Glass Bodies a variant-level encyclopedia of vintage lenses and cameras by iwillpat

Light Lens Lab 35mm f/1.4 Aspherical "11873"

Light Lens Lab · Leica M · 2025 · Double aspherical

Also known as: LLL 35mm f/1.4 Aspherical 11873 · Light Lens Lab 11873 · LLL 35 AA · Light Lens Lab double aspherical 35

Variants & identification

Variant Mount Years Serial ranges Production
Black Paint Leica M 2026 — —
Chrome Leica M 2026 — —
Titanium Grey Limited Edition Leica M 2025 — Limited, but not to a stated number: an earlier cap of 300 units was lifted after customer feedback, and the quantity built was set by the pre-orders taken before 21 November 2025 (Light Lens Lab)
High-Polished Titanium Limited Edition Leica M 2026 — Limited to 60 units worldwide (Light Lens Lab)
  1. The claim tested here, and it is a narrow one: that the schematic is reproduced and the glass is not. Both halves come from published specifications — nine elements in five groups with aspherics in groups 2 and 5 on both lenses, against Light Lens Lab's own account of newly developed ED and achromatic elements and moulded aspherics — but no source sets the two statements against each other or draws the distinction between copying a layout and copying a lens.
  2. STATUS: SHIPPED, and the only lens in this group with a full delivery history. Pre-orders opened 8 November 2025 at midnight EST; Titanium Grey shipments began 1 December 2025 and the aluminium finishes on 7 January 2026. Two of the four finishes were in stock on 4 September 2026, the two titanium editions were not.
  3. THE ELEMENT COUNT MATCHES THE ORIGINAL EXACTLY. Light Lens Lab publishes nine elements in five groups with aspherical surfaces in groups 2 and 5; the Leica Wiki gives nine in five for the Summilux-M 35mm f/1.4 ASPHERICAL, order number 11873, made 1991–1994 in fewer than about 4,000 copies. The layout is reproduced. See summilux-35mm-f14-aspherical.
  4. THE GLASS IS NOT. Light Lens Lab describes "newly developed Extra-Low Dispersion (ED) and Achromatic elements, together with a refined aspherical surface", and aspherics that are "precision-molded and manually polished" rather than figured by hand throughout. The original is the last Leica lens with hand-figured aspherics, and that manufacturing fact is most of why it is scarce and expensive. A copy that moulds them is not reproducing the thing that made the original hard to make.
  5. Light Lens Lab claims the original's controlled "glow" at f/1.4 is retained through lanthanide-infused optical glass. The claim is the maker's, is not quantified, and has not been tested against an original here.
  6. The 12587 hood and E46 filter thread are the original's own fittings, so accessories cross between the two lenses. Whether that helps or hurts depends on the reader: a period-correct hood on a modern copy is convenience for a user and one fewer distinguishing mark for a buyer.
  7. Prices as listed on 4 September 2026: $1,399 for either aluminium finish, $1,699 for Titanium Grey, $1,999 for High-Polished Titanium. Light Lens Lab's list at launch covered only the first three; the High-Polished edition of 60 units was added in 2026.
How to tell them apart (expand)
  • The name is a Leitz order number, not a year: 11873 is Leica's catalogue code for the Summilux-M 35mm f/1.4 ASPHERICAL of 1991–1994
  • Nine elements in five groups with the aspherical elements in groups 2 and 5 — the double-aspherical layout of the original
  • Preset diaphragm with half-stop lock settings, 10 blades, f/1.4 to f/16
  • 43 mm of length inside the camera against 56.19 mm overall — the difference is the part of the barrel that sits behind the flange
  • E46 filters and a clip-on 12587 hood, both matching the original's fittings

Black Paint:

  • 7075 aluminium barrel in black paint; 278 g
  • Matching black paint 12587 clip-on hood in the box

Chrome:

  • 7075 aluminium barrel in chrome; 278 g

Titanium Grey Limited Edition:

  • Titanium alloy barrel; 300 g rather than 278 g
  • Titanium front and rear caps, a titanium E46 hood and an aluminium black paint 12587 hood in the box

High-Polished Titanium Limited Edition:

  • Polished rather than bead-blasted titanium

Specifications

Formula
Double aspherical
Construction
9 elements / 5 groups
Aperture range
f/1.4–f/16
Diaphragm blades
10
Min. focus
0.7 m
Dimensions
52.94 × 56.19 mm
Weight
278 g
Filter
46 mm
Years manufactured
2025
Country
China
Material
7075 aircraft-grade aluminium alloy; titanium alloy on the limited editions
Original price
$1,399 (aluminium, black paint or chrome); $1,699 (Titanium Grey); $1,999 (High-Polished Titanium, from 2026)

What reviewers say

History

Light Lens Lab’s naming is usually a nickname — Rigid, Z21, Eight Element, Super Six. This one is a part number. 11873 is the order number Leitz printed in its own catalogue against the Summilux-M 35mm f/1.4 ASPHERICAL, the hand-ground double-aspherical lens built between 1991 and 1994 in under four thousand copies, and the catalog holds it at summilux-35mm-f14-aspherical. Choosing a Leitz order code rather than a nickname is a precise claim: not an homage to a family of fast 35s, but a copy of one specific lens.

On the schematic, the claim holds. Light Lens Lab publishes nine elements in five groups with aspherical elements in groups 2 and 5; the original is nine in five with two aspherical surfaces, which is where its collector name comes from. The layout has been reproduced, and the outward fittings with it — E46 filters, a clip-on 12587 hood, 0.7 m rangefinder-coupled focus, a ten-bladed preset diaphragm.

On the glass, the claim needs a qualification the maker supplies itself. The lens uses “newly developed Extra-Low Dispersion (ED) and Achromatic elements, together with a refined aspherical surface”, and its aspherics are precision-moulded and then hand-polished rather than ground and figured individually. That difference is not a detail. The reason the original is worth what it is worth is that Leica had not yet solved moulded aspherics in 1991 and had to make each surface the slow way, which is why fewer than four thousand exist. Reproducing the layout while replacing the process produces a lens with the original’s geometry and a different history — and a different price, $1,399 against five figures.

So the honest summary is that the schematic is the original’s and the glass is not, and Light Lens Lab says as much if read closely. What it also claims, and what cannot be checked from a specification, is that the original’s controlled glow at f/1.4 survives the substitution, delivered through lanthanide-infused elements. That is the interesting question about this lens and the one no published measurement answers.

Four finishes, one optical design. Black paint and chrome in 7075 aluminium at $1,399, 278 g apiece; a Titanium Grey limited edition at $1,699 and 300 g; and a High-Polished Titanium edition of sixty units at $1,999, added in 2026 rather than at launch. The titanium edition’s cap is itself a small piece of company history: a limit of 300 was announced, then lifted after customers objected, with the eventual quantity set by however many pre-orders arrived before 21 November 2025 — so the run size is unpublished rather than fixed. Pre-orders opened 8 November 2025, titanium shipped from 1 December, aluminium from 7 January 2026. In September 2026 the aluminium finishes were still in stock and both titanium editions were not.

One number on the specification sheet is worth reading carefully. The lens is 56.19 mm long but 43 mm in the camera; the rest sits behind the flange. Against the original’s compact barrel that is a lens of a different shape wearing the same hood.

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This history is AI-written, from the sources listed at the foot of the page. Where the record is silent it says so rather than filling the gap — but no human wrote these sentences.

Example photos

Sample photo wanted — shot with a Light Lens Lab 35mm f/1.4 Aspherical "11873"? We'd love to feature it (with credit).

Live listings

Asking price, USD: a median of $2,000 across 28 fixed-price listings on 2026-09-11 (middle half $1,400–$2,200). Tracked since 2026-09-06, 2 days: unchanged from $2,000.

By day
DateMedianMiddle halfListings
2026-09-11$2,000$1,400–$2,20028
2026-09-06$2,000$1,400–$2,20028

Asking prices from the listings scanned, not sales; junk-flagged rows and auction lots excluded; other currencies are not converted.

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Listings updated 2026-09-11. Links go to the shop or marketplace that carries the item.

Related: Summilux-M 35mm f/1.4 Aspherical (AA, double aspherical)

Sources (4)

Every page here is assembled from public sources, and the gaps are real ones. If you own this lens, know a serial number I'm missing, or can see where I have it wrong, tell me — corrections, serials and sample photos are all worth having.