Jump to content

Summicron 35/2 8-element vs. Light Lens Lab 35/2 - a direct comparison


Al Brown

Recommended Posts

Advertisement (gone after registration)

At f8

Welcome, dear visitor! As registered member you'd see an image here…

Simply register for free here – We are always happy to welcome new members!

here at 300% 

please check in high res...

Link to post
Share on other sites

17 hours ago, Dennis said:

Great to know the 12585 is fully compatible...

I'm not used to having VF blockage at all (except for the 1.2), and it feels fantastic.  W/ hood, most of the times, is fine. Others, it could be so much. That's why I'm trying to reduce it as much as possible, and I'm aware I'm losing protection for flare. So, if I can combine the LLL small size (hood included) w/ its actual performance, I believe this can improve my photography...

OK; FWIW (and apologies in advance for the p-poor quality) here are some snaps (some of which were taken using a 'phone! Shock!! Horror!!!) showing the relaitve sizes / finder blockage of the IROOA, the 12585 and the 12504.

Height : 12504 / 12585 / IROOA;

Welcome, dear visitor! As registered member you'd see an image here…

Simply register for free here – We are always happy to welcome new members!

Frontal Area : 12504 / IROOA / 12585;

View through viewfinder (M-D Typ-262):

LLL Only ; No Hood Fitted;

 

With IROOA;

 

With 12504;

 

With 12585;

 

...and lastly, just for fun, with the rectangular 12526 (which I would not advise due to it being able to revolve on the lens-barrel;

Clearly (Ho!Ho!) having no hood gives the most 'complete' view but in actual use the 12585 has so little blockage it's my favourite by a long way.

Hope some of that might be of use / interest!

Philip.

 

Edited by pippy
  • Like 4
  • Thanks 2
Link to post
Share on other sites

37 minutes ago, pippy said:

(Ho!Ho!)

+1

or

Ho! Ho! x 2 👏 Thank you so much for taking the time to do that. Your phone photos are perfect for understanding and making decisions. I'm sure that for people wanting to know, it's valuable information... 12585 is on the list! When there is a chance, I will get one.
Thank you

  • Thanks 1
Link to post
Share on other sites

  • 1 month later...

Thanks to everyone that posted in this thread. Picked up the new Collapsable version of this lens yesterday and made a few snaps. 

f/2 near the closer 0.5m MFD of the Collapsable version:

Welcome, dear visitor! As registered member you'd see an image here…

Simply register for free here – We are always happy to welcome new members!

 

Crop of previous image

 

Obligatory flare photo (f/2):

 

Contrast bumped in post:

 

Really nice tonal transitions and bokeh at f/2 from this lens:

 

Sharp at f/2 as well (previews are soft, click for sharper version):

 

Mastin Labs TMAX 3200 film style (edited):

 

 

Edited by hdmesa
  • Like 11
  • Thanks 1
Link to post
Share on other sites

Can I ask owners of the 8e here if theirs has any rotational play in the front assembly?  I picked one up that arrived today (black paint/amber coating).  It's a lovely thing, but when I hold the main body of the lens the front assembly has a small but noticable amount of rotational play when you hold the filter ring and rock clockwise/anti-clockwise.  I'm going to return the lens as I don't think there should be any, but thought I'd ask here first?

 

Link to post
Share on other sites

3 hours ago, Tessar. said:

Can I ask owners of the 8e here if theirs has any rotational play in the front assembly?  I picked one up that arrived today (black paint/amber coating).  It's a lovely thing, but when I hold the main body of the lens the front assembly has a small but noticable amount of rotational play when you hold the filter ring and rock clockwise/anti-clockwise.  I'm going to return the lens as I don't think there should be any, but thought I'd ask here first?

 

Are you talking about the collapsable or regular version? The collapsable has very minor rotational play to the front of the lens when extended and locked into place.

Edited by hdmesa
grammar
Link to post
Share on other sites

Advertisement (gone after registration)

The standard one also has a very minor bit of rotational play as well (mine is a black paint VC7 LC). Even though the LLL not an identical copy of the Leica 8E, comparing it to my Leica 8E (from 1966) it too has a ‘very’ slight rotational movement (but less than the LLL).

 

 

 

.

Welcome, dear visitor! As registered member you'd see an image here…

Simply register for free here – We are always happy to welcome new members!

Edited by RMF
Link to post
Share on other sites

1 hour ago, RMF said:

The standard one also has a very minor bit of rotational play as well (mine is a black paint VC7 LC). Even though the LLL not an identical copy of the Leica 8E, comparing it to my Leica 8E (from 1966) it too has a ‘very’ slight rotational movement (but less than the LLL).

 

 

 

.

Welcome, dear visitor! As registered member you'd see an image here…

Simply register for free here – We are always happy to welcome new members!

