Sonnar-7 wrote:
Most of the uv filters made even by big brands, are in super lightweight aluminium, slim and with knuckles and some green coating that cast some cold colors. I really don’t like those and it’s all I can usually find, it’s said to be to our benefit but the aluminium is unpleasant to the touch and scratch the threads, the knuckles are usually poorly thought out and prevent any bayonet accessory and when I use a vintage lens I prefer a warm cast. I don’t know, I miss old school filters.
I found a few brands like Nisi that make some brass more consistent uv filter with warm coating but they are not always easy to find here or some sizes are missing.
On another note, I’m pretty sure the LLL UV filter of the SPii is single coated if anything.
I’m not sure it improved to remove it, I didn’t tested enough by comparison but I felt it was better without....Show more →
B+W, Heliopan, and Breakthrough are all brass. Never noticed any tint imparted to the images from UV or clear from the major brands.
Sonnar-7 wrote:
Oh man I’m envious. Does it flare?
Love your M9 photos, that camera is still going strong by daylight.
I got really lucky. They had only 5 available and it was at a special price for the event.
I didn't have a lot of time to shoot with it and I didn’t shoot it into direct light, but it was still a sunny day and I didn’t notice any. The front element is a little recessed so I think it helps a little with flare, kind of like a hood.
Thank you! I love my M9 and the colors it produces.
highdesertmesa wrote:
B+W, Heliopan, and Breakthrough are all brass. Never noticed any tint imparted to the images from UV or clear from the major brands.
Only the more expensive breakthrough filters are brass, learned that the hard way
It does look a bit big though, do you know what is its diameter and length?
mgibo wrote:
I was fortunate enough to pick up a limited early release of the LLL 50mm f1.5 Z21 at a camera event in Japan today. This is my first lens from Light Lens Lab. My first impressions of the lens are that it is a lot lighter than I expected. Although it is a little front heavy mounted on my M9-P. The aperture ring is really smooth and the focus ring is a little bit more stiff compared to the aperture ring. Focusing is really easy and accurate with my M9. I know it’s not for everyone but I really like the character of this lense in the way it swirls. There is a bit of glow and purple fringing but I still really like it. The only thing I don’t like so far is the cap. It’s nice that it’s metal, but it’s a screw on type so it’s a pain to put on and take off.
I will attach a few photos I took around a park.
This is my first time uploading photos so I hope it works.
Excluding the first photo all of these are shot wide open at 1.5 with a Leica M9. JPEGs are SOOC. ...Show more →
highdesertmesa wrote:
I have to ask – did you order it straight from Breakthrough off their website? The ones on Amazon are all fake.
X2
H-K9L/AGC optical glass manufactured in Japan
8 layers of multi-coating—4 per side
Aluminum threading
3.5mm deep
X4
Shott B270 glass manufactured in Germany
16 layers of multi-coating—8 per side
Brass threading
3.1mm deep
Their official store on amazon is fake? Including the serial number which they approved for my warranty after I registered it? Not saying you're wrong, I would just be quite surprised.
mgibo wrote:
I was fortunate enough to pick up a limited early release of the LLL 50mm f1.5 Z21 at a camera event in Japan today.
I. am. jealous.
I've been waiting for that lens since the day I heard about it. I have always wanted to have Angenieux 50mm S21 but they are so ridiculously expensive not to mention they are almost impossible to find on the second hand market.
The official release day will be soon though
Has the price or price range estimate been announced yet?
H-K9L/AGC optical glass manufactured in Japan
8 layers of multi-coating—4 per side
Aluminum threading
3.5mm deep
X4
Shott B270 glass manufactured in Germany
16 layers of multi-coating—8 per side
Brass threading
3.1mm deep
Their official store on amazon is fake? Including the serial number which they approved for my warranty after I registered it? Not saying you're wrong, I would just be quite surprised.
There are organized efforts to swap out real products from Amazon with fake products then return them. I received two Breakthrough filters in a row from Amazon that I assume someone had swapped the filters out for generic ones without markings. I don't think Breakthrough checks the serial numbers via a database when you register it, but they might if you send it in under a warranty claim. You could always call them to be sure. Just not work the hassle to me to get a box of rocks from Amazon instead of what I ordered. So maybe not all of them are fake, but enough are that it's not worth it, at least for me.
highdesertmesa wrote:
There are organized efforts to swap out real products from Amazon with fake products then return them. I received two Breakthrough filters in a row from Amazon that I assume someone had swapped the filters out for generic ones without markings. I don't think Breakthrough checks the serial numbers via a database when you register it, but they might if you send it in under a warranty claim. You could always call them to be sure. Just not work the hassle to me to get a box of rocks from Amazon instead of what I ordered. So maybe not all of them are fake, but enough are that it's not worth it, at least for me....Show more →
Fred Miranda wrote:
I don't doubt what you're saying, but did you do a side by side comparison? Maybe one shot with the filter and one without? It's possible the filter that comes with the SPII is single coated.
