Light Lens Lab 35mm f1.4 AA “11873” – Recommended? (Leica Summilux Alternative)
Today we look at the much anticipated Light Lens Lab 35mm f1.4 AA “11873” (“Dual aspherical” or double aspherical lens), including sample photos and YouTube videos. If you’re searching for a high performance premium 35mm f1.4 Leica lens (with the special Leica look) you’ve found the right page.
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35mm Leica Summilux
Before we dive into the lens, let’s first recap some of the terms. Any lens made by Leica called a “Summilux“ has a maximum aperture of f1.4. Summilux lenses line sits between Leica “Noctilux” lenses (f1.0-f1.2) and Leica “Summicron” lenses (f2).
Summilux vs Summicron benefits
The advantage of Summilux vs Summicron lenses is the +1 stop faster maximum aperture (f1.4 vs f2). This gives greater subject-background separation, larger bokeh balls (at a given distance) and is very useful when shooting in low light with Leica M film cameras. (With modern digital cameras and the high ISO capabilities, f2 is often enough).
Summicron vs Summilux benefits
The benefit of slower Summicron lenses is they tend to be cheaper, smaller and lighter. When there is sufficient light I often pick up a Summicron lens over a Summilux as a walkaround lens as I just love a smaller setup. Check out my recent article on the Mandler 35mm f2 remake of the Leica Summicron 35mm f2 v4 KOB if you’re looking for a small affordable EDC with that Leica look.
Comparing different Leica Summilux lenses
The first 35mm Leica Summilux lens was made in 1961 and these lenses are called pre-aspherical lenses. Pre-ASPH lenses are know for their more imperfect vintage look and they tend to be smaller in size. Leica lens numbers include: 11869, 11870, 11871, 11872, 11860 and these were manufactured between 1961-1995.
Next came the more modern Leica Summilux 35mm f1.4 aspherical lenses which were designed to be higher performing. Aspherical lenses contain more lens elements (9 elements in 5 groups including 2 aspherical elements) compared to the previous 7 elements in 5 groups pre-aspherical design. This makes aspherical lenses bigger and heavier with a larger front element (now 46mm or E46). Aspherical Leica lens numbers include: 11874, 11883, 11859 (1994-2009), 11663, 11675 (2010), 11726 (2022).
Spotting the rare Leica Summilux 35mm f1.4 “11873”
Leica 11873 lenses were the first batch of aspherical Leica Summilux 35mm f1.4 lenses. Records state that only 2000 were made so this makes them collectors items and more valuable. Normal Leica Summilux 35mm f1.4 ASPH lenses have the lettering “ASPH” on the lens face. 11873 lenses have “ASPHERICAL” written instead. If ever you spot one of these at “normal Leica prices”, grab it as it should be listed for much more. “ASPHERICAL” on the front tells you it’s the legendary Leica Summilux 35mm f1.4 AA or “double aspherical”. This is where we bring in Light Lens Lab.
Who are Light Lens Lab?
If you’re new to the Leica ecosystem or have been living in a cave, Light Lens Lab came to market a few years ago when they did a remake of a famous Cooke lens (LLL 50mm f2 SPII)(Watch on YouTube). From there, this Chinese company has gone on to remake some of the most renowned and rare Leica lenses.
If we look at Leica lens remakes, Light Lens Lab have made homage lenses for the –
- Leica Elcan 50mm f2 (Summicron variant designed for US Military) – Review
- Leica Summicron 35mm f2 “8-Element” (v1) – YouTube
- Leica Noctilux 50mm f1.2 “1966” – YouTube
- Leica Summicron 50mm f2 “Rigid” – YouTube
- Leica Summilux 35mm f1.4 “AA” – This article
Their latest homage lens is a Dallmeyer Super Six 50mm f1.9 remake – Watch on YouTube
High hopes
After buying the LLL Elcan 50mm (in both M mount and LTM mount), their “8-Element” 35mm f2 (in both LTM and M mount) plus the amazing 50mm f1.2 “1966”, I had high hopes for their latest lens. Did Light Lens Lab meet my high expectations with their new LLL 35mm f1.4 AA “11873”?
Light Lens Lab 35mm f1.4 AA – First impressions
Before we look at sample photos, what were my first impressions of the new Light Lens Lab 35mm f1.4 AA “11873” lens? Straight out the box – it feels just like my Leica lenses. The aperture scale feels precise with a nice click and the focus throw is super smooth. The finish on the lens and the engraved lettering all look premium and exact, again similar to what I’m used to with Leica lenses.
