hnet Posted December 8, 2009 Share #1 Posted December 8, 2009 Advertisement (gone after registration) Sorry for the newbie question. I'm sure this has been asked before, but are there any major lens quality differences between a brand new coded 35mm Summicron ASPH and an old 35mm Summicron ASPH other than the digital coding? Trying to decide if I should buy a used non-coded lens or a brand new one that is coded. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Advertisement Posted December 8, 2009 Posted December 8, 2009 Hi hnet, Take a look here 35 Summicron ASPH: To Code or Not To Code?. I'm sure you'll find what you were looking for!
cln Posted December 8, 2009 Share #2 Posted December 8, 2009 No major difference, you can even buy a coder kit and code the lens yourself using markers. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
swamiji Posted December 8, 2009 Share #3 Posted December 8, 2009 I 6-bit code only lenses that I use a lot. On the M8 I used the coder kit for the rest. On the M9 I use manual mode and select the lens. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
luigi bertolotti Posted December 9, 2009 Share #4 Posted December 9, 2009 The lens system in itself is the same : 35 asph is too a beautiful and useful lens to have it in less than perfect shape, and coding is very appreciable (I have M8 - almost mandatory because the UVIR is always on mine) ; I followed this way (almost 2 years ago) : I found a used uncoded at a dealer, had it sent from the dealer to Leica Customer Service for control and coding IN CASE they would verify that glass was 100% good : they did, they coded, I paid and had a like new coded Cron asph 1 year warranty, for a total price that anyway was around 40% lower than a new one. Less than perfect glass can be barely acceptable only for old tasty classics (I know well... have a lot of...), not for a modern masterpiece as the 35 Cron asph. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
hnet Posted December 9, 2009 Author Share #5 Posted December 9, 2009 The lens system in itself is the same : 35 asph is too a beautiful and useful lens to have it in less than perfect shape, and coding is very appreciable (I have M8 - almost mandatory because the UVIR is always on mine) ; I followed this way (almost 2 years ago) : I found a used uncoded at a dealer, had it sent from the dealer to Leica Customer Service for control and coding IN CASE they would verify that glass was 100% good : they did, they coded, I paid and had a like new coded Cron asph 1 year warranty, for a total price that anyway was around 40% lower than a new one.Less than perfect glass can be barely acceptable only for old tasty classics (I know well... have a lot of...), not for a modern masterpiece as the 35 Cron asph. New Summicron it is! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
d2mini Posted December 9, 2009 Share #6 Posted December 9, 2009 The coder kit is only $70. Any disadvantage to getting this rather than having a lens coded (new or old) coded by Leica? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
swamiji Posted December 9, 2009 Share #7 Posted December 9, 2009 Advertisement (gone after registration) The coder kit is only $70. Any disadvantage to getting this rather than having a lens coded (new or old) coded by Leica? Well, as Luigi pointed the coder kit won't verify and warrantee your lens, as part of the process. Also the code does rub off, and it's not always easy to get the marks just right. For me when it works it works well, but it does not always. I had a 35 lux, that I never got to work correctly with the coder kit. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Photoskeptic Posted December 9, 2009 Share #8 Posted December 9, 2009 I never saw a comparison for coded versus uncoded. My images don't seem to have suffered from lack of coding Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
pklein Posted December 9, 2009 Share #9 Posted December 9, 2009 Without coding (or selecting the lens in the M9 window), you'll get corners slightly tinted towards cyan with a 35mm lens. You won't notice it on most pictures, but you will see it if there is something uniformly white or light gray in the corners. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
larryk34 Posted December 10, 2009 Share #10 Posted December 10, 2009 I've shot blue skies, grey cloud skies, white walls with my 35 lux asph on the M8 without any coding. All in vain. I've never seen even a little tinted towards cyan in the corners. Maybe I have a magic lens. Best advice is to use it for a while without coding and see if you run into any problems. If not, keep shooting until you do, then decide if you need any coding. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bo_Lorentzen Posted December 10, 2009 Share #11 Posted December 10, 2009 Go for the coded lens, or have leica code it. Leica lenses don't really code well with "sharpie coding" I would only recommend this for a lens you leave on all the time, as the lens cap or mounting the lens on the camera can rub off the coding.. Sharpie coding works much better on new CV or Zeiss lenses with a recessed grove, the grove protect the code and prevent it from rubbing off. . Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
luigi bertolotti Posted December 10, 2009 Share #12 Posted December 10, 2009 Go for the coded lens, or have leica code it. Leica lenses don't really code well with "sharpie coding" I would only recommend this for a lens you leave on all the time, as the lens cap or mounting the lens on the camera can rub off the coding.. Sharpie coding works much better on new CV or Zeiss lenses with a recessed grove, the grove protect the code and prevent it from rubbing off. . Confirm : I was so happy to succeed in hand coding my Elmarit 28 3rd (so happy that even wrote of this in the forum... )... just to discover that after 5 or 6 remounts the info on lens magically disappeared... ; probably I could "refresh" the paint... annoying... As for the Summicron 35 asph : I leave always the UVIR on, and made some test with "lens recognition off" vs. "on with UVIR" : at f2, depending on scene, the difference at corners is quite visible on M8 DNGs. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
etp095 Posted December 10, 2009 Share #13 Posted December 10, 2009 The current price in the USA for coding $175,any lens.I called leica in NJ last week. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
jaapv Posted December 10, 2009 Share #14 Posted December 10, 2009 Confirm : I was so happy to succeed in hand coding my Elmarit 28 3rd (so happy that even wrote of this in the forum... )... just to discover that after 5 or 6 remounts the info on lens magically disappeared... ; probably I could "refresh" the paint... annoying... As for the Summicron 35 asph : I leave always the UVIR on, and made some test with "lens recognition off" vs. "on with UVIR" : at f2, depending on scene, the difference at corners is quite visible on M8 DNGs. On the M9 it is quite pronounced as well, without filter, obviously. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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