I currently have a Voigtländer 35mm F/1.5 Nokton lens for my M10. I’m really drawn to the more stylized and “glowy” nature of the LLL characteristics, but I still like to be somewhat grounded to a fairly clean/sharp image. In your opinion do you think the LLL emits enough of a sought after look to make the jump?
As a person who spent even more money on the LLL copy 8-element (i bought the Henri-Cartier Bresson version because it’s LTM mount and different infinity lock) and used it almost daily for 6 months, I’ve gotten very mixed feelings towards it. My lens broke about a month ago (the lens jumped out of the rangefinder/meter scale) and as I reached out to LLL about it (regarding the 1 year warranty) they haven’t responded at all. I also bought the Elcan LTM copy at the same time as the 8-element, and the lens leaked grease all over my shutter on my M3/M2s before I discovered it and also on my friends M11, which was way more devastating as you might expect. The only response I got from the incident was to buy a Zeiss lens cleaning towel. I was also very close to put down a preorder on the new f1.2, but fortunately this happened right before I had the full amount ready. Great seller but ZERO customer service. I don’t think that I will be buying any lenses from LLL again which is to bad because I love this concept
@@arturocontreras6648If your lens isn’t leaking I wouldn’t be to concerned. Just keep a close eye on your equipment, remove the lens and do a quick check up before heading out/using it😊 I had a really bad experience regarding the quality control and customer service, something that never gets caught in a review for pretty obvious reasons, but might be good to know for real life consumers.
love my copy! despite LLL's terrible customer service and quality control and my lens being gone for repair for over almost a year and a half since the day i bought it. the lens is spectacular on my SL2 and M10!
Yeah this lens is super cool, I actually used it to shoot just the flare for a video I'll be posting in a week - I was going for a Greg Fraser-Dune inspired look and I think it did really well for that flare look. Super dope.
Thanks for the review Benj. Great that you reached out to LLL. They are doing some great replica M lenses at the moment. I have the collapsible version of this lens. I use it on my M11M when I want a softer look and actually prefer it to the 35 Summilux in monochrome. It came without a hood but later LLL offered a hood for it at an additional cost which I bought but haven't used as yet as I am travelling through Europe and left the monochrome at home (Aus).
I have the LTM collapsible. It's incredibly small and produces a rendering that I like. I also have the latest Leica Apherical. But I always reach for my LLL since it's so small.
Light Lens Lab is awesome and this lens is no exception from them. I have the 50mm f/2 Elcan and gosh dare I say it's their BEST product yet. Anyway, been waiting for that Ultron hood from Squarehood but I think they haven't released em yet :')
Hey Benj! What model square hood is that? The link just takes me to their website. I know they have one for the 28 Ultron but was told that doesn’t fit the 35. Thanks!
Will they ever make a 28mm. I'll definitely buy a 28mm having already own a 35mm Summicron. Owning another 28mm Summicron doesn't make sense. But a 28mm LLL may be a better choice.
Hi Benj I noticed you made a comparison to the Nokton in this video. I thought you mentioned you didn't like that one? Did you mean Ultron or did your opinion change on it?
I own a Sony and am jealous of all the great manual lenses there are in M mount. I can adapt but that isn’t ideal and there is the corner smearing issue with wider lenses.
Very different for sure. The 7Art is a lot sharper in my recollection, but it’s been awhile. This is a great character lens for sure with just enough sharpness and performance to make it worth using :)
If you mean the M mount lens (Wen) it's a fine one - weird design a bit, with the incl. lens hood, but adapted via E mount, fine. Especially for the price, paid way really something less than like 200 bucks for it, when it was 50% off at Aliexpress on special 11.11. day.
maybe I had a bad version of the Voigtlander, but I found this to be sharper. Either way, it's probably less about IQ in terms of *performance* and more about the feel, ya know? Take it or leave it, not for everyone.
I appreciate the video, but you've lost your compass a bit as to what is expensive.. You're in the Leica deep end now. I just picked up a mint vintage Minolta 58mm at a camera store which performs excellently for $90.. even on my GFX 100 II (barely vignetting).. Lens #13? I lost count..