If you enjoy using lenses with a modern focus tab like me then you’ll be happy with the tab design. I opted for the silver chrome version to match my silver Leica MP 0.85 and silver Leica M4 cameras. The plan was to use the lens on film as much as possible and mostly wide open at f1.4.
Why Leica Summilux lenses are special
If you’ve never used Leica lenses before let’s just recap why people are happy to pay premium prices for Leica Summilux lenses. If you go back to the time that the Leica Summilux 35mm f1.4 (or 50mm f1.4) aspherical lenses were released, these lenses were unparalleled.
As someone that came from using Nikon lenses it was just normal to expect to buy a f1.4 lens and then stop it down to f2 or f2.8 to get decent image quality. Other brands have made fast lenses but very few performed well shot wide open (especially some years ago at the time of release). The difference with Leica Summilux aspherical lenses is they are optimised to be shot wide open. You pay the premium to have a usable lens at f1.4.
(Off topic but similar – the same is true for Leica Q cameras. You don’t buy a Leica Q series camera to shoot it at f2.8 as the lens was designed to capture that magic look wide open at f1.7. You can just leave the lens at f1.7 and done). I feel the same is true for the Light Lens Lab 35mm f.4 AA so with that noted onto some sample photos.
Light Lens Lab 35mm f1.4 AA “11873”
Knowing that these lenses are deisgned to be shot wide open, how is the performance at f1.4? How good is the seperation, the out of focus rendering and the 3D pop? These photos below were shots on my Leica M10-P with the Light Lens Lab 35mm f1.4 AA at f1.4.
LLL 35mm f1.4 AA Sample Photos
The vignette is heavy wide open but I add that anyway in post using presets so I prefer it. Note – vignetting is always heavier on digital vs film if you’re a film shooter. I love the colours straight out of camera and the smooth transitions. Great centre sharpness wide open too for my usual portrait work etc. (The photos I’m sharing here are unedited RAW files btw).
How does the LLL 35mm f1.4 compare to the original?
I am yet to make a full YouTube video for the original Leica Summilux 35mm f1.4 AA but when I was teaching a Leica workshop the US in 2023 my student has his Leica AA lens with him and I took a few photos. Modern aspherical Summilux lenses have a certain look. A clean, sharp yet shallow look with a nice subject-background falloff.
Without doing an exact head to head comparison, to me the Light Lens Lab 35mm f1.4 AA has that Leica look and in a blind test there is no way I could tell the difference.
Double aspherical is a “hybrid lens”
If you browse on the various forums, Leica photographers than own all the various Leica lens describe the new Light Lens Lab 35mm f1.4 AA as having a look that’s between the Leica Summilux 35mm f1.4 FLE and the earlier Leica Summilux 35mm f1.4 Pre-ASPH. If you own these lenses that gives you something to visualise. I don’t own either Leica lens personally but I’m loving the results and it’s been glued to my cameras since it arrived.
Light Lens Lab 35mm f1.4 AA on film
If you’ve read my Leica articles before (subscribe to not miss the next one) you’ll know that I often enjoy softer vintage lenses on digital cameras and higher performing lenses on film. When ordered the Light Lens Lab 35mm f1.4 AA lens I had clear intentions. The plan was to leave it attached to my Leica MP or Leica M4 as a do-everything lens. Being able to use the lens wide open means I can shoot with limited available light and still get the results I need. Let’s look at some film scan example images next.
Leica MP + LLL 35mm f1.4 AA
My LLL 35mm f1.4 AA lens is already well travelled. First I took it with my as my primary lens for film when I was teaching in Fuerteventura. For this Leica workshop I was teaching model photography so it was mostly portraits.
Next I selected the lens to come with me for my Budapest trip. When I wasn’t doing photoshoots I was on the streets testing various film stocks for street photography, especially in low light. Let’s look at sample photos from both trips.
Light Lens Lab 35mm f1.4 AA for portraits
My first opportunity to use the Light Lens Lab 35mm AA lens for portraits was during one of my overseas Leica workshops (1:1 coaching on request). As someone that teaches private Leica workshops and model photography sessions (often combined) one of my former students invited me to Fuerteventura to teach. For digital photos I had my Leica M10-P (conversion) and below are some sample photos using the new Light Lens Lab 35mm f1.4 AA lens on that.
RAW files – Samples using the LLL 35mm f1.4 AA
To give you an idea of how the Light Lens Lab 35mm f1.4 AA lens performs, below are unedited RAW files from the Leica M10-P. The vignetting is artificially increased in some photos I as I added a 50mm hood (which blocks some light).
