RARE $30,000 lens for under $1,000?
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- Опубліковано 26 лип 2024
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The Light Lens Lab Elcan 50mm f/2 is a replica of the 1970s Leica Elcan which only about 550 of which were made for the US military. The Leica version is a rare collector's item and usually fetches higher than $30k at auctions. The Light Lens Lab version is an exact replica down to the same glass materials used in the lens and is actually affordable for photographers who want to use this rare character lens.
You can get yours at Popflash www.popflash.com/light-lens-lab/
Or from Light Lens Lab lightlenslab.myshopify.com/
Kevin Xu's photos with the original Elcan 50mm www.flickr.com/photos/kevin_w...
Watch more Lensdays videos • The TRUTH about Lens D...
0:00 What is the Leica ELCAN 50mm?
1:27 Thumbprint and Image Samples
3:50 Editing in Lightroom
5:31 ELCAN Optical Design
6:31 Is this lens radioactive?
7:57 Leica in Canada
8:58 Military Cameras and Lenses
10:05 Light Lens Lab
11:09 Ergonomics and Build Quality
12:26 Alternatives to the ELCAN 50mm
13:31 Where you can get this lens
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Ted Forbes
The Art of Photography
2830 S. Hulen, Studio 133
Fort Worth, TX 76109
US of A - Наука та технологія
Thanks for your videos on the Light Lens Labs lenses! Recently had a play with the 35mm 8-element and I'm pretty impressed, and that ultimately lead me to being interested in their SP II and Elcan, too - might just end up getting all of them while I can!
You should Kai - they're great lenses!
I really appreciate that companies are making more affordable versions of old, rare lenses. Meyer Optik is doing a similar thing, with some pretty rare lenses in the pipeline coming the next few years in addition to what they've already released.
Love the breakdown / illustration of the lens elements, and the description of the materials used in them, thanks!
I tried the original lens and found the lens is not sharp as the APO but the bokeh is much more beautiful than the APO
The great thing about Light Lens Lab - many of their lenses are available in LTM! Still too expensive for me at the moment, but since all other manufacturers have mostly dropped LTM (even though those are much more versatile), LLL is a boon!
I just bought my first Leica, an M10 and this was the 50mm that I ended up getting for my kit. Really cool lens, I love it!
I just got an M10 and bought the Panchro. I'd like to get this one at some point, too.
Love the companies behind these new lenses that bring back the classic style of photography.
Ey up Ted (greetings from Yorkshire in UK) ... very informative and interesting video as always. I cant afford a new Leica so am messing about with Fujifilm camera and Voigtlander lens, but really enjoying your reviews of this stuff. The high end gear is great, but unaffordable for many. These replicas are the way to go - keep up the good work!!!
Great review, love what LLL are doing and that 50 is awesome - price is right too. I see they're developing a 35mm 1.4 double ASPH as well, keeping a keen eye on that one!
I have this lens, and their 35mm f2 eight element Summicron clone. They are fantastic, with super build quality. Really looking forward to their Rigid Summicron clone, which is now in the design phase.
The last lens they made at the ELCAN facility was the Noctilux 1.0 before the current version came out.
Ted, your video here made me purchase this lens. Incredibly happy with it. Absolutely beautiful rendering and way sharper than I had expected. It will be a mainstay on my M Monochrom CCD
Your presets are a key part of my workflow in Lightroom.
Hey, how's it going? I just wanted to pop in and say congratulations on your latest video - I thought it was really helpful and informative! Your content is always spot on, and I wanted to let you know how much I appreciate you sharing your knowledge with us.
Sending sunny greetings from Spain! I hope you're having a fantastic day and continuing to create awesome content. Keep up the great work!
Thank you for this review. There is precious little on the interwebs about this lens. Lots of rave on the LLL 35mm 8 element but no one sings the praises of this lens. So it's good to see someone whose opinion I respect express such enthusiasm. I have been looking for a compact 50 and had considered a Voigt 50/2.8 but this looks like a way better choice. You spoke about the Nikkor RF lenses but how would this compare to a vintage Canon 50/1.8 ltm lens I wonder.
