Of the many Chinese lens manufacturers offering products to the world’s photographers, Light Lens Lab (LLL) is unique. The company is committed to producing near-perfect replicas of rare and celebrated vintage lenses, many of which were originally made by Leica. In an enlightening video, the founder of Light Lens Lab, Mr Zhou, recently shared the story behind the company.
Over the last several years, Macfilos has covered the growing wave of new lenses produced by Chinese manufacturers. A number of these companies specialise in M-Mount lenses for use with Leica rangefinder cameras. They offer a lower-cost alternative to the corresponding lenses produced by Leica itself, as highlighted for example in episode 24 in the exclusive Macfilos series, The M Files.
One company, in particular, stands out — both for its philosophy and the quality of its optics: Light Lens Lab. It has set about producing copies of a carefully chosen series of lenses, which are both prestigious and inaccessible.
A rave from the grave
A perfect example is their 50mm f/1.2 ASPH ‘1966’ lens, which was the subject of a Macfilos article several years ago. This is a faithful copy of the famous Leica Noctilux 50mm f/1.2 lens — no longer in production, and costing upwards of $30,000 if you can find a used one.
A brand-new Light Lens Lab version of this lens costs around £1,900|$2,500|€2,100. To produce it, LLL went to the trouble of recreating the unique glass used in manufacture of the original. They also worked out how to grind the aspherical elements critical to the lens’s performance when shot wide-open.
Several years ago, Leica released its own recreation of the f/1.2 Noctilux, in black glossy paint. It costs about £7,200|$9,000|€7,900. You can find a Macfilos article about it here.
The LLL business model is not without its critics. Some commentators take the view that the company is taking advantage of the extensive research and development investments made by the originator, Leica. However, as Mr Zhou points out in the interview below, the patents on these vintage lenses have expired.
Patent pending
As anyone familiar with the world of patents knows, an inventor is granted a 20-year exclusivity on their patented invention. In return, they disclose exactly how their invention works. After the patent has expired, and this exclusivity period has lapsed, anyone is free to make ‘generic’ copies of the invention.
We, the consumers, benefit from this arrangement in many spheres, such as pharmaceuticals.
Mr. Zhou and his team are therefore offering photographers a lower-cost alternative to the more expensive ‘branded’ product no longer covered by a patent. Just as generic drug manufacturers offer us a lower-cost alternative to the more expensive ‘branded’ pharmaceutical product, LLL offers a generic lens. No longer covered by a patent.
Anyone who takes a generic drug to treat their hypertension should think twice about criticising Mr Zhou’s production of his ‘1966’ lens.
To date, Light Lens Lab has released several analogous replicas of famous lenses. We have posted articles about most of these, for which you can find links in the table below. Buyers should be aware though that these replicas come with all the quirks and aberrations of those original lenses.
Although these articles have often included extensive quotes from the company’s founder, Mr. Zhou, he has remained a somewhat mysterious figure. We therefore found it fascinating to hear directly from the man himself in the video below. We hope you find it interesting too.
| Light Lens Lab 35/1.4 Double Aspheric | Light Lens Lab 28/2.8 Nine Element |
| Light Lens Lab 50/2 Cooke Speed Panchro | M-Mount lenses from China: an overview |
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