Introduction
A replica of the Leica 35mm 2.0 Summicron from the 1960s was actually Light Lens Lab’s first project. This lens was also known as “eight element” because of its optical design consisting of 8 elements in 6 groups, and this is the name Light Lens Lab picked for it. Let’s have a closer look!
This lens will be reviewed on the 42mp Sony A7rII and the 24mp Leica M10.
Sample Images
Most of the sample images in this review can be found in full resolution here.
Contents
Specifications
This Light Lens Lab 35mm 2.0 Eight Element (“8e”) sample has the following specifications:
-
- Diameter: 51 mm
- Field of view: 63° (diagonally)
- Length: 36 mm
- Weight: 228g (no hood, no caps)
- Filter Diameter: E39
- Number of Aperture Blades: 10 (straight)
- Elements/Groups: 8/6
- Close Focusing Distance: 0.7 m
- Maximum Magnification: 1:17.5 (measured)
- Mount: Leica-M, LTM
This lens comes in many different versions: collapsible, non-collapsible and made from different materials, so there can be some small differences, especially regarding the weight.
You can order this lens from the official homepage as well as ebay.com (affiliate links) starting at $1049
Disclosure
This Light Lens Lab 35mm 2.0 8e was kindly provided free of charge by the Light Lens Lab NA distributor for reviewing purpose for a duration of 4 weeks.
About Light Lens Lab
Rare and older lenses, especially small rangefinder lenses, have mostly become collector’s items with sometimes completely unjustified, ridiculous prices.
The rereleases of the Leica 28mm 5.6 and Thambar 90mm 2.2 are such examples. The cheapest to produce lenses in Leica’s portfolio are now among those priced the highest. Nothing beats a well established brand name.
Light Lens Lab is bringing back some of these old, often exotic lenses (with long expired patents) and they do so without resorting to crowd funding and at somewhat affordable prices. They actually started with this “8 element” 35mm 2.0 Summicron followed by the 50mm 2.0 Elcan and afterwards came the 50mm 2.0 SP II. They are already working on several other interesting projects that you can check out here.
I generally like this business idea, as there is no way I am paying five figures for some old Leica or Zeiss lens and I don’t recommend you doing that either. Thanks to Light Lens Lab more people get the chance to use these lenses.
Handling / Build Quality
The version of this lens I received for a review seems to be mainly made from brass, as it feels very heavy for a such a small lens – similar to the Light Lens Lab 50mm 2.0 Elcan I previously reviewed.
The focus ring has a nice, even resistance and turns around 130° from the minimum focus distance of 0.7 m to infinity. The focus ring is also equipped with a focus tab.
The focus tab has another feature, as it features a hidden infinity lock. Regular readers know I am not a fan of infinity locks, but it seems the original lens featured the same exact design.
The aperture ring has equidistantly spaced half-stop click-stops.
The lens brings up the correct 35/135mm frameline set and because it is so small there is hardly any rangefinder blockage when using the lens without a hood.
This Light Lens Lab 35mm 2.0 8e is definitely a compact lens, but in the M-mount world we can actually find many similarly sized, sometimes even faster 35mm lenses. Voigtländer for example offers a smaller and lighter 35mm 2.0 as well as a 35mm 1.4.
When using Sony E or Nikon Z mount cameras you can e.g. pair this lens with the TTArtisan 6-bit adapter to get EXIF data or with the Techart LM-EA9 adapter to get autofocus.
Vignetting
light falloff
| f/2.0 | 4.0 EV |
| f/2.8 | 3.0 EV |
| f/4.0 | 2.3 EV |
| f/5.6 | 2.2 EV |
| f/8.0 | 2.1 EV |
| f/11 | 2.0 EV |
I already noticed the strong light falloff at f/2.0 in the real world pictures I took with this lens and I think we have a new record here: 4 EV at its maximum aperture, even more than the Leica 35mm 1.4 FLE Asph with 3.8 EV.
This lens has been designed in the 1960s for analogue cameras where I am sure it shows noticeably less vignetting.
It is recommended to have a look at this article first to get an idea how this brightness graph works.
optical vignetting
In the following comparison we move from the center (left) to the extreme corner (right) and see how the shape of the light circle changes.
Also optical vignetting is surely on the high side and this might be the highest amount I have seen from a 35mm lens yet, even surpassing the MS-Optics 35mm 1.3 II Slim and 35mm 1.4. We probably shouldn’t expect smooth corner bokeh from this lens, but more on that in the corresponding section.