I have owned this lens for about a year and their 35mm f2 8 element for about 2 years. They are just fantastic - well built, great character, and small and compact. sadly, they are dismissed out of hand by many because they see them as lesser clones or outright rip offs of Leica designs. I have never used their Leica equivalents, so I can't say - I can only judge them on the results they provide and the price at which they do it. the 35mm f2 is my everyday carry, even though I have a 35 lux. It's not a better vs. lesser thing, but the vintage look Light Lens Lab provides, even on digital sensors is just wonderful.
Sadly, I received an email from Light Lens Lab that the Elcan 50mm f2 is being end of lifed. I am glad I have one. Get yours before they are gone.
Enjoyed this buddy. I’d love to try this on my m10r and see how it looks with 40mp, by the sounds of it, it won’t be a problem. Very cool lens. Cheers
Informative and thought provoking as ever Ted, thank you. I picked up the presets (shooting an M10-r) and they are fantastic !
Awesome! Glad you like them - enjoy!
Great looking presets!
the results that you are getting are beautiful. i'm glad you showed this.
Hi Ted. I really appreciate the great work you do. As an alternative, the Elmar-m is very similar and about the same price.
Thanks for this review of a very interesting lens. How did you find it on your Sony with your Novoflex? Could you compare the performance to, say the Voitlander 50mm APO?
I use a great old lens on my Sony A7; Kiev 50mm f2 / Jupiter-8M. Somebody on made a Contax to FE adapter.
It is a vintage copy of a Zeis Sonnar 50mm f2.
I received this lens a few weeks ago to use on my Canon R8 from Popflash ( a great company to work with). I gotta say, I am not disappointed! This lens build quality is very good. I've only been able to use it in doors just playing around as my schedule has been busy. But this lens on my R8 is a very nice setup, used with Ted's Film presets does help make some great images. I would suggest anyone questioning this lens to give it a try. This won't be the last Light Lens Lab I buy.
Thanks Ted!
Glad you’re enjoying it Jason. And the presets too!
@theartofphotography I am, it's just what I was looking for. I love the presets as well. I use the kadak and fuji presets all the time. Thanks for all the great video, love the channel.
sooo coool - thanks !!!
I love it to follow a certain lens maker! May I again, suggest to do the same with "Lensbaby"? I think especially their tilt-shift models and their clever construction every photographer should know about! I mean, which other maker produces tilt-shift lenses in the 100 - a few 100s $ range in high quality?
Not that it's my preference, but they sell pre-brassed lenses as well. So if you have a beat up Leica and want a matching worn lens you're set!
Hey mate,
I'd love to see those film profiles for ON1 Photo Raw if you can export them or set them up somehow?
Thanks
Rodger
LLL lenses are the best lenses out of china. I own the Elcan and cannot be more happy with it. Build quality is just superb and on par with voigtlander.
Thanks Ted . . . but even for *that* lens, I'd need to use all my food stamps and Safeway coupons! ;o)
I love this videos about M mount glass
Thanks for putting the spotlight on these Ted. I must admit they were under my radar a little. I just placed an order!
You’ll like it Matt. It’s really cool for portraits ;-)
@@theartofphotography Thanks Ted!! Yes absolutely, that's the plan! :)
Wonderful! I'll need this lens for my M4.
Which one do I get for a Sony a7c, and which adaptor do you recommend? There are 2 mount options.
Very interesting video. Will this be available in other lens mounts.
The photos from light Lens lab don’t look like the original Elcan though. It’s nothing like it in fact. It’s a good Len’s to have and has its own character in its own right but don’t buy it thinking it’s Elcan in rendition.
Would you happen to know where I could buy a lens cap for a 50mm F1.4 nicor SC lens and also a matching lens hood chrome exterior ?
Would you ever do a long term look at MTTR? I would be interested in your thoughts. I am not planning on buying more of them right now but I'm still holding some from a while back
Fun historic information! I wondered about other radioactive coatings and why we don't need them anymore so great info
It’s not a radioactive coating. The actual glass is doped with Lanthanum.
The reason why they stopped using Thoriated glass is because much better processes and materials were invented.
@Chris thank you! I gathered that from the video. I have mildly radioactive glass on some of my film camera lenses and the color rendition is quite nice to my taste. I just never bothered researching any specifics.
I hesitate, I'm very interested by this lens... But I have a Nikon z50 (an aps-c) and I was wondering if I was going to lose the blurish effect on the sides of the picture ? Thank you !
