M8.2-coding lens vs. not coding lenses

[twopointeight]

I have an M8.2 and 3 lenses, all uncoded: 28mm Skopar, 35mm asphi summilux, 50mm summicron. The skopar is in the mail, so haven't used it. The 50 and 35 I use and they work well. What will I benefit by having all three lenses coded? And, what is the best way to do this without spending a fortune or lots of time waiting? But I will spend and wait if that's the way to do it right? Thanks.

 

[LCT]

Replacement flanges like jinfinance's (http://tinyurl.com/64mg4ha) work well with the lenses you mention i've been told.
Just use a 00 screwdriver.
My Summicrons 50 and 35 asph are coded already but i've mounted one of those flanges on my Summilux 50/1.4 pre-asph ant it works perfectly.
Do *not* try it on the Summilux 50/1.4 *asph* though as it won't work at all.
See http://tinyurl.com/6yuhsgd.

 

[Shade]

I think changing the flange into a 6bit coded one from leica would cost some fortune. Yoou would be better off coding the lens yourself.

And regarding benefit, you will probably get better light fall off performance coded. But that is probably about it, I can go shoot with uncoded lens all day and never mind about it.

 

[Rob-F]

Wide angle lenses should get first priority for coding. With a 50mm and longer, it is less important.

 

[kbg32]

Last time I had Leitz update a Leitz lens to 6 bit coding, it cost $125.00 and took two weeks. Jim Milich supplies LTM adapters with the notches cut, or you can send him the adapter and he will mill the notches for you. He also makes replacement brass lens mounts with notches for certain Zeiss lenses such as the ZM 18/4.

I had to find a replacement flange for my CV 25P to use on my M8. They are impossible to find here in the USA. Cameraquest, the Voigtlander distributor in the US, told me these parts are unavailable here. I ordered mine from a camera shop in New Zealand, sent it to Milich to mill the notches, and had a local camera repair shop swap them out. It works great!

 

[rogerzilla]

So...what do you code a CV lens as? Or an ancient screwmount Leitz lens? Does anyone have a table of the "nearest equivalent" Leica lens?

 

[brbo]

So...what do you code a CV lens as? Or an ancient screwmount Leitz lens? Does anyone have a table of the "nearest equivalent" Leica lens?

When you think about it, for every CV or Leica LTM lens there are not that many current Leica 6-bit coded "nearest equivalents".

On M8 you have to match focal length of the lens you are coding with that of the 6-bit coded Leica lens. You are probably down to 2 options after that and left with a single "equivalent" when you take maximum aperture of the lens into consideration...

List with some CV, Zeiss, Konica codes: http://whimster-photography.com/leica_m_lens_codes/index.html

 

[jaapv]

There are premilled flanges for Leica lenses on e-bay which appear to work well. The only hitch is that the little screwholes are a bit tight sometimes and have to be opened up slightly. If not the focussing may become stiff.

 

[Ben Z]

I coded my lenses myself with an electric rotary tool. I only did the black code recesses, and in cases where there were 2 consecutive one's I just made one double-wide. My DIY recesses don't look exactly like the factory one's but a) they work, and b) that's all I care about. My lenses are not cosmetically mint by any means, and if I ever sell them and the next owner doesn't like my job, the flanges are easily replaceable. I certainly saw no reason to spend $100 or more on coding for the Voitlander lenses some of which cost me <$200. I only coded lenses from 35mm and shorter, as I could care less whether EXIF shows what lens is used. Only interested in corrections for IR-filter-related color shifts.

 

[Doug]

My 35 f1.4 Nokton was coded by the previous owner with a rotary tool, so it looks a bit ragged but works fine. A Zeiss lens from PopFlash was sent by them directly to John Milich for milling and coding the original flange. About 10 other assorted lenses were sent to DAG for coding and a focus check/adjustment as needed.

I am happy with the work from DAG and feel comfortable that the lenses have been brought into closer agreement with the spec. That includes an older 35 Summicron, a 28 Summicron, a 21 Elmarit ASPH, and 35 Summilux ASPH, several Zeiss and CV lenses. Most needed some focus tweaking, and he did a CLA on a couple too. I think this is a good way to go about it.

I do like the lens ID (or a close facimile) to appear in the EXIF for my own convenience.

However, reading Sean Reid's reviews, it seems that many lenses are fine (or even better) on an M9 without coding, as the camera's corrections for corner color and vignetting are too strong.