Light Lens Lab 35mm f1.4 AA + Leica MP (film)
For the Fuerteventura workshop I had my Leica MP 0.85 film camera with me too. Here are some sample using the Light Lens Lab 35mm f1.4 AA with various expired film stocks.
Budapest portraits – LLL 35mm f1.4 AA on film
Next stop was Budapest. Here are a few more film portraits using the Light Lens Lab 35mm f1.4 AA with expired colour film. (All the film was home processed with a Cinestill C41 kit and scanned with an Epson v800 scanner). (I scan B&W with the Valoi Easy35*).
Street photography using Light Lens Lab 35mm f1.4 AA
I’m not a street photographer but I enjoy exploring new cities and photographing light. For my Budapest trip I was comparing multiple colour film stocks. See my Will Kodak Vision3 AHU replace Cinestill? article for more.
Here are samples shots using the Light Lens Lab 35mm f1.4 AA on my Leica M4 and Leica MP.
Light Lens Lab 35mm f1.4 AA on 60MP sensor
You might be interested to see how the Light Lens Lab 35mm f1.4 AA lens performs on high megapixel sensors. I had the opportunity to borrow my student’s Leica SL3 Reporter for some testing in Fuerteventura. Below is a sample photo using this camera-lens combo.
From the multiple test images the LLL lens has no issues on 60MP sensors such as those found in the Leica SL3 and Leica M11/M11-P cameras.
Perfect lens for the UK weather
If you’re a film photographer in the UK you’ll know how much we struggle with lack of light for much of the year. Having a f1.4 lens is almost a must have. Here I was teaching another private 1:1 Leica workshop in London and the f1.4 maximum aperture allowed me to grab these BTS shots with my Leica MP on expired film.
Light Lens Lab 35mm f1.4 alternatives
Buying lenses continues to get more complicated as companies keep making us new lenses. Let’s cover some Light Lens Lab 35mm f1.4 AA alternatives if you’re on the market for a 35mm Leica M lens.
LLL 35mm f1.4 vs 8-Element
One question you might have is “Matt, how does the new LLL 35mm f1.4 AA compare to their LLL 35mm f2 8E?” From a practical standpoint, I like the smaller size of the Light Lens Lab 8 Element lens. For me their new AA lens is perfect to be shot wide open and is based on a high performance lens. The 8-Element lens is softer wide open at f2 than the AA at f1.4 but the 8E is based on a vintage lens so this is to be expected. Zero complaints from either lens and each have their signature look.
The AA is more useful in limited light and the 8E is great as a travel lens thanks to the smaller size. If you shoot everything at f5.6-f8 you may as well skip the larger LLL “11873” AA and get the compact LLL 8-Element instead. (I love the new AA but on a sunny day for travel photography I’d still pick up a smaller 35mm lens to shoot stopped down).
Voigtlander Nokton Classic 35mm f1.4 II vs LLL 35mm f1.4 AA
If you’re a street photographer, one of the most popular fast 35mm lenses for film shooters is the Voigtlander Nokton Classic 35mm f1.4 II. This lens is smaller than the Light Lens Lab 35mm f1.4 but I feel the AA has more 3D pop and magic shot wide open. Nokton Classic lenses are also known for their more nervous bokeh so that might be a love/ hate thing. (I’ll perhaps try to organise a follow-up video to compare these two popular lenses). Stay tuned.
Fun fact – It’s said that the Voigtlander Nokton Classic 35mm f1.4 lens design was also inspired by the Leica Summilux 35mm f1.4 pre-ASPH lenses.
Funleader 35mm f1.4 (Artizlab) vs LLL 35mm f1.4 AA
Another lens that i’ve raved about in the past, the Funleader Artizlab 35mm f1.4. Like the Nokton Classic lenses the Artizlab is also based on a Leica Summilux 35mm f1.4 Pre-ASPH lens. I find the lens too soft at f1.4 for film but fantastic from f2, especially for edge sharpness. Drawbacks of the Artizlab from a practical perspective is, like the Leica Summilux Pre-ASPH lenses, the minimum focus distance is limited to 1m. The lens also has no filter thread as inspired by the Leica original. The positives are the small size, light weight and equally nice finish.
When I did the Funleader Artizlab 35mm f1.4 vs Light Lens Lab 35mm f1.4 AA lens shootout for the video both lenses had pros and cons. From my testing the Artizlab lens is one of the best 35mm lenses of those mentioned in this article for near edge to edge sharpness from f2 onwards, all except the extreme corners and edges. On digital the corners smear but on film to a lesser extent. Wide open the Artizlab has more characterful bokeh and suffers more from lens flare at f1.4. See the YouTube video for the side to side test photos.
