light Lens Labs 50mm 1.2 (interesting)

[jakontil]

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On 1/26/2024 at 1:32 AM, pippy said:

I believe that Leica (understandably!) were slightly miffed by some 3rd party companies using their 'invention' and the practice was deemed a breach of copyright.

As it happens I have a pair of 7Artisan 50mm f1.1 from the early days and both of those are 6-bit coded as a Noctilux. Can't remember which version...

Thanks again for posting the photographs, Snuff. Yes; there is a hefty amount of Barrel - not to mention vignetting! - going on but I suppose if I expect that I'm going to be taking Architectural stuff I could simply have the v4 Summicron in the bag and use a LLL 50 f1.2 for Fits'n'Giggles?

Interesting proposition.

Philip.

Yep my ttartisan being detected as noctilux 0.95 

[arthury]

A mini review

Optically interesting, although I cannot see any usual Leica glow near the highlights using an M11-P. It's quite hard to draw it out. Will try it on B&W film in the near future to see the response.

Colors and tones when properly adjusted in Tonal Curve can be quite unusual and they project a slight iridescent look, as shown in this test images. Not sure if the compressed JPG can reveal it here, though.

As for their attempt to manufacture a hood, I think they need to go back to the drawing board. Yes, it is easy to mount it with the twin spring-loaded buttons. But, after it is mounted, it floats around the barrel and does the cling and the clung. Sounds sloppy. Does not elicit a feel of a high end product.  They need to re-think this.

Additionally, the front lens cap cannot be mounted on the lens with the hood on. That seems to be their problem across other lenses as well; for example, the Elcan and the 35mm/2 (8 Elements).

Overall, it's a commendable effort but the rough pointy corners need to be filed.

Also, if I were them, I'd not be so quick to squash the demand by raising prices so rapidly. At this point, they should be almost giving out "free" products to establish a larger market presence; perhaps, selling products at a loss. To me, LLL is not an established company yet. It takes a decade or two of unwavering consistency in their product quality to be established. People are taking a risk to try out their products and raising prices meant increasing risks for an opportunity to try.

PS: No color saturation was increased in LR, just tonal curve adjustments

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Edited September 17 by arthury

[lecycliste]

If you look at the original Leitz 50/1.2 Noctilux, the hood design is exactly the same as the LLL ‘1966’ 50/1.2. My LLL ‘1966’ 50/1.2 hood has enough friction to stay put in the orientation I place it in for minimum viewfinder blockage. The hood has nicely-rounded pinch lock corners.
 

Most importantly, in shooting portraits with the LLL ‘1966’ 50/1.2, I find its background blur to be very pleasing. And at~$2K, it was much cheaper than either the Leica reissue (~$8K, which renders differently than the original) or the original from the 1960s ($30K and up). 

I usually leave lens caps at home, or I find a generic pinch cap that fits the lens hood. I’d rather have one less thing to do before I shoot, so I leave it off. And modern lens coatings are much harder and more durable than those of the 1950s, so I don’t really worry about scratching.   

if you want glow, try a 50/2 Summitar. You can find these on eBay for maybe $300-$700, with coating intact at the upper end of that price range. 

Edited September 18 by lecycliste