Thanks for that, I'll check it again.  I'm just a bit concerned that it's going to get worse over time but I guess I can always get it fixed if it does. If it performs as well as in the images I've seen online it won't owe me anything and it's exactly what I'm looking for in terms of size.

Link to post
Share on other sites

6 hours ago, Tessar. said:

Can I ask owners of the 8e here if theirs has any rotational play in the front assembly?...

Having just checked (I hadn't noticed any previously but wanted to double-check for the post) my example (a V6) exhibits no play whatsoever.

I'm not sure how significant any slight amount of play would make to a final image. Oddly enough although my own LLL 8-E is rock-solid both my 35mm v2 Summilux and '54 35mm Summaron have some - admittedly near-imperceptable - rotational play on the front-most assembly yet the IQ results from both of those two lenses are exactly as wonderful as one might expect.

With a bit of good fortune someone well-versed in these matters will chip-in here and say;

"All you need to do is ensure these (illustrations to be supplied) screws are tightened properly and all will be well!"...

Looking forward to any 'Fix' which might be forthcoming.

Philip.

Link to post
Share on other sites

10 minutes ago, pippy said:

Having just checked (I hadn't noticed any previously but wanted to double-check for the post) my example (a V6) exhibits no play whatsoever.

I'm not sure how significant any slight amount of play would make to a final image. Oddly enough although my own LLL 8-E is rock-solid both my 35mm v2 Summilux and '54 35mm Summaron have some - admittedly near-imperceptable - rotational play on the front-most assembly yet the IQ results from both of those two lenses are exactly as wonderful as one might expect.

With a bit of good fortune someone well-versed in these matters will chip-in here and say;

"All you need to do is ensure these (illustrations to be supplied) screws are tightened properly and all will be well!"...

Looking forward to any 'Fix' which might be forthcoming.

Philip. 

 From what I can see I think the front part of the lens is just the aperture control ring assembly, filter ring and front baffle.  So shouldn't affect the optical alignment.  I'll take it out over the weekend and take some test shots and make a decision.

It's a good price and looks brand new.  And with a 6 month warranty, so if it goes pear shaped I can always return it for repair I guess.  

  • Like 2
Link to post
Share on other sites

  • 3 months later...

Bumping this thread. I received the brass version today to go along with my collapsable. Took a few snapshots at sunset to test it out a bit. Hopefully I will get some more dramatic weather early next week.

This might be a bit of a contradiction, the stealth-ish Reporter with the brass 8-E, but I like it :) I'm thinking the brass will darken with time and use.

More photos with 100% crops posted at FM Forum here.

Welcome, dear visitor! As registered member you'd see an image here…

Simply register for free here – We are always happy to welcome new members!

 

f/2 at close distance

 

f/8 at infinity

 

  • Like 11
Link to post
Share on other sites

Took some more photos with the 8E (brass) this evening on the SL2-S.

 

Some very light snow falling:

Welcome, dear visitor! As registered member you'd see an image here…

Simply register for free here – We are always happy to welcome new members!

 

MFD with Hawk's Factory macro adapter:

 

Max flare at f/2:

 

f/2 at infinity through a window:

 

 

  • Like 7
Link to post
Share on other sites

  • 6 months later...

Couple examples shot on the original Leica SL. Flower shot = F2; Bikes = f2.8

Welcome, dear visitor! As registered member you'd see an image here…

Simply register for free here – We are always happy to welcome new members!

  • Like 2
Link to post
Share on other sites

  • 4 months later...

I finally got this LLL 35/f2 8e in bare brass in mail today and mounted to my m10-r.

The pair looks great. And function wise it’s up to the expectation. I don’t one the original 8e so I cannot really compare them. But some unscientific testing shots show promising results. f2 shows somewhat heavy vignetting which I don’t blame it. From f2.8 and up it looks as sharp as I can expect, the contrast is also bit flat than I thought it would be.

Overall I think it’s a good value

Welcome, dear visitor! As registered member you'd see an image here…

Simply register for free here – We are always happy to welcome new members!

 
Link to post
Share on other sites

Posted (edited)
12 minutes ago, TomB_tx said:

My original 8e does seem a bit flat in contrast compared to the contemporary Summaron 2.8.

Contrast wise it’s definitely flatter than almost al the modern lenses I guess.

But I have some complaints about ergonomics. The aperture ring is too slim especially when the hood is on I can barely reach it. The focus infinite lock is just laughable why do we need this kind of useless thing?

But it’s not LLL’s fault, it’s just original design I guess 

 

by the way sadly I have to let go of my beloved m10-r BP because a guy on this forum offered to buy it :(

Edited by Warton
Link to post
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
×
×
  • Create New...