It’s all relative if you’re comparing this to a Leica lens. But of course it isn’t “affordable” in comparisons to other mounts. Just a different world for sure.
It’s way too expensive for what it is. I understand the concept, and I like it, but I won’t pay that price for a « chinese fake vintage » lens. Not for me.
I was fortunate enough to grab the first release for $500. I’ll be honest with you, I wasn’t expecting much. But, it’s built just as nice as my old 35 2.8 Summaron. It absolutely blows away my 35 v2 lux and my 35 v3 cron. It’s now mounted almost permanently on my M6 loaded with HP5 unless I need extra speed and use the lux. It is a BW lens imho.
The quality of this lens is top notch, and you get it in special versions, like black paint, real chrome, screw mount, collapsible etc. It's really worth the money!
@@webersteve1547 And unlike the other Chinese lenses (which are not copies anyway as they use different optical designs than Leica did) the LLL lenses even duplicate the exact now obsolete glass formulas.
I’ve got one of their other lenses in brass. It’s a beautifully made lens with a lot of attention to detail and feel. If this is what made in China is then that’s fine by me.
The flares are real, I love that about this lens. I shot it on the SL for a while and was not disappointed at all about that! Great review Benj.
I currently have a Voigtländer 35mm F/1.5 Nokton lens for my M10. I’m really drawn to the more stylized and “glowy” nature of the LLL characteristics, but I still like to be somewhat grounded to a fairly clean/sharp image. In your opinion do you think the LLL emits enough of a sought after look to make the jump?
As a person who spent even more money on the LLL copy 8-element (i bought the Henri-Cartier Bresson version because it’s LTM mount and different infinity lock) and used it almost daily for 6 months, I’ve gotten very mixed feelings towards it. My lens broke about a month ago (the lens jumped out of the rangefinder/meter scale) and as I reached out to LLL about it (regarding the 1 year warranty) they haven’t responded at all. I also bought the Elcan LTM copy at the same time as the 8-element, and the lens leaked grease all over my shutter on my M3/M2s before I discovered it and also on my friends M11, which was way more devastating as you might expect. The only response I got from the incident was to buy a Zeiss lens cleaning towel.
I was also very close to put down a preorder on the new f1.2, but fortunately this happened right before I had the full amount ready. Great seller but ZERO customer service.
I don’t think that I will be buying any lenses from LLL again which is to bad because I love this concept
Good to know. I have the 35 8 element on my M11 right now. I'll be taking it off.
@@arturocontreras6648 Why? If it doesn't cause issues for you currently.
@@arturocontreras6648If your lens isn’t leaking I wouldn’t be to concerned. Just keep a close eye on your equipment, remove the lens and do a quick check up before heading out/using it😊
I had a really bad experience regarding the quality control and customer service, something that never gets caught in a review for pretty obvious reasons, but might be good to know for real life consumers.
Ah that’s hard to hear, hope it actually gets resolved. I’ll send an email to my contact letting them know and see if it can help get escalated.
@@SSJBLADE1 I'm not going to wait for it start leaking oil all over my camera.
I just bought a second hand 35mm F2 V2 and I'm excited.
This is the only thing I miss about having my M6. Such an incredible lens.
love my copy! despite LLL's terrible customer service and quality control and my lens being gone for repair for over almost a year and a half since the day i bought it. the lens is spectacular on my SL2 and M10!
Sounds painful. No disrespect intended.
the IQ looks good, thanks for reviewing this lens.
Hope that LLL will release a 21mm/28mm in the future.
Yeah this lens is super cool, I actually used it to shoot just the flare for a video I'll be posting in a week - I was going for a Greg Fraser-Dune inspired look and I think it did really well for that flare look. Super dope.
I have the 50mm f/1.2 lens and it is a job well done.
Very enjoyable video. Thank you.
Thanks for the review Benj. Great that you reached out to LLL. They are doing some great replica M lenses at the moment. I have the collapsible version of this lens. I use it on my M11M when I want a softer look and actually prefer it to the 35 Summilux in monochrome. It came without a hood but later LLL offered a hood for it at an additional cost which I bought but haven't used as yet as I am travelling through Europe and left the monochrome at home (Aus).
gosh this thing would absolutely SING on a monchrom.
