Light Lens Lab Nine Element 28mm f/2.8 review

Light Lens Lab surely has been one of the most interesting (to my eyes) lens makers in the recent years. This is for a couple of reasons: they try to replicate some of the most legendary lenses made by Leica at a reasonable price, with performances that are optimised for today’s standards. The previous lens I reviewed for them – the LLL 8 element 35mm f2 – was globally a very good performer for film users with its classic rendering / sharp pictures / minimal distortion / tiny size. The only small complaint I had about it was corner sharpness that could have been better optimised. It was necessary to stop it down to f5.6-f8 to get sharp corners on landscapes. A couple of months back, Light Lens Lab sent to me their newest released lens, the Light Lens Lab Nine Element 28mm 2.8 which is a replica of the otherwise super rare Elmarit 28mm f2.8 v1, aka 9 element elmarit.

28mm is not particularly my favourite focal length, but once in a while I do appreciate using one for street or travel pictures. I started documenting myself about that first elmarit and was a little bit surprised about the original lens’s performance. It’s a lens that, beside its rarity, was not very appealing to me considering the next versions made real improvements in all aspects. But the Light Lens Lab 28mm 9 element seems different. MTF charts suggested a very high sharpness level already wide open! How awesome would that be to have a replica of this super rare lens, with usability from an imaging standpoint too!

Let’s dive into this review and see if the promises made by Light Lens Lab actually meet the expectations.

Mechanics and haptics

Those who read my previous review already know Light Lens Lab are not kidding when it comes to build quality. Their lenses are usually very dense, very well made with perfect calibration. Long story short, this one feels like this too. It is of an exceptional build quality, feeling better than my Leica Summilux 35mm ASPH to be honest. These people know how to make quality stuff from a mechanical standpoint. It is a very dense, hefty lens. Materials are all superb, engravings very precise, paint job is flawless. You do get the infinity lock, once more, that can’t be removed or permanently unlocked (I still hope that one day we’ll get the choice to use it or not). This time the lens was provided with a lens hood too. It is about the same build as the lens, not a single plastic bit here, only metal. My little small complaint is that the hood has some play once clipped with the lens. It can make a bit of noise while walking. Besides that, it is an impressive job. Notice also that the red “CHINA” I was complaining about on the front ring of the 8 element replica is now gone, and this is for the best I believe. The elegant Chinese script is still present at the bottom of the lens.

Then there is the form factor, copied from the original lens and obviously the whole point of it as a replica. But to my eyes, it is unfortunately a bit bigger than what I would like a 28mm f2.8 to be. It’s not big per se, but so much bigger than the 35mm f2. But then again, they wouldn’t make it smaller anyways as the whole point of these lenses is to get as close as possible to the original version.

Optical performances

Here is the biggest surprise. Whether it is on a digital camera (Zf, M-P 240) or on film (M6), the Light Lens Lab Nine Element 28mm delivers superb sharpness, already wide open. At f4, it is sharp to the corners. A very good performer.

I do notice a very slight vignetting wide open, but it is very reasonable. Stopping the lens down and it becomes beautifully uniform.

As you might see, despite the moderate f2.8 aperture, the lens does a pretty good job at isolating your subject. The lens packs micro-contrast in the center portion of the picture that helps making the subject pop out of the frame. It has a really nice rendering to my eyes with both very slight vintage glow around highlights and high contrasts.

About distortion, there seem to be a hint of distortion, but honestly most of the time it is pretty much nonexistent to my eyes. None of these pictures have been corrected for it. So, excellent job.

The only real complaint I have is actually with flaring. I found the lens to be very prone to flaring unfortunately, even with the lens hood on. I actually did not remove the lens hood at all. On some lenses, flaring can be nice, but on this one it is more the kind of flare that washes the picture out. So you should take a lot of care when the sun hits around the corners of your frame.

All in all, I feel the Light Lens Lab Nine Element 28mm can be the perfect weapon for those seeking great landscape capabilities, architecture or streets. The only area where the lens might lack a bit is with light gathering capabilities. Being “only” a f2.8 lens, You’ll start having trouble getting sharp pictures in dim light, not because of the lens, but because of slow shutter speeds required at such settings.

Light Lens Lab Nine Element 28mm f/2 Summary and Conclusions

Pros:

• Beautifully made, flawless finish.
• Very sharp, corner to corner, totally usable for landscapes at f4.
• Low distortion.
• Hood is very welcome in the package!

Cons:

• Only f2.8, for the size, it’s a bit sad for me. But it’s part of the original lens design obviously.
• Hood wobble.
• Flare resistance is not so good.

To conclude, I would say the Light Lens Lab Nine Element 28mm is a great option if you want a very sharp 28mm lens, are not afraid with its size (compared with other currently sold 28mm f2.8 M mount lenses) and don’t mind some occasional flaring. You’ll be rewarded with outstanding build quality that actually matches the original and produces beautifully detailed pictures.

The historic value of the lens is also very interesting and will please passionate people carving for such pieces. One again, Light Lens Lab have made a lens that, I think, is not supposed to interest all photographers. It is more aimed people that actually like the experience of having an historical (improved) and interesting piece of gear in its hands.

Price-wise (970 euros including the hood), I feel that it is not exaggerated considering how well this thing is built and how sharp the pictures are. As a comparison point, the Voigtlander Color Skopar 28mm f2.8 is priced at 700 euros. You’ll pay a little premium over the Skopar for the Light Lens Lab lens, but I think the build and historical value mostly justifies the gap. 

Don’t hesitate to share your option in the comments section.

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