Dan Kerin

Light Lens Lab 50mm F/1.9 SZ6

This will be my second lens I am reviewing from Light Lens Lab and after the previous 75mm, it was actually quite nice to go back to a focal length I am more familiar with. This 50mm f1.9 lens from Light Lens Lab pays homage to the Dallmeyer Super Six lenses, which were produced by Dallmeyer optics from the 1930’s through to the 1950’s. At the time these lenses were famed for their low light performance and dream like rendering. Light Lens Lab have decided to house this lens in the 50mm Summicron Rigid housing which I think is a nicer option than some of their other designs which deviate from traditional Leica lens design ascetics. The lens features a full brass alloy construction which means in the hands it feels really well put together and should last the test of time. The version I am reviewing is the low contrast variant which preserves greater highlight and shadow detail, emphasising the original super six character with a more film like tonal response.

When mounted on the camera the lens feels right at home. Being housed in a traditional Leica lens chassis means this lens suits any Leica M camera very well. The lens is fairly heavy for its size coming in at 263g, for me this did not cause any issues and just reassured me of the quality construction.  The first outing with this lens was to the Bievres camera fair just outside of Paris. This is a yearly fair that has been going on 62 years and where many photographic hidden gems can be found. For the trip I paired the lens with my Leica M3 and Kodak XX motion picture film. It felt like a walk down memory lane as this very time last year I was also shooting my M3 with a 50mm Summicron dual range. A fair number of people stopped me as they had not seen a Summicron with the lovely blue coatings this lens carries before. After explaining to them it was not in fact a Summicron rigid many were taken back by the fit and finished and how well it looked paired on a classic Leica such as the M3.

After developing and scanning the first roll I was really impressed by the overall performance of this lens. While it did not have the overall dramatic characteristics of the Light Lens Lab 75mm f2 Speed Panchro that I just finished testing, this lens feels more like a lens you could easily use day to day. Wide open it does give that almost glowy cinematic look, but not overpowering. But when stopped down it is pin sharp. In some ways it kind of reminds me of older traditional Leica lenses one in particular which comes to mind is the 35mm Summilux version two, which when shot wide open is full of character but when stopped down becomes a very serious lens being tac sharp, a two in one lens if you will.

Overall I was very impressed with this lens and think it offers something different but not too much of a departure from the traditional Leica feel. For me one of the key selling points of this lens is just how good it looks mounted to a classic Leica M camera like the M3. I know looks are not everything but it just made me want to go out shooting with this lens more then the previous LLL 75mm SPII I reviewed. Also being a familiar focal length at 50mm means that all Leica M cameras support the correct framelines meaning it can be used on the full range of M bodies. While it may not be a ‘Leica’ lens it sure does feel and look like one, and for the price I really dont think you can go wrong. I have written about how much I love the Leica 50mm Summicron Rigid lens and while this still stands true, finding them in excellent optical condition is getting harder and harder and these days you can buy three of these LLL 50mm F/1.9 SZ6’s for the same price as an excellent condition Summicron Rigid!