Sharpness
Focus shift
50% crops, A7rII
Many of the older fast wide angle designs have some issues with focus shift and this Light Lens Lab 35mm 2.0 8e is no exception. On stopping down from f/2.8 to f/4.0 the focus shifts noticeably to the back. This is not only visible at close focus distances but also at infinity and surely something to watch out for. When using the rangefinder to focus I would be careful with using f/4.0 and f/5.6. Luckily, for me personally those are the least used aperture settings.
MTF graphs
FIrst keep in mind this lens is very closely based on a design from the early 1960s and it is also an all spherical design. At its time it actually used a surprisingly high amont of elements (hence its name: “eight element”).
This comparably complicated design promises high contrast over most of the frame with only little astigmatism at f/2.0. Stopped down to f/5.6 we see high contrast over most of the frame, but also a midzone dip.
infinity (42mp Sony A7rII, 24mp Leica M10)
Focus has been adjusted for focus shift stopped down.
The whole image is a bit softer at f/2.8, good news is that there is hardly a midzone dip. For the corners to look good stopping down to f/8.0 is needed. You may wonder why the midframe looks worse at f/4.0 compared to f/2.8, this is because I adjusted the central focus for focus shift to give the best image quality, which in the process hurt the midframe performance.
The performance on the Sony A7rII is slightly worse due to its thicker filter stack – as was to be expected.
Today there are bigger/heavier lenses available – like the Voigtländer VM 35mm 2.0 Apo-Lanthar – that show a better performance in this category at f/2.0 than this lens at any aperture.
portrait distance 1.1 m (24mp Sony A7III and Leica M10)
For portraiture it isn’t so important how flat the field is, it is more interesting to see what the sharpness is like when focused at different parts of the frame to take field curvature out of the equation.
We will be looking at 100% crops from the 24mp Sony A7III and the Leica M10. Both cameras do not have an anti aliasing filter in front of the sensor.
Leica M10 <—> Sony A7III
At portrait distances this lens shows a solid performance and indeed astigmatism seems to be well corrected. Also here the image is a bit softer at f/2.0 though.
It might still be worth to have a look at the performance of a well corrected, complex modern lens by comparison, e.g. the Voigtländer VM 35mm 2.0 Apo-Lanthar.
Here the differences between the lens on the Leica M10 and Sony A7III are minor, just keep in mind setting precise focus is easier with the Sony camera.
close (0.70 m, 1:17.5, 42mp A7rII)
A minimum focus distance of 0.7 m is typical for a 35mm lens in the M-mount world, it’s mainly the latest designs that focus closer. The performance is pretty solid though.
Depending on your viewing device the f/2.8 crop may look worse than the f/2.0 one, this is because contrast and resolution do not peak in the same focal plane and also don’t improve to the same degree on stopping down.
Flare resistance
Evaluating flare is a complex matter since you can get any lens to look bad if you push it hard enough and a slight change of scenario can affect results a lot.
Now vintage lenses rarely perform well in this category and this Light Lens Lab 35mm 2.0 8e is surely not an exception. According to Light Lens Lab also the performance in this category is supposed to mimic that of the original lens from 60 years ago.
Long story short: in terms of lens flares a lot is going on here.
Generally the performance improves on stopping down, but at any aperture it is easy to encounter all kinds of artefacts in backlit situations.
At the maximum aperture it is very easy to encounter a bunch of ring flares. With the sun outside the frame the performance is noticeably better – despite me not using a hood here.
As said, stopped down the performance surely is better, but also here I encountered all kinds of artefacts in the field.
I tend to agree with Light Lens Lab that the performance against bright light is also part of the vintage experience.
If you are a big fan of backlit portraits I hope you are also a fan of these flares, otherwise it might be a better idea to have a closer look at Voigtländer’s 35mm offerings.
Coma
100% crops from extreme corner, focused at infinity hard stop, Leica M10
Fast double gauss designs made of spherical elements are pretty good at correcting many optical aberrations well, but Coma is not one of those. At f/2.0 and still so at f/2.8 we see strong Coma and a little bit is still visible at f/4.0. From f/5.6 the corners look clean.
Distortion
The design this lens is based on is from the 1960s, when there were obviously no digital corrections. Distortion had to be corrected by the optical design and as we can see here that worked pretty well as there is hardly any visible.
Bokeh
As I am sure you are aware, these days there are much faster 35mm M-mount lenses available, e.g. the Voigtländer VM 35mm 1.2 Nokton III. So if you are looking for bokeh quantity, this might not be the right place.
We will still have a look at the quality, as usual at different distances.
If you are looking for something that is different from the latest, well corrected lenses – that give a smooth out of focus rendering – this Light Lens Lab 35mm 2.0 8e is certainly able to deliver that.