Hey Ted so I shoot with a sony a6000 and I have a zeiss 33mm f1.8 touit and it has a soap bubble effect it also has some other neet effects but I'm not sure what you would call them its fun to shoot this lens
Any thoughts regarding the TTArtisan 50mm F2?
I think voightlander also does similar stuff. As I recall they have 2 versions of a 40 with vintage coatings.
Hi, Ted! Thanks for all the great videos over all these years! Apologies for an OT question: I've noticed that You, and many other UA-camrs refer to entities like corporations as plural: "When Sony designs a new lens THEY...". I've always thought of entities as singular, "America exerts ITS power even though it's composed of many states and THEY don't all agree. California has ITS reputation, even though the many counties are diverse and THEY have different reputations." You don't seem to be alone in referring to what I think of as singular entities as plural, this tendency seems to be shared with other UA-camrs. Yet I don't find it in journalism or literature outside of UA-cam. Is there a reason you refer to, or think of, corporations and other entities as plural, as in "Sony they"? Thanks Ted!
Great review ! But hey Light Lens Labs, shall we try to replicate some portrait lenses, say somewhere in the 75mm - 100mm range ?
I bought mine in late Jan. It has that stealth nature because of its size and weight. I used it on Sony full frame camera and fuji gfx. On gfx it covers the whole image circle up to about 1.2 meter and it has increasing vinnet after that. On the Sony I tried both focus peaking and techart auto focus adapter. I still prefer manual focus. The lens has that old vintage rendering with good center and good bokeh. It does have blue fringing just like voigtlander 58mm f1.4 . 50mm is a very good focal length for both portrait and street photography.
Thanks!
Thank You!!
Ok. I am a Sony a7r4 shooter. I saw you had it mounted to a Sony. What adaptor did you use and I assume it would be fully manual lens.
ty for this.
I think it is also a size thing above anything, they likely wanted the kit to be high fidelity but take up less space/be lighter.
Regarding alternatives, you mention the Nikon rangefinder glass, and note it is a Zeiss copy. But original Zeiss Sonnars are easily found, as are the Soviet Jupiter copies, though a good contax adapter to use them is a bit harder to source.
Nikon lens were frequently made in Leica mount.
What would you choose between this Elcan or the Speed Panchro?
I wonder how this compares to the Summicron V3 of the same time period
As LLL just announced the Elcan is discontinued and you've referred to painterly qualities of both this and the Cooke, have any words of comparison between the two? Obviously different historical optical designs, but curious if you could only get one (my budget)?
I was on the waitlist for the Panchro but it is a much larger lens. Pretty sure it is a good deal longer than a 50mm Summicron then add that huge hood and it starts to look like a 90mm. I cancelled my Panchro order and grabbed the black paint Elcan which is on its way now. Probably not as painterly as the Panchro but I already have a 50mm f1.5 Summarit and I suspect the Panchro will be quite similar. The Elcan will have a bit less sharpness than a Summicron but is nearly half the size.
So I just want to confirm - it looks like LLL's lens are made of lanthanum - so it is NOT radioactive?
The lens looks beautiful and very well made, but it seems they replicated a 550 limited edition that goes to 30K to another 998 limited edition (written on the lens if I'm not wrong) which price is also gonna go up, certainly not as much as the Leica's one but it will.
I was going to buy one, but probably later. Then I saw LLL’s post from March 20, that they’re discontinuing this lens. I ordered one right away. Now even the copy of the classic will be limited.
The Best 50 is the regular Mandler Summicron with the built in hood (v5). Used you can get them for not that much more than that Chinese stuff.
Now all I need is a Leica.
is there any possible risk with the radioactivity of the lens?
I saw they’re thinking about making a 35/1.4 AA clone 👀
@benjhaisch please review the elcan!
Anybody have suggestions on finding a fashion photographer in the Dallas area?
Photography is expensive but I still like it 😂
Amazing video by the way 💪🏾
Photography can be expensive, but it doesn't have to be. There's a certain enjoyment from trying to get the best pictures you can with equipment that is less than optimal. I do macro photography with my cell phone, and I have gotten results that are comprable to setups that cost 3x what I payed for everything.
In general, you are correct in that it becomes an increasingly expensive hobby the more you are into it.
@@CeeJMantis right, and you can get superb Nikon, Minolta, Pentax and Olympus lenses for a bargain price! I use a 1973 105mm Nikkor lens on my Z6 body, and a 1980s 50mm.