If you want a lens to stop down as a walkabout lens the Funleader Artizlab 35mm f1.4 is great as an every day carry for film thanks to the low weight and small size. When shooting black and white film I use a series VII vented hood and Series VII yellow filter and it looks fantastic. (To overcome the lack of filter thread).
Thypoch Simera 35mm f1.4 vs LLL 35mm f1.4 AA
You will see a pattern emerging when I say that the next lens is based on the Leica Summilux 35mm f1.4 FLE lens. Unlike the previous two mentioned lenses, the Thypoch Simera 35mm f1.4 optical design is based on the later FLE or Asperical lens design. This means higher performance from the get-go at f1.4. It also means that the Thypoch Simera 35mm f1.4 might be closer than most lenses to the Light Lens Lab 35mm f1.4 AA.
Both lenses are sharp enough to be used wide open at f1.4. Both have beautiful rendering. The Thypoch has the advance of being able to focus from 0.45m (and rangefinder coupled from 0.7m). Both lenses are bigger than small lenses like the mentioned Artizlab and Voigtlander Nokton Classic.
I was interested to see how these lenses compared head to head so I included the Thypoch Simera in my shootout video (linked later in the article). From my quick test the Thypoch Simera 35mm f1.4 lens has a warmer more saturated look compared to the LLL AA. Watch the video for side by side test photos.
Best Leica M mount 35mm f1.4 for video?
One thing I will say about the Thypoch Simera 35mm f1.4 lens is it’s fantastic for video. Shooting this lens towards the sun creates the most pleasing cinematic looking footage and bokeh. The problem with almost every Leica M mount lens is they are not designed for video use specifically so are often too small to fit a professional video rig setup.
Thypoch saw this gap in the market and teamed up with their sister company DZO-Film to create the Thypoch Simera-C lenses. The Thypoch Simera-C 35mm f1.4 lens is based on the very pricey Leica Hugo 35mm f1.4 cine lens (which in turn has the same optics as the Leica Summilux 35mm f1.4 FLE but rehoused for video use – with gearing etc). If you found this article but your interest is video I would defintely consider the Thypoch Simera-C lenses which have gearing for focus pulling and aperture controls. (*Thypoch C-variant lenses have the same optics as standard Thypoch Simera lenses but are not rangefinder coupled).
Zeiss Distagon 35mm f1.4 ZM vs LLL 35mm f1.4 AA
Another high performing 35mm f1.4 lens for Leica M mount is the Zeiss Distagon 35mm f1.4 ZM. When I borrowed this lens from a student I was immediately impressed and at the time if felt like it had more bite, more apparent sharpness, more pop that the modern Leica Summilux 35mm f1.4 FLE. I think this is partly due to the Zeiss look which tends to be higher contrast.
Problems with the Distagon for me are the size and weight. It’s big and it makes a Leica M camera front heavy. It’s also not overly cheap even when bought used. The Distagon would be my first choice if I shot architecture but for my portraits I prefer a smoother rendering. I’ve not shot the Zeiss Distagon 35mm f1.4 ZM vs LLL 35mm f1.4 AA head to head but I feel it would be obvious as to which lens took the photo (good or bad).
35mm f1.2 vs f1.4
Can you see much of a difference between a 35mm f1.2 lens and a 35mm f1.4 lens? I’m sure the answer will come down to the specific lenses. If we take 35mm f1.2 lenses, historically there was only one. The Voigtlander Nokton 35mm f1.2 ASPH. I own the version II of this lens. It’s big, it’s heavy but it’s fantastic for portraits (as is the later v3 and v4).
A new kid on the block is the Leica Noctilux 35mm f1.2. I’ve yet to test this lens but it’s said to have the signature Noctilux look. (I own the Leica Noctilux 50mm f1 so I can visualise it). I’d love to compare my Voigtlander Nokton 35mm f1.2 ASPH to the Leica Noctilux 35mm f1.2 when I get a chance.
Voigtlander Nokton 35mm f1.2 vs LLL 35mm f1.4 AA
Back to the topic, 35mm f1.2 vs 35mm f1.4. I was interested to see the difference between the Voigtlander Nokton 35mm f1.2 vs Light Lens Lab 35mm f1.4 AA. Both lenses are aspherical design, both lenses are high performers. Did the faster f1.2 maximum aperture give a special look that I can’t achieve with a f1.4 lens? It was time to do a head to head test!
