A Leica Legend Reborn: Light Lens Lab ‘1966’ 50mm f1.2 ASPH Review
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- Опубликовано: 26 июл 2024
- The Light Lens Lab 50mm f/1.2 ASPH '1966' : More Than an Image, It's an Experience
Sure, it's incredibly fast, and yes, it delivers beautiful images, but the Light Lens Lab 50mm f/1.2 ASPH'1966' is about more than just technical specs. This lens is a labor of love, a meticulously crafted tribute to the legendary Leica 50mm f/1.2 ASPH Noctilux of 1966.
In this video, I'll explore:
The Details: From the brass construction to the intricate engravings, every aspect pays homage to classic Leica design.
The Feel: The buttery-smooth focus ring and precisely weighted aperture clicks evoke the magic of vintage lenses.
The Legacy: How LLL captures the essence of Leica's most coveted lens, bringing its unique character to modern cameras.
This isn't just about sharpness or flawless rendering. The LLL 50mm f/1.2 ASPH is for photographers who appreciate the history, the craftsmanship, and the sheer joy of connecting with the photographic process.
**10% off Oberwerth Bags, Straps and Accessories: oberwerth.com/?sca_ref=573198...
References for this review:
www.macfilos.com/2023/08/23/l...
The Art of Photography:
• The most famous lens e...
Liam Arning from Leica Classic Store Wetzlar:
leica-camera.com/en-SG/stores...
Kristian Dowling:
kristiandowling.com/
Chapter markers
00:00 Intro and History
03:22 Build Quality & Design
05:25 LLL 50mm f1.2 vs Original Noctilux
07:49 Testing with SL3
08:40 LLL 50mm f1.2 vs Leica Noctilux 50mm f1.2 (2021)
09:02 LLL 50mm f1.2 vs Artralab Nocturne 50mm f1.2
09:54 What Makes it Special?
13:19 Oberwerth Discount
My Gear:
Camera: Nikon Z8, Nikkor S 105 f2.8 Micro
Sennheiser AVX with Zoom F6
MacStudio M2 MAX
Mac Studio Display
Lights: Aputure 300X Amaran T2c, Amaran F21c, Amaran COB 60X, Amaran P60c
Display Cabinet: Terravault
Chair and Desk: SecretLab
#lightlenslab50mmf12 #lightlenslab #leica #noctilux 
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Finally got my copy, and I'm very happy. Beautifully made
It’s stunning right?
@btonelli it is so beautiful that I don't use it. I will order a second copy :-) . Btw do you still have this artra lab 50/1.2? A direct comparison would be interesting.
@@webersteve1547 I do actually. I was thinking of doing a comparison but in reality the render very differently.
The Artralab is a more modern lens compared to the LLL. The LLL is really paying homage to the first Noctilux where as the Artralab renders like a summilux
Thanks for the shoutout brother. I hope we meet up again soon. We didn’t even talk about this lens! Next time… and you can show me how to throw a hanging curve - left handed ;-)
Of course! Your video is fantastic and really set the standard for how this lens should be appreciated.
Yeah I wanted to ask you more about it. Next time! Yes, hanging curve and change up for the next time 👍👍
By the way - love the watch comparison!!!
We’ll need someone to catch… I say Mott.
@@theartofphotography thanks! 🙏
@@theartofphotography haha sounds like we are on our way for a pickup game
Just got the LLL 1966
No pictures yet but WOW!!
It looks and feels amazing and going to be so much fun.
Congrats! Now you I understand why I was going on and on about the build quality and design :) it’s amazing
nice review; I own the black brass version of it - it is one of the most distinctive lenses you can use. Light Lens Lab has done something that I think gets overlooked, which is they make the vintage look of unobtainable lenses accessible and reasonably affordable. This lens is by far their most expensive, but but it is not the unobtanium that most Leica lenses of this type are. I can attest to the build quality - it's a dense, heavy, well built lens with a wonderfully smooth focus ring. Their 8 element is my daily carry, but this is a must have as well.