At longer distances we also see the effect of strong optical vignetting and field curvature, leading to a bit of falloff towards the corners.
Now obviously by stopping the lens down you can calm the bokeh down a bit, but a 35mm lens stopped down to f/4.0 is not exactly a setup that will create a lot of background blur.
Sunstars
Similar to many of the Voigtländer VM and Zeiss ZM lenses also this Light Lens Lab 35mm 2.0 makes use of 10 straight aperture blades leading to very distinct sunstars even when only stopped down slightly.
If you want to know more about sunstar rendering of different lenses have a look at this article.
Chromatic aberration
lateral
Perfectly symmetrical optical designs show no lateral CA and this one being almost perfectly symmetrical means we don’t see any here.
longitudinal
Surprisingly I found neither bokeh fringing nor purple fringing to be an issue with this lens. If you look very close you can spot some minor green and magenta outlining, but to a degree that I don’t think it actually has the potential to ruin your pictures.
Conclusion
While you can buy this lens new from factory in 2024, we should not forget that its design dates back to the 1960s and in some categories that surely shows. So if you are looking for a well corrected modern lens with very high sharpness and contrast at wider apertures and/or a smooth out of focus rendering I am not sure you will end up being happy with this Light Lens Lab 35mm 2.0 8e.
I think this lens is mainly aimed at people that really like that “vintage” look and can’t or don’t want to afford the original. The benefit of these Light Lens Lab lenses still being made new, is also that you are less likely to run into issues with hazy elements or other longevity issues.
I haven’t used the original lens myself, but I talked to someone who does have experience with both and he told me the Light Lens Lab is indeed a well made replica that compares favourably to the original. So I can only recommend to have a closer look at this option before spending huge money on an original sample in questionable condition.
You can order this lens from the official homepage as well as ebay.com (affiliate links) starting at $1049
Alternatives
There are countless 35mm options for M-mount available. The two closest competitors are probably the Voigtländer VM 35mm 2.0 Ultron – which I haven’t reviewed yet – and the Voigtländer VM 35mm 1.4 Nokton Classic. The MS-Optics 35mm 1.4 Apoqualia also has similar characteristics at f/2.0, but it is a rare and expensive lens.
If you are looking for a compact lens with a more classic rendering which is more affordable and offers better flare resistance be also sure to have a look at the Voigtländer VM 40mm 1.4 Nokton MC.
If you are looking for a technically perfect 35mm 2.0 lens you should have a look at the noticeably bigger and heavier Voigtländer VM 35mm 2.0 Apo-Lanthar.
You can find all my reviews of 35mm M-mount lenses here.
Sample Images
Most of the sample images in this review can be found in full resolution here.
Further Reading
- M-mount lens reviews
- Review: Zeiss Hologon 16mm 8.0
- Review: Leica 35mm 1.4 Summilux-M FLE Asph MK II
- Review: Leica 90mm 2.0 Summicron-M pre Asph
- Analogue Adventures
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Hello, I read your reviews with interest and I like them very much.I would like to ask about one, a little marginal matter.
When I look at the sun stars at different apertures, the stars shift a little bit with each aperture change.
What causes this phenomenon.
Thank you for your reply and I wish you much strength in your future reviews.
Greetings from the Czech Republic, Zbigniew.
PS´A Yes, I like this lens very much:-)
Translated with DeepL.com (free version)
The aperture blades often rotate on closing, leading to a rotation of the Sunstars.
Thank you very much for your outstanding review! By chance, I was able to buy this lens on the used market today, picked it up near home and was able to take some images afterwards. To be honest, I was really surprised how good (and sharp) this lens is (portrait shots, street photography). Moreover, I really like the mood transported by this vintage rendering. Yes, there are some disadvantages as lined out in the review, but if you know how to use the lens, it really delivers. I was really sceptic and thought about buying since its first issue, but now I understand why this is a success story of the LLL line-up. Thx again Bastian for this great review!
I have this lens (1st batch of 500 on serial) and also the original Summicron 35/2 Type 1 8 Elements. The LLL 35mm Replica is practically glued permanently to my M2 while I use the original Summicron on my M3. Being a new lens, the LLL Replica has a slight warmer tone and the original is cooler, but having slightly more spherical aberration glow. These differences are slight. In terms of rendition, they are practically the same and comparable. My main love is the construction, handling, lack of CA and the vintage bokeh which I love from the original. A tremendous achievement. Thanks for the great review. You took some nice photos with it.
Very good review. Nice sample pic!