The mentioned shootout video is shared later in the article but to recap the Nokton lens was one of the best performers of my quick test. I found the sharpness and rendering equal or better than the Leica replica from Light Lens Lab.
The biggest drawback of the Nokton 35mm f1.2 ASPH II is the size and weight (but the v3 and v4 versions were both made to be lighter). This is the primary reason why my 35mm f1.2 lens doesn’t get the love it deserves. I always pick a lighter / smaller lens when packing for my overseas shoots.
Leica Summilux 35mm f1.4 Pre-ASPH vs LLL 35mm f1.4 AA
I had the opportunity to test the Leica Summilux 35mm f1.4 Pre-ASPH verses the Light Lens Lab 35mm f1.4 AA. I included a few test shots in the YouTube video but overall the older Pre-ASPH design had more of that vintage “Leica glow” look but the undying sharpness was still pretty decent. (See the video).
The modern multi-coated LLL 35mm f1.4 AA suffered less from lens flare (though not completely absent) and it has the advantage of 0.7m close focus versus only 1m on the older Leica lens design. The older Leica Summilux 35mm f1.4 Pre-ASPH wins for size being around 50% smaller than the double aspherical Light Lens Lab design (More similar size wise to a Leica Summicron 35mm f2 Pre-ASPH (v2 or v3) or the Mandler 35mm f2 7-Elements).
During my YouTube video shootout the modern LLL 35mm f1.4 lacked the vintage Leica glow of the Pre-ASPH lens. The older lens design gave a distinct glow around highlights but when you zoom in on the image the detail and resolution is still there. Pre-ASPH photos just look softer at first glance from the glow and reduced contrast.
Better than the Leica Summilux 35mm f1.4 FLE?
I know when the lens was released many 35mm Leica shooters flocked to the Leica Summilux 35mm f1.4 FLE lens. One of my London workshop students kindly leant me the lens to review and i’ll be honest I wasn’t impressed. The photos just had no wow factor or pop (the above-mentioned Zeiss Distagon was on another level in comparison) yet I know the lens has a loyal following so maybe I just had a bad copy.
Considering how similar the Light Lens Lab 35mm f1.4 AA is said to be to the original Leica FLE lens, for me it has at least 25% more magic thanks to the double aspherical lens design. Sadly I can’t prove it as I don’t have the FLE lens to compare against but i’m sure other reviewers will be sharing sample images.
Benefits of the Leica Summilux 35mm f1.4 FLE II
In recent years Leica released their new and improved Leica Summilux 35mm f1.4 FLE II. One advantage of the new lens is the ability to focus down to 0.4m compared to ther standard 0.7m found on most lenses. I did a head to head comparison between the FLE II and the Leica Summicron 35mm f2 APO. See the results below
Preliminary verdict
After using the Light Lens Lab 35mm f1.4 AA for a few months on both film and digital camera I would say it’s a keeper and Light Lens Lab have done a fantastic job, yet again. It’s not my smallest 35mm lens but the performance wide open at f1.4 means it’s my new do-everything lens for film, especially in the darker winter months or for indoor portraits.
I don’t mind carrying a slightly bigger lens if it provides a benefit over smaller lenses. Being able to use the lens at f1.4 is valuable when shooting in low light. (I’m not anti larger cameras/ lenses/ kit if they are good. A great example, I fly with a Hasselblad 500 series camera sometimes. Yes it’s bigger but it gives a look I can’t achieve with 35mm film). Equally sometimes I fill my bag with a big high power LED light as regardless of the lens, the light is the most important factor for portraiture.
YouTube – Light Lens Lab 35mm f1.4 AA
For a more detailed explanation as to why I love this lens see my YouTube video which includes a visual, more sample photos and comparison test photos with other 35mm lenses.
Buying a Light Lens Lab 35mm f1.4 AA
After all that testing and photos, if you’re now feeling inspired to pick up a Light Lens Lab 35mm f1.4 AA check out their website for pricing – HERE (For 5% off try using code “MRLEICA” or “MRLEICACOM”). Buying directly from the official website means you get a 12 month warranty and peace of mind.
When I bought my various Light Lens Lab lenses they ship to the UK via UPS (with tracking) and there were no import fees incurred when the lens arrived. (In the past when I bought lenses on eBay from overseas I got the dreaded letter in the post – import fees due).
Are you a 35mm shooter?
You may also like these 35mm lens articles –
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I would to see Leica make a SL3 camera that I can use right out of the box,why because those menu’s are too complicated.Also why can’t we have the aperture settings on the lens as they were on the film cameras.That would add something to the SL3 lenses. (69michaelc@gmail.com)
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