Did a bit of testing today on the 8-element separate filter that they include with the safari edition. I assume its quality/build is the same for all of their stand-alone UV filters but perhaps not the built-in filters. I wasn't up to trying to test the actual SPII built-in filter since it's a pain to install and remove.
Results on the M11M (which makes it impossible to see color errors of course) showed that it takes 400% magnification to see any meaningful impact from the UV filter, whether that be at the center or the corner. The impact I saw before to the corners could have been related to color error and/or it could be that the thicker sensor stack of the SL2-S and S5IIX is more sensitive to having another layer of glass over the lens. Probably the latter.
Regarding flare shape and intensity – identical with/without the UV filter. However, flare definition was noticeably stronger with the UV filter and more diffuse without it. I'm not sure if this is due to a defect introduced by the UV filter or is due to a slight increase in contrast from filtering UV light on the Monochrome camera. I'm leaning toward the latter.
Adamwilbert wrote:
Either way the X2s are aluminum though right?
If that's what Breakthrough says. I wonder if they've always been that way or if they just moved to aluminum on the X2 after they introduced the X4. I think all of mine are X4, but I might have an old X2 that I could have sworn was brass – I'll have to double check and get back to you.
I've been waiting for that lens since the day I heard about it. I have always wanted to have Angenieux 50mm S21 but they are so ridiculously expensive not to mention they are almost impossible to find on the second hand market.
The official release day will be soon though
Has the price or price range estimate been announced yet?
Same here. Ever since I heard about it I’ve been following closely with the news about this lens. Got to play with it a few at various events here and finally picked one up yesterday.
I don’t know what the official price is but I paid 149,000 yen about 1000 usd. I’m not sure what it would be like in the US with all tariffs though.
mgibo wrote:
I was fortunate enough to pick up a limited early release of the LLL 50mm f1.5 Z21 at a camera event in Japan today. This is my first lens from Light Lens Lab. My first impressions of the lens are that it is a lot lighter than I expected. Although it is a little front heavy mounted on my M9-P. The aperture ring is really smooth and the focus ring is a little bit more stiff compared to the aperture ring. Focusing is really easy and accurate with my M9. I know it’s not for everyone but I really like the character of this lense in the way it swirls. There is a bit of glow and purple fringing but I still really like it. The only thing I don’t like so far is the cap. It’s nice that it’s metal, but it’s a screw on type so it’s a pain to put on and take off.
I will attach a few photos I took around a park.
This is my first time uploading photos so I hope it works.
Excluding the first photo all of these are shot wide open at 1.5 with a Leica M9. JPEGs are SOOC.
It has a similar vibe to the Light Lens Lab 50/2 SP2 but with more noticeable optical vignetting, creating more swirl. The bokeh balls on the SP2 are rounder toward the edges. I'm seeing a similar amount of outlining. I wonder if a side-by-side comparison will pop up soon.
mgibo wrote:
I was fortunate enough to pick up a limited early release of the LLL 50mm f1.5 Z21 at a camera event in Japan today. This is my first lens from Light Lens Lab. My first impressions of the lens are that it is a lot lighter than I expected. Although it is a little front heavy mounted on my M9-P. The aperture ring is really smooth and the focus ring is a little bit more stiff compared to the aperture ring. Focusing is really easy and accurate with my M9. I know it’s not for everyone but I really like the character of this lense in the way it swirls. There is a bit of glow and purple fringing but I still really like it. The only thing I don’t like so far is the cap. It’s nice that it’s metal, but it’s a screw on type so it’s a pain to put on and take off.
I will attach a few photos I took around a park.
This is my first time uploading photos so I hope it works.
Excluding the first photo all of these are shot wide open at 1.5 with a Leica M9. JPEGs are SOOC.
It does look a bit big though, do you know what is its diameter and length?
According to the specs, the Z21 is just 3mm longer than the LLL 50mm f/2 SP2, and it's also slightly lighter at 313g compared to 349g. So overall, very similar in size and weight. However, the SP2 is brass and the Z21 is aluminum.
I wouldn't call either of them large, but nothing really matches the compactness of the LLL 50mm f/2 Elcan. I should be getting a copy of the Z21 for review soon and will compare it with several other 50mm f/2 lenses.
Would be nice to compare it with your Lux V3 too, Fred
Fred Miranda wrote:
According to the specs, the Z21 is just 3mm longer than the LLL 50mm f/2 SP2, and it's also slightly lighter at 313g compared to 349g. So overall, very similar in size and weight. However, the SP2 is brass and the Z21 is aluminum.
I wouldn't call either of them large, but nothing really matches the compactness of the LLL 50mm f/2 Elcan. I should be getting a copy of the Z21 for review soon and will compare it with several other 50mm f/2 lenses.
Nick YR wrote:
Would be nice to compare it with your Lux V3 too, Fred
Definitely planning to test it against the 50mm f/1.4 Lux pre-asph.
From the optical design and barrel shape, the new LLL 50mm f/1.5 Z21 looks like it has a nicely "integrated" hood.
