35/1.4 and others you mentioned, is much more common, especially in 35mm and 50mm lenses.

The issue with the LLL 35/1.4 AA on Sony is that the lens already has strong field curvature by design, so on
...Show more

Yes--definitely an optical design decision...but I do wonder why. On lenses that are optimized for technical IQ, like a CV 35/2 APO or whatever, I understand giving up bokeh rendering in the periphery for small size + technical IQ. With lenses like this LLL 35/1.4 or CV 35/1.5 or CV 35/1.2 (and many others) that lean more rendering, it seems like a better trade off would be for rendering. Perhaps if they made the field flat, or bend away from the camera in the corners, it would be even much worse IQ which CV or whoever won't allow for.

Hmmm...my CY 28/2 and ZF 28/2 had FC that meant if the the subject was central and 5 meters away, the corners would be less in focus as the lens is not flat field. You are saying that the Zeiss 28/2 that has corners that would be more in focus? I call this type of FC outward as the corners bend away from the camera.

Most of the RF lenses I have shot (especially fast ones) like the CV 50/1, Noct 50/1, CV 35/40/50 -/1.2 trio, LLL 35/1.4 etc have the opposite of the CY 28/2 with corners that come into focus. This I refer to as inward as the plane of field bends into the camera.

Or am I miscommunicating/missing something?



Aug 11, 2026 at 02:24 PM
Halkotron
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p.32 #5 · Light Lens Lab 35mm f/1.4 Aspherical "11873" Review


My "11873" has finally returned from service (front-focusing issue), and I've optimistically taken it as a single lens kit to a family get-together - I'm about to go and have my film developed later today; fingers crossed they won't all be out of focus

Like some others, I've expected the focusing action will become smoother with use. Unfortunately for me it's quite the opposite, since the focus helicoid has started binding to the point that focusing the lens moves the aperture ring. I've treated the lens like a precious gem (no knocks, dings nor seaside visits), so I'm not quite sure what's happened here - anyone else seeing similar issues?

Anyway, I'm on the fence RE: servicing. If the focusing issue is resolved, I'm considering having the lens seen by a local (EU) tech - obviously the lens is still in warranty, but the first service took about 4 months, and I'm not exactly looking forward to the wait.



Aug 18, 2026 at 05:52 AM
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