[Leica] the 35 f2 tta asph is freaking astounding

[Frank Filippone]

Light lens labs actually does different testing than I am used to....

I am more the .... set up the graphic ( newspaper or other pretty finely 
printed scientific target) or use my 50+ year old front yard fence, and 
then take pictures of it.  Boring and uninteresting? Yes.  But as boring 
as it is, it tells me if the lens can resolve well, and comparative 
resolution is most important to me... Is this lens resolve more than 
this other lens?  .  That is my definition of a good lens.  I am not 
into character nor Bokeh,  YMMV

Light lens labs performs testing called Lens Projection.  It is easy to 
look up, as it is used for testing CINE LENSES.  To simplify, you take a 
target ( think a negative )  and PROJECT it through the lens onto a wall 
and then look at that image and determine quality.  Yes, this is really 
a test, really is considered valuable for Cine lenses, and LLL uses it.  
I had never heard of it before ( I am not cine oriented), but apparently 
this testing has its followers and believers.  It is specifically why 
the LLL lenses are all bragging about Bokeh, "look", "character" etc.  
The words resolution and Image Quality are not part of their marketing 
vocabulary.  They apparently do test for MTF, but never use the results 
in their ads.

(I have asked them for a sample of the Elcan 50 copy for testing MY WAY, 
and for full list price they will sell me one, but not loan me one .... 
I guess I could fake being Erwin..... )

I explained my methods to them.... Their marketing rep's response to my 
test methods was:

I actually don't agree with your methods of testing, so far from the 
testing done by light lens lab R&D facilities is that we use Lens 
Projector on the lens to see the character/sharpness/resolution of the 
lens. Testing using a camera would be inconsistent with different 
results being the most important one: the sensor is very different with 
different companies and how the sensor compute processor is very 
inconsistent even with every other shot. lens projector would be more 
consistent.

Which, since I know nada about the test method called Lens Projections, 
means I have no basis for making any comment.  But as far as I can tell, 
no single image lens manufacturer seems to be bragging about this 
method..... Different strokes for different folks?  Gibberish?  Not sure.

Jim, I doubt they do single dip coating, as this is really old school 
(yes, Voigtlander does this or has done this).  I would think that the 
coating is/are deposited by vaccuum deposition, the standard for the 
last 50 or so years... But then again.....

note that the original 8 Element 35 Summicron is a $2-4K lens. The LLL 
copy is about $1500.  The original is not all that rare.

The 50 Elcan is a $7K+++ lens and the LLL copy is $900.

These are bargain lenses, with credible performance. ( at least the ones 
i have tested and kept are all pretty darned good!)


Frank Filippone
BMWRed735i at gmail.com

On 7/25/2022 10:14 AM, jshulman at judgecrater.com wrote:
> Here's an alternative:
> I acquired the Light Lens Lab's clone of an 8-element Summicron 35 and love
> it!   Compact, well-executed, and results are indistinguishable from one of
> the originals, save for a smidge more contrast (probably due to a new single
> coating, rather than a slightly deteriorating sixty year old drip coating.)
> It ain't cheap--about 3-4x what a tta costs--but you get what you pay for.
>
>
>
> Jim
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: LUG <lug-bounces+jshulman=judgecrater.com at leica-users.org> On Behalf
> Of Nathan Wajsman
> Sent: Monday, July 25, 2022 12:59 PM
> To: Leica Users Group <lug at leica-users.org>
> Subject: Re: [Leica] the 35 f2 tta asph is freaking astounding
>
> Admittedly, I have never used any of these, but they are popular on the
> Fuji group on Facebook (Viltrox is another Chinese brand that is mentioned a
> lot there). Invariably, they are “great, with some vignetting you can
> correct in post” or “once you close down to f5.6, just as good as Fuji
> lenses” etc. Well, if I buy an f2 or f1.4 lens, I want it to be good also at
> the maximum aperture. Otherwise, I might as well save weight and money and
> buy an f2.8 or f4 lens.
>
> Cheers,
> Nathan
>
> Nathan Wajsman
> photo at frozenlight.eu
>
> http://www.fotocycle.dk/paws
> http://www.greatpix.eu
> http://www.frozenlight.eu
>
> YNWA
>
>
>
>
>> On 25 Jul 2022, at 16:46, Frank Filippone via LUG <lug at leica-users.org>
> wrote:
>> For those interested.....
>>
>> The Chinese lenses from TTartisan and 7Artisans are made well. They
> really do feel like a classic Leica lens in handling.
>> But you do not buy a lens for its feel... you buy it for its optical
> performance......
>> I have several of these lenses and have tested them against their Leica
> equivalents.
>> The Chinese lenses are not as optically capable as the German. But, in
> general, they are not too far behind either....  About the equivalent of the
> German lenses made in the 50's, 60's and 70's.....
>> The best reason to consider one... Price vs usability.....
>>
>> These lenses are typically 5% of the cost of the German.  Not 5% less,
> but 5% OF the cost.....  And if you are not using the lens regularly, think
> Nocti or 21mm Summilux, then they offer you a really good performance for
> little money.
>> Try them out before you dismiss them as junk... I think you will be
> pleasantly surprised.
>>
>> Frank Filippone
>> BMWRed735i at gmail.com
>>
>>
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>
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