Thanks. I’m very impressed with it as well
Thank you for another honest review rather than brand bias toward the Lxxca =). Following
@@GunstonGun thank you for watching
I put my preorder in early this year. I respect what LLL is doing with lenses
Congrats! Yes they are doing some really good stuff with these lenses
Looking good Bobby. Can’t wait til my SL 3 comes !
Yes same!! This pairs beautifully with the SL3
Dang! stop talking I cant stop drooling! Man this is a beauty. Thanks for showing and getting emotional with it, would not happen with a "perfect" modern lens :)
Hahaha yes it is a beauty. To be honest I wasn’t expecting much from it but after I got it in my hand and started really understanding the lens I realised how special this is.
Happy to see the subscribers going up. Remember when we was a few hundred. Keep up the good job!
Thanks. I’ve really been blessed with the support and continued engagement here.
great video man!
Thanks!!
Great video again as usual. Unfortunately my Leica days are numbered as it’s on the market at the moment. But hopefully one day I’ll be back with Leica system again. In the mean time please have a cold one me. Aloha 🌺🤙🌺🌺
Once again thank you very much for the support. This really means a lot 🙏🙏🙏
Ordered it some weeks ago and really looking forward to it! Thx for the video!
Congrats!! Let me know what you think when you get it
Can’t wait to try it on my MP and M3…..suppose to arrive in May???? Nice job… hear you about the watches too…. Love my Dark Side of the Moon- craftsmanship is awesome….. cheers
Will be fantastic on the MP and M3.
Love the Dark Side of the Moon!
It's a beauty of a lens. I bought their Elcan replica and have enjoyed it immensely! I think LLB is such a unique company. I would love to see them make a Super Angulon-M 21/4 replica. They are available on the 2nd hand market but to find one with optics in good condition is a bit of a struggle. Would also be cool to see LLB make some replicas from other companies. The Noct Nikkor 58/1.2 Asph comes to mind.
Agree the Elcan is a fantastic lens. I saw an original Angulon at a shop here two days ago in very good condition. Tempting but I’m not a big wide angle shooter.
Yes the Nikkor Noct would be interesting. I think in time they will do more than Leica and Cooke, so interested to see where they go with the lineup
Wow. That comparison.
Was shocked they allowed me to showcase it next to the original
Good one Bobby
I see your collection growing behind you , so does mine 😮
You gave me the will to go out and shoot with my Nikon 50mm f/1.2 ais …
Thanks!! Yes some are on loan for review though haha.
The Nikon is a good solid lens, especially for the price
@@btonelli I recently added the Zeiss Otus 55 1.4 🤪😳😳😳
Like an SL Summilux without AF for F mount !
Great lens
Bought the titanium one and loved it.
You are so spot on about the differences between LLL and the Leica reissue.
But I have to say that LLL is a better replica down to the way they constructed the lens.
You will see no screws on the reissue body whereas LLL and the original screws will be appearing in places on the body.
At first I was disappointed about IQ ON how “not sharp” it was but now that I am used to it I could say.
My Leica reissue will be staying home a lot more 😆😆😆
Yeah they really recreated it to the utmost detail. This was also observed by the guys at Leica. It’s really a special lens and the more I used it the more I appreciated it
The respect for the craft, I guess is part of the reason we shoot Leica and not Sony ++. They all make good images, but we prefer leica for the build, feel and the attention to details.
Yes. Sony cameras definitely have a place and I see them as work horses that get the job done and more accessible. Lenses and cameras like this are just different. Unique and special
Great video! I'm loving mine - Brass Silver Chrome. I've been using it with both my M11 and SL2. Its very dreamy at minimum focus distance BTW.
