Many comments have been posted and I am so pleased with the interest in M-Coder.
First and perhaps the most important response from me as well as Laptoprob and others, is this: There is not sufficient room between your lens and the m-mount of your camera body, for anything except ink on the surface of your M-lens. One of the reasons the ink wears off is because of the superlative flatness of the lens mount and camera body, and that these two surfaces touch each other. Leica machine cuts pockets in the lens base, to protect the white and dark painted surfaces from touching the m-mount and to keep them pristine. The temporary ink marks we want to create on our lenses must be thin because we cannot form any recessed pockets. If you choose to use paint to create the code markings on older lenses, you run a very high risk of contaminating your shutter curtain mechanism and CCD as the paint wears down and flakes off.
John L. and Gareth C. and Stu W.
thanks for your compliments. These early comments set the stage for me and put me in a good mood to pursue the idea to the next step.
Ben Z,
I understand your frustration with the paper templates. Of course I am happy to supply you with an M-Coder. The M-Coder grips the lens around the outside of the barrel and indexes from the lock ring groove. It’s difficult to position it improperly. You can toss your paper template away.
Etrigan63,
Thank you sir. Your salad bar photos are nice. You remind me that I must get back out on the street and make more photos and maybe less time on the camera accessories, although, I am enjoying this process immensely.
Sirius,
If we choose the proper ink to be used with M-Coder, then our temporary coding marks will stay on our lenses longer. Please have a look at the Thumbs Up, at least it will stay on your camera without the need for ink!
MJones,
You are spot on with your observations. I will paint the M-Coder name on the top side with white, which should be a good visual cue. As for the ink, by now you have probably read the comments about the Permanent Industrial Sharpies available and others. I will research them all.
Richard Marks,
I must agree, A software function would be most welcomed to select lens information. In the meantime, the M-Coder slips nicely into your photography kit and will provide good service for a long time on all your lenses
Stu W.
As I pointed out, there actually is not sufficient space for using paint on your lens. I feel the best approach for marking temporary coding marks is to find stronger marking ink.
RML,
Its a very nice compliment that you feel the M-Coder could be patented. However, patents are time consuming and expensive, at least from my perspective on this project. It is my best guess here that others will provide similar devices and that the function of the M-Coder is that of a stencil.
Ben Z.
I wish I had the courage to mill the pockets for lens codes myself. You have my admiration for your skill and confidence in modifying your lenses.
Hartlen,
Please send me an email with the list of the lenses you want to include. A chart of lens codes should be something I include and is also good idea I received from from Joe Mondello.
Doctor Zero,
Thinking about your idea I can only find little room for any codes. Perhaps you could suggest a list of the popular lenses you would consider first. If there is not enough room on the M-Coder, I will make a special indication of popular lenses on the lens code chart.
Robin Harrison,
Bingo
Gurtch,
Stand by…I started the injection mold making process for the M-Coder today!
Laptoprob,
Ooooow, I am no good with a Dremel. Now a CNC milling machine is another thing. But placing my precious lenses in the vicinity of either gives me chills. Best leave the meal cutting operations up to the experts in Sohlms, in my opinion.
Etrigan63,
John Milich adapters are so well done. I am however, approaching the coding challenge from the temporary marking perspective. The M-Coder slips into your camera kit and adapts to any of your lenses quickly and predictably.
Gary Sandhu,
As I wrote in my previous comments, there is no room for even the thickness of a sheet of paper. Better permanent makers will be the best solution for coding.
Baycrest,
I would have trouble getting the marks in the right places. The M-Coder Ring indexes from the lens locking groove, so the code marking openings are already in position. No need to transpose them from the side of the lens. That’s where I would get something crooked.
MJones,
Thanks for your detective work. I will give the Shapie Permament Industrial grade a try! Sounds like a big improvement. And thanks for your request for an M-Coder.
HetDraakje,
I looked at the Leica website link you provided. It’s a good effort. However, it does not index onto the lens mount. I see a provision to visually line up the stainless template, but no means to radially hold it in place. That is not a big problem, but one that means you must take greater care when using that stainless template. At least it won’t tear like a paper template and should last a very long time.
