Light Lens Lab Eight Element 35mm f/2 review

Light Lens Lab is one of the newest Chinese lens manufacturers that started making replicas of legendary lenses in 2019. Their first lens, and best selling so far, is the Light Lens Lab Eight Element 35mm f/2 replica of the Leica Summicron 35mm f2, first version – it’s known as the ‘Eight Element’ because of its optical diagram. The aim of LLL is to make replicas as close as possible to the original while even bringing, sometimes, improvements, like better materials, denser construction, improved coatings, etc… In this review, I will give my honest feelings about the very last black paint on brass batch, that has kindly been offered to me for this review.

Mechanics and haptics

The Light Lens Lab Eight Element has seen quite a lot of revisions as they are apparently trying to improve the lens little by little, following customers suggestions. This way, if we compare the very first version V1LC (version 1, lead glass) with the current V7LC, many things have dramatically been improved, like the aperture ring which now has no play at all compared with the first version, f-stops are spaced in a linear way, internal coatings have seen some improvements too… First thing one would notice is that the lens feels very, very dense in hand, it is striking and pretty impressive for its size. It is much heavier than the original silver Summicron V1 lens I had, which was made of aluminium as many lenses of that era. The Light Lens Lab Eight Element is much better in that regard as it also feels much precise and sturdier in every direction.

The Light Lens Lab Eight Element finish is also pretty brilliant. The black paint job is perfect and very smooth looking with no overflow, engravings are clear and sharp, it is as good as it could be. It really feels like a little precious jewel.

I usually don’t like infinity focus lock levers because on some occasion, it can slow me down when I want to achieve quick setting and I forgot to place my fingers so that the lock disengages. This is not really a fault and actually, the lock feels nicely made and precise, and this is how the original lens was made. But still, it is something I would like to be able to disengage permanently at times and it is not possible with the Light Lens Lab Eight Element 35mm.

The Light Lens Lab Eight Element 35mm also fits all original hoods, whether it is the IROOA, the 12504 or 12534. Light Lens Lab also make their own IROOA and 12504 replicas, which is a good option if you don’t have one of the original hood. Unfortunately, reaching the aperture ring with the 12504 hood I have is pretty challenging as the hood diameter is slightly larger than it. It is manageable though with some practice.

We can feel that a lot of attention has been made with the finest details. Even the front and rear caps are beautifully made and are screaming Quality. The thing that annoys me a little from the outside is the front engraving stating “CHINA” in RED colour. I honnestly think this was not necessary, as the chinese script under the lens barrel is more than enough to make you understand where this lens comes from. I think this is their way of claiming loud their industry has reached top of the notch machining standards. That being said, I’d love to be able to choose a front ring without it.

Optical performances

Light Lens Lab did not try to change things dramatically with regard to optical performance compared with the original lens. Which is what people interested in the lens should be after. The rendering is very very similar and it will take you a lot of time to determine which is the original and which is the replica with two side by side pictures. The reason for that is pretty simple, the optical formula and glass composition have been replicated to the perfection. The differences you might observe are most probably caused by the fact that the original lens is aging a bit and loosing a bit of contrasts compared with the brand new Light Lens Lab glass.

If we put the comparison aspect aside, it is interesting to note that the Light Lens Lab Eight Element is very sharp in the center at all apertures. But it is not the case in the corners. This lens is a very vintage lens formula, and it will show in a lot of areas. The first one is the corner sharpness that will only start to be really sharp at f5.6. This is not bad for a classic lens design, but it is much worse than the modern Ultron 35mm f2 for example. The general contrasts are pretty low also and you will have to close it down a bit too to get rid of some glow. That being said, some of you will love that glow, especially at night as it reinforces light halation on film. Another point to be aware of is field curvature and focus shift. This lens has some. It is absolutely not dramatic on film, and I doubt anyone will ever notice it on that medium but on a recent high res rangefinder camera, you will need to be careful about that if you need absolute sharpness. But you would be wrong to pick up that lens anyway if your greatest concern is about absolute sharpness. This lens is not about that, it is about signature and beautiful character.

All in all, the overall rendering of that lens is vintage, but very refined and romantic in a way. It gives a very cinematic look to pictures when used wide open and I love it. Also, it is the closest thing to the legendary 8-element Summicron you will ever be able to get for a realistic price. I will let you see a few samples made in the streets of my city on film.

All these pictures were shot with the Light Lens Lab Eight Element on my Leica M6 on Kodak Tri-X 400, developed in Pyro510. I am pretty glad with the outcome and as I previously mentioned, there is a very cinematic vibe to these pictures with a slight veiling wide open, and overall character of the lens. Also, I am very happy with distortion. In all these pictures, distortion is so minimal that you will never notice it. Rangefinder seems to be well calibrated out of the box too, which is good news.

Also do notice the optical formula dates from the 60s, and has never been optimized for digital sensors and sensor stack, etc. So I think it is better to really embrace this lens on film to judge weather it is good or not. I suspect this lens behaves a bit worse with digital sensors as it is a medium wide lens with short flange distance. I did observed that to get critical sharpness over the whole picture for a landscape, f5.6 is manageable if you don’t put your focus point in the center of the frame, but f8 is preferable.

Light Lens Lab Eight Element 35mm f/2 Summary and Conclusions

Pros:

• Superb build. Better than the original I had.
• Pictures come out a bit punchier than the original I had wide open because it is 60 years younger.
• Very cinematic vibe.
• Low distortion (very slight, will very rarely show).
• Always sharp in the center.

Cons:

• Screaming red “china” script on the front ring.
• I wish I could permanently unlock the infinity lock.
• Corner sharpness seem to be lagging a bit, but it seems to be compliant with the original lens.

Overall I am very glad I was asked to do this review. The last affair I had with the original Summicron 8 element kind of disappointed me, mostly because of the build. Now, what I had in hand with the Light Lens Lab Eight Element was something completely different. One can really feel the passion that has been put in this replica. The finest build coupled with almost perfect glass replica led to a real jewel, with vintage signature that brings another very interesting option for 35mm lovers. Don’t seek for absolute sharpness with this lens, neither modern rendering – you will be better off with a Voigtlander Ultron or Leica Summicron ASPH. It is more the kind of lens that leaves a signature on your pictures and really gives a sense of satisfaction when you are using it. I would totally recommend it to anyone looking for that kind of experience. Light Lens Lab is a very interesting company and their work is pretty amazing. Check out the rest of their replicas. Also, do know some very very interesting stuff is currently in their pipeline.

More pictures

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