Thanks! Great to hear! Haven’t seen the silver in person but in photos it looks awesome
According to Erwin Puts, about the original 50mm 1.2: "The
lens was rather sensitive to focus shift and often a
lens had to be adjusted in the factory for specific
bodies." I wonder if that is still a problem.
I believe LLL has improved on this issue. I didn’t see any focus issue per say, but will try in a few more bodies before I need to send it back
I'm not sure why with portrait glass we got so obsessed with sharpness. From the samples given the LLL 1966 gives the more flattering balance between details and oof rendering. When you get to much detail and sharpness on the face with heavy oof rendering it can be quite juxtaposing and not really gel well.
Only in very specific portraiture situations like high end makeup and hair fashion do we really seek out those crisp details. For day to day shooting, sharp portraits are just not really needed and in fact much of our modern processing techniques are based around dropping the sharpness, texture and clarity on the skin. It sounds like Leica and LLL understand this.
The only problem is that lenses like this are found 99% of the time as manual focus only tools. I would really like to see the industry move to creating more 'Art series' lenses and start dropping the whole pin sharp obsession. Out portraits would be better, the lenses cheaper and smaller as well.
I agree. There is something more flattering with lenses like this, with a gentleness to the image. It’s not razer sharp or heavy handed. It’s painting with light and shadows.
This was the beauty of this lens back then. Now many can capture this essence as I mentioned, but the history and nuances of the 1966 Noctilux make it a valuable tool beyond just monetary value
I bought the Astralab 50mm 1.2 (from your previous review) and I just LOVE this lens, not on the finish but on the beautiful rendering of the image from this lens. Like you said, I don't think this LLL is special enough (in terms of image quality) for me to purchase. I have many wide aperture lenses but what I love about the Astralab is it has very little vignette for such a wide aperture compared to all other f1 or f0.95 lenses I owned.
Glad you like it. Yes the finishing especially compared to this lens is not at the same level but the image quality is quite impressive especially like you said, wide open little vignetting
It is a very premium lens, i think better suited on digital. I love old lenses on digital and new ones on film. The new tack sharp lenses look so good on film and give 35mm a medium format look. Conversely the old glass looks great on digital taking the edge away and giving it a more real look. I dislike it when images look so clinical and using a jupiter 8 on my S5 makes it much better looking than lumix 50 1.8
Good point actually. I also like using sharper lens for film. Primarily I use macro lenses for my film cameras for that reason.
I sold my 2021 50 f1.2 noctilux........i dint like it, now i use my M11 monochrom with a canon Dream lens and MS Optics 50 F1.0
Agree with watches .......my old Breguet is less accuracy than a casio but that's not what it's about, it's something mechanical created by hand with passion and dedication.
Great review, Thanks
Thanks!!! Wow two great lenses. My first m mount lens was the MS optics 50mm f1. I didn’t appreciate it then but using this, they render similarly
Thank you, Bobby! How does it compare to the CV 50mm F1 (new version). Which one would you buy between the two?
No prob. Very very different lenses. The CV is a more modern lens. Sharp at f1 and increasingly sharp as you stop down. Also better corrected. This is an homage to the 1966 lens. As a collector I would get this one but if I want sharp images I would need to stop down from f2 and beyond
Great vid!!!
And sorry, completely off-topic question. May I ask what watch you wear? It's beautiful! :-)
Thanks! It’s the Omega Seamaster 300 Bond 60th anniversary
@@btonelli thanks a lot :)
God-level video, with the original 50 f/1.2 and Bond Omega watch! Would be interested to hear your thoughts on what other lenses render similarly to the LLL version- are we talking about the Canon 50s (including the red line EF guy), or moreso something cheaper/Chinese?
Thanks! 🙏 the lens that probably comes closest to this is the original 58mm f1.2 Nikkor Noct, but the Noct is slightly sharper at 1.2. I really enjoy the 50 f1.2 EF lens and that is also sharper at 1.2 but probably equal CA. I really love how that Canon renders :)
As for a Chinese lens, TT Artisans 50 .95 is close to this LLL, MS Optics 50mm f1 also close to it. Both those lenses tend to have a warmer tone to the image than this one does though
Thank you so much!
