ftllens wrote:
Trying not to post in Fred's thread until most of his review sections are completed. NBP renders for some combination looks.
Looks great on your M6. Feel free to post these images and any of your own samples in the review thread. I'll add a link to FM members' samples on the first page of the review.
Fred Miranda wrote:
Looks great on your M6. Feel free to post these images and any of your own samples in the review thread. I'll add a link to FM members' samples on the first page of the review.
To clarify those are just Nano Banana Pro AI renders, but I do have both the LLL Ti and FLE Ti/SS and will definitely add samples to the review thread in a few days.
That exact M6 Ti is available for sale along with the M7 repaint online but the M6 Ti combination seems more timeless, so will probably try to grab it overseas unless one pops up here on the marketplace.
ftllens wrote:
If all other components are identical, then a breakdown and weight of the housing would be required to confirm.
Just to reiterate this is a rumor I heard from two sources when they compared the /300 serial unit to the /998 units they stated there was a clear difference. I have no personal experience comparing the two.
Mainly I'm interested in the nuances of the website stating 300 limited and the discovery of the 998 serial production units.
I pre-ordered mine from a dealer in China just after the official pre-order announcement, and it is from the 998-production batch (as shown on the front engraving). The weight of my copy is 300g (w/o rear cap).
And I have previously purchased the titanium versions of the 1966 and the ELCAN directly from Light Lens Lab’s official website.
The handling and feel of this titanium 11873 are very similar to those of the two lenses, so this might be what Light Lens Lab referred to when mentioning an increase in overall production volume.
Delivered tonight. Quality seems very high and it’s a beautiful lens. Haven’t had a chance to shoot much with it as it was already well after dark. Only initial thing I notice is the focus throw on my copy is also not particularly smooth on the mfd end, as Fred noted with his copy as well.
FWIW mine is marked as my serial number out of 300, though I know production is around 800 or so.
Thank you for the hands on update. Fred did post on the review thread regarding so with your report we can surmise that the serial batch was extended to 998 [reportedly around 800 copies] with some front ring revisions for the 998 switchover batch.
I guess the rumor was just a rumor or just qc copy variance at most.
hans777 wrote:
I pre-ordered mine from a dealer in China just after the official pre-order announcement, and it is from the 998-production batch (as shown on the front engraving). The weight of my copy is 300g (w/o rear cap).
And I have previously purchased the titanium versions of the 1966 and the ELCAN directly from Light Lens Lab’s official website.
The handling and feel of this titanium 11873 are very similar to those of the two lenses, so this might be what Light Lens Lab referred to when mentioning an increase in overall production volume.
hans777 wrote:
I pre-ordered mine from a dealer in China just after the official pre-order announcement, and it is from the 998-production batch (as shown on the front engraving). The weight of my copy is 300g (w/o rear cap).
And I have previously purchased the titanium versions of the 1966 and the ELCAN directly from Light Lens Lab’s official website.
The handling and feel of this titanium 11873 are very similar to those of the two lenses, so this might be what Light Lens Lab referred to when mentioning an increase in overall production volume.
Note: Sorry, I can’t upload images directly here, so I’m sharing it via google drive instead.
Thanks! The engraving on your lens nameplate is quite different from mine. Changing the nameplate during production could create a lot of confusion, especially in the future when these versions are still circulating.
I thought it was confirmed by David, the total number of Titanium version was like 845 units or something. This is so strange. What would it say for person with order #402 say? Hmm...
I wonder if you got a black production unit ring by mistake in the stamping, if they are doing deliveries of those soon as well parts might get mixed in getting them all done, optics are the same, just housing different and the error slipped by. Those would have different numbers ? I assume they are busy producing those at this time in parallel to meet the calendar. Someday collectors item mistake... ! So you have a mixed bag TI and production unit number for the black/chrome
I assume they have a stamper for the metal that can be changed for each individual lens, and an error might have made when the stamper was producing your ring.
Fred Miranda wrote:
Thanks! The engraving on your lens nameplate is quite different from mine. Changing the nameplate during production could create a lot of confusion, especially in the future when these versions are still circulating.
IIRC similar happened with the Cron 8E replica. Those of us who preordered it through the RFF group were under the impression it was limited to X number copies, or that only X number would be made with flint glass, or something like that. Then things started going wonky with the batch/serial numbers and no one could keep track of which batch lenses were coming from. And it was revealed the lens was also being released to other markets and not just to us first, etc... I'd say this kind of confusion is just par for the course with LLL. It's possible initial demand was higher than expected and they adjusted on the fly and adjusted narratives to suit the revised numbering.
EMH2025 wrote:
I wonder if you got a black production unit ring by mistake in the stamping, if they are doing deliveries of those soon as well parts might get mixed in getting them all done, optics are the same, just housing different and the error slipped by. Those would have different numbers ? I assume they are busy producing those at this time in parallel to meet the calendar. Someday collectors item mistake... ! So you have a mixed bag TI and production unit number for the black/chrome
I assume they have a stamper for the metal that can be changed for each individual lens, and an error might have made when the stamper was producing your ring.
It might not be a mistake, because the front ring on my copy clearly has the “TI” marking, and my serial number is also below 300 (intentionally erased in the photo to avoid any issues).
From what I can see online, there are other lenses with the same front-ring layout as mine (xxx/998), and their serial numbers also appear to be below 300.
My guess is that LLL is using different serial-number schemes to distinguish sales channels for the China domestic market and for international customers, similar to what they did with the Z21: early China domestic orders were Matte Black Paint, while the global version came in High Gloss Black Paint, followed later by an additional Matte Black Paint.
In any case, regardless of how the serials are structured, the actual product seems to be the same; it’s just the numbering scheme that can be a bit confusing, and whether there may eventually be overlapping serials is anyone’s guess.
That said, my titanium 11873 from LLL is performing perfectly, and I’m genuinely grateful that LLL keeps bringing new life to these classic designs.
No matter how LLL ultimately decides to structure the serial-number logic, how this 11873 performs in real-world shooting is what matters most, and the best thing we can do is just take it out and enjoy making images with it.
Well, let's see some photos! For all those with the lens, add some photos to Fred's review thread. The more bokeh the better (inquiring minds want to know if Fred's lens is representative or an oddball).
rscheffler wrote:
Well, let's see some photos! For all those with the lens, add some photos to Fred's review thread. The more bokeh the better (inquiring minds want to know if Fred's lens is representative or an oddball).
I'm pretty confident my copy is a good one, since it’s well centered and sharp wide open, but I agree -- please post some samples in the review thread. I’ll add links to them on the front page. The more, the better.
Fred Miranda wrote:
I'm pretty confident my copy is a good one, since it’s well centered and sharp wide open, but I agree -- please post some samples in the review thread. I’ll add links to them on the front page. The more, the better.
I would love to post some pics but I'm still waiting for mine . . .