I am happy that I still get one this week as they are already discontinued. I like the rendering of my first shots using my SL and CL. It's so tiny but still quite heavy. If you get one from LLL they even have different build versions. Thx for showing me this lens.
Hey Ted, I’m trying to buy your presets but your site isn’t working. Any word?
Works fine for me. Hmmm… theartofphotography.tv/presets
Cool sir 🙂
Just buy a Yashinon-DS 50mm f1.9 for £30. Very sharp, even wide open, and has a very similar look to this lens. Leica always over-price because their brand has a cult following.
Try a Canon 50/1.8 or 50/2.2 ltm lenses instead
I really like this company as well. I want that Cook design 50mm F2 from Light lens lab, you made the video some days before.
But unfortunately I didn’t found any information from their web, send the message no response.
Do you know they started to publish yet?
The big problem with thorium dioxide isn't directly the radioactivity but the fact that as it spits out particles it slowly turns into radium oxide... and this means the optical characteristics of the lenses change with time.... the Kodak Aero-Ektars made for WWII service sold after the war very cheaply and a lot of people put them on large format cameras, but by the seventies they looked terrible because some of the elements went cloudy.
You can reverse the yellowing with UV treatment. That will essentially bring back the light lost due to the darkening of the yellow cast.
@@princeharbinger : you can remove the yellowing but you can't get rid of the added coma.... they will never be as sharp as they were intended to be.
@Scott (Kludge) Dorsey I'm sorry, but I don't understand what you mean by "added coma." I thought coma had to do with the shape of the diode when photographing point light sources such as stars?
@@princeharbinger : The distortion characteristics of the lens changes.... off-axis points that looked good when the lens was new become smeared so the lens is no longer as sharp as it once was. The refractive index of the lens is changing too, not just the color.
Buy a Pentacon 50 1.8 - an adapter and save about 950 Bucks, dude... that's my advice😅
Radiation?
@@bngr_bngr I've never heard of that issue I must admit.... but I'm still alive, but barely use it :-)
I have the original lens and had the opportunity to test it against the LLL replica. The results of the photos taken by the original lens and the replica are not identical.
How fitting Ted, you make a video about a $30,000 lens and the first image you show from its replica is of the Bass Hall.
Saying the Elcan is super sharp is like saying the Ultron is super sharp. Relatively speaking they are for their time. But any current premium fifty beats them hands down. In fact, even a 1990s era 6~7 element Planar-Gauss lens beats them hands down.
Could this somehow be mounted on a Canon EF body?
No, but you could adapt it to a Canon R mount
It looks like a nice lens , though I'm not sure what to think with China on the front ? , shame , they could of engraved it on the rear , to me sadly it's a deal breaker , I know that's a shallow reason & I'm sure it's a fantastic lens.
As a nerd.... This is radioactive fuel. Actually i will prefer calling nerd radioactive from now on... Thank you
Hi Ted ❤
ohhhhhhhhh!!!!!!!!!
Damn, the old ELCAN factory is now owned by Raytheon, what a downgrade lol
I think I'll probably just buy two of the $30k originals and keep one as a spare for weekends and vacations.
I dont support copying others. For that price i would always get a Voigtlander or a Zeiss.
meh, save your hard earned cash instead
Nope not buying cheap Chinese lenses. China is good at knockoffs and counterfeit I don’t support these products. China makes counterfeit Leica M6 coming from Japan.
so its still overpriced for its performance, you just pay the extra leica-look, even if its not a leica lens.
I think most users are better off with investing into voigtländer
$1000 for that?! looks way inferior to $100 Nikkor 50mm's IMO. Leica fans are just crazy rich people.
when you look in the mirror do you see your ass?
Yes, let's all go out and buy more cheap Chinese copies of whatever.
You forgot to put the images taken with Leica Elcan and this lens side by side to show how similar they look. How do we know if these lenses actually look like Leica Elcan? A lot of vintage lenses with such characteristics are available out there for way cheaper and still seem to have better optical performance than this lens. My main take away after watching this is that Light Lens Lab has cooked up a story and paid you to propagate that story. No substance! Same deal as with your other LLL Cooke lens review. Losing trust very fast.
Only problem with that lens is it's made in China.
why is that a problem?