Based on the sample image side by side, the OG has a completely different color rendition than the other. The OG has a Fuji 200 filmic look whereas the LL version has a modern digital color rendition. I missed the boar in putting in an order. I hope they make more down the line. I love my LLL SP2. Great review, brother. Keep up the quality work.
Color tone is more green on the original but prefer the LLL especially for skin tones. To correct it’s a simple adjustment on tint and temperature and you are back to 1966 rendering and 28k in your pocket haha
@@btonelliLove that green tone. LOL
@@aobane841 haha 👍
I hope they make more as well. It’s seeming to gain traction now as more are being released and users are enjoying them
Great video! Any idea how this lens compares to the Canon 50/1.2 LTM lens? I suspect the bokeh rendering is different but the vignetting and sharpness seems quite similar judging from your images when shot wide open.
Thanks!! I’ve never tried the Canon 50 1.2 LTM to compare but based on lens design probably more similar than not except this and the original Noctilux have double aspherical elements vs the Canon.
Missed opportunity there for light lens lab. They should have called it the “Noct-offLux.
This one is not for me... however I appreciate what LLL is bringing to the table... As an m mount shooter I love having as many options as possible... the lens looks beautiful.
It’s all good. Some will like this and some won’t. It’s definitely not a lens for everyone.
Nice video Bobby, by the way have you seen my video's with Mr Woo talking about vintage film cameras and lens?
Thanks John. Yes I have. Very informative. Almost gave me a heart attack standing on the R8 haha
@@btonelli thanks 🙏 buddy
Is it sharp at wide open? How's the swirly bokeh compared to the Leica 50 f1.2 reissued?
Check the comparison. I do it with the original, the 2021 version and the Artralab 50mm f1.2. The bokeh is more swirly and less corrected. This really is like an 50 plus year old lens. It’s also softer than the reissue
Thanks for sharing your thoughts mate, i have the retro 2021 but now i feel like trying from the LLL, not GAS trust me 😅
Thanks for watching! Haha no not GAS at all 😂 it’s worth experiencing it to see how close to the original it is
Boby, at 19:18 you said “this is still going to be sharper than this”. Without showing us which one.
You meant the Artralab will be sharper than the LLL?
yes the Artralab will be sharper than the LLL
Hi is the video at 7:15 taken wide open for both lenses? I’ve the Ti version of this lens but find it better suited for indoors as outdoors will have too much sunlight and the images I took looks washed out and dreamy but for yours it doesn’t exhibit the glowy effect
Hi. Yes these were both taken wide open.
I do get some flaring depending on the angle the light hits the lens. One of the images I show in the video has that in the bottom left corner. It’s the image of the mountains in Austria. For the washed out looks I tend to use dehaze in Lightroom to compensate, but so far I’m okay with the look outdoors
Thank you for your detailed reply! So it does exhibit the glowy phenomenon and yes I also like you do have to compensate by adding clarity or contrast or deglaze. Thank you once again for doing up this review to benefit enthusiasts like us!
@@user-ri9cd7mx9u my pleasure!
By any chance have you used the 50mm 1.1 by Mr. Ding? I was tempted by the LLL because I love what they have been making, but the price was pretty high for this one.
I haven’t unfortunately. I hear it’s good though
@@btonelliThe Ding is quite good if you are ok adding a little contrast later. The build quality of the LLL lenses is really superb though. Thanks for the video.
@@Jack-qn6vy yes the build quality is fantastic. Thanks for watching
PS: I already suggested that you also review watches, that was a nice comparison!