I have the LTM collapsible. It's incredibly small and produces a rendering that I like. I also have the latest Leica Apherical. But I always reach for my LLL since it's so small.
Light Lens Lab is awesome and this lens is no exception from them. I have the 50mm f/2 Elcan and gosh dare I say it's their BEST product yet.
Anyway, been waiting for that Ultron hood from Squarehood but I think they haven't released em yet :')
Such a beautiful lens.
Hey Benj! What model square hood is that? The link just takes me to their website. I know they have one for the 28 Ultron but was told that doesn’t fit the 35. Thanks!
Yeah it actually is the squarehood one. I don’t have that ultron anymore though but still have the lens hood if you want to buy it at a discount haha
Will they ever make a 28mm. I'll definitely buy a 28mm having already own a 35mm Summicron. Owning another 28mm Summicron doesn't make sense. But a 28mm LLL may be a better choice.
Hi Benj I noticed you made a comparison to the Nokton in this video. I thought you mentioned you didn't like that one? Did you mean Ultron or did your opinion change on it?
How does this lens compare to the 35 ultron, which I know you live?
They’re actually very different. Only real similarities are focal length, aperture, size, and mount :)
Hi Ben. How do you compare this lens to the 35 f2 ultron?
Ultron is definitely sharper and more modern, but it does swirl which is cool. Sort of in the middle of vintage and modern.
@@benjhaisch thanks
I own a Sony and am jealous of all the great manual lenses there are in M mount. I can adapt but that isn’t ideal and there is the corner smearing issue with wider lenses.
how does this one compare to the 7Artisans 35 f/1.4?
Very different for sure. The 7Art is a lot sharper in my recollection, but it’s been awhile. This is a great character lens for sure with just enough sharpness and performance to make it worth using :)
If you mean the M mount lens (Wen) it's a fine one - weird design a bit, with the incl. lens hood, but adapted via E mount, fine. Especially for the price, paid way really something less than like 200 bucks for it, when it was 50% off at Aliexpress on special 11.11. day.
So it’s pretty much like Voigtlander Nokton 35mm 1.4 SC but slower, softer and more expensive.
maybe I had a bad version of the Voigtlander, but I found this to be sharper. Either way, it's probably less about IQ in terms of *performance* and more about the feel, ya know? Take it or leave it, not for everyone.
I appreciate the video, but you've lost your compass a bit as to what is expensive.. You're in the Leica deep end now. I just picked up a mint vintage Minolta 58mm at a camera store which performs excellently for $90.. even on my GFX 100 II (barely vignetting).. Lens #13? I lost count..
It’s all relative if you’re comparing this to a Leica lens. But of course it isn’t “affordable” in comparisons to other mounts. Just a different world for sure.
@@benjhaisch Yeah certainly.. Leica Land 😅 I have lived there, but escaped relatively unscathed..
Do you have arm tats? They would complete the look.
I’ll work on it
It's not Expensive But the Original Leica Lenses are Better !
It’s way too expensive for what it is. I understand the concept, and I like it, but I won’t pay that price for a « chinese fake vintage » lens. Not for me.
I was fortunate enough to grab the first release for $500. I’ll be honest with you, I wasn’t expecting much. But, it’s built just as nice as my old 35 2.8 Summaron. It absolutely blows away my 35 v2 lux and my 35 v3 cron. It’s now mounted almost permanently on my M6 loaded with HP5 unless I need extra speed and use the lux. It is a BW lens imho.
The quality of this lens is top notch, and you get it in special versions, like black paint, real chrome, screw mount, collapsible etc. It's really worth the money!
@@webersteve1547 And unlike the other Chinese lenses (which are not copies anyway as they use different optical designs than Leica did) the LLL lenses even duplicate the exact now obsolete glass formulas.
I’ve got one of their other lenses in brass. It’s a beautifully made lens with a lot of attention to detail and feel. If this is what made in China is then that’s fine by me.
It’s a fine lens, I have one of the first batch and is just like the 1st version Summicron, full stop. I have both, I love both. Worth the money.