Thanks! Yeah I’ve been debating getting onto that space but more to learn in terms of being able to deliver the feeling and the essence of the watch on video. Will try though in the near future
@@btonelli A lot of people who love watches, appreciate cameras! A video on the beautiful Omega you have on would be nice :) I have the No Time to Die on the same bracelet. Thanks, Bobby!
@@Eliehbk you are right. Cameras, watches, cars all go together:) Will plan that video. I was torn between this and the NTTD. Went with this for the blue color as I wanted to dress it up. Both are fantastic. Now I’m lusting for the white speedmaster haha
@@btonelli I think you have the better one and will retain its value more. The white SM is certainly a more attractive watch than the black one, albeit less in line with the original one. Will be on the lookout for your video.
@@Eliehbk I guess it depends. This is not a screen worn one so hard to say how it will hold in terms of value but either way I really enjoy it. My first Omega.
Yes the white one doesn’t have the history of the original black, but I got a chance to see it in person and the white lacquer dial with the black indexes is beautiful. It pops on the wrist. The lighting in the boutique doesn’t capture how white it actually is. I think I like it more than the panda Daytona
Are they all sold already? Yes they are. While you say that production is limited, it is strange that the article on their site refers to to signing up to the "Back to stock" notifications.
I believe they are released in batches due to manufacturing. There seems to be decent demand from what I understand
@@btonelli I added myself to the back to stock notification list. Not even sure I'll buy one, but it is intriguing.
@@calvinchann1996 sometimes good to wait a bit and see if the excitement is still there. Either way good to be on the list in case
Bobby : Just secured a black paint / brass Noctilux , I hope is comes with the hood ♥ , and yes ; I have the Canon 0.95 custom rebuilt from KANTO Camera , it is an exact replica of Jamie Fox's Canon 0.95 a superb lens and I have all the Canon filters , and original hood too. Now I cannot wait for this lens ♥
Wow!! Please share photos when you get a chance. Kanto is fantastic!
Not sure if I agree that it will become a collectors item. The big money items are always the original rare lenses. It's a nice lens, sure, but it doesn't have the history and branding attached. What if TTArtisan decides next year to make their own version? And maybe in years after that another new brand? It will be one of the clones. I could be wrong though, of course.
In my opinion the 50 f/1.0 Noctilux is a nicer lens.. not as rare, but that is for me the one with the most character.
I think for a company to try and do what LLL did wouldn’t make much financial sense. The unique thing about LIght Lens Lab is they aren’t just copying at a surface level but trying to recreate the essence of what these lenses were and are. That’s not cheap to do and definitely not as profitable.
Originals will always have their place and as I saw with my own eyes, the original Noctilux is a grail lens for many and will always be. This makes that lens slightly more attainable but more accurate than even Leica’s rendition in 2021.
The f1 is a really nice lens, especially the E58 version. Unfortunately it’s hard to find one without front or back focusing issues at times. Needs to be calibrated.
@@btonelli A friend of mine bought the Leica 35mm f1.4 Steel Rim reissue and regretted the purchase because the lens is nothing like their original. I also bought the LLL 35mm f2 and the built quality is no different to the original Leica yet with exceptional image rendering, it is now one of the most used 35mm on my Leica rangefinder bodies, not to mention the original Leica 35mm has a lot of variance in image quality due to older manufacturing production technique and tolerances.
@@DannyChau7 yes I’ve heard mix reactions from the steel rim. I tried it at the M6 launch when they released it but never compared to the original.
The 35 8 element is also a special lens
idk man. granted they put some effort into it...i don't think that LLL lens is not going to be a collector's item. it's still not a Leica.
I thought the same thing until I held and used the lens. Then I understood what this represents and how well it captured the essence of the original
You lost me at...it's not about image quality.
Haha it’s okay. I know that opening would be a topic of further conversation.
I think he means it’s not just about image quality. Did he say the image quality was not there?
@@danielcoburn7696you are right. Some just watch a bit of a video and not the entire thing
Nope!👎
It’s okay. Personal preference