Magenta Sides with 21mm's on M8

[mtomalty]

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Sorry,in advance, for a rehash of a fairly well documented topic but i'm struggling to get a handle

on this and can't find all the pertinent info buried in many threads.

 

First off, i'm three years late to the party and picked up a like new Leica refurb'd M8 (not .2)

a little over a week ago.

Picked up a new ZM 21 2.8 to 'simulate' the 28mm crop I was comfortable shooting when I was

formerly deep into film M's.

 

I have my ZM 21 manually coded as a non-asph 21 and camera detects it as such.

Lens has Leica brand IR filter in place.

Now that winter has set in in Montreal a lot of outdoor content I shoot will be fairly monochromatic

in nature and for the last few days, since the first major snowfall, the notorious magenta cast along

the horizontal sides has become an issue. Applying an opposite slightly green gradient works in some

cases but is not a solution I find ideal.

 

Thinking the ZM 21 was the principal culprit, I tested out today a manually coded Leica 21 2.8 asph

only to find the results pretty similar to the ZM.

 

Recalling that others have said they are getting clean results with these combinations I am left

wondering if this points to a variance among sensors with mine falling on the lower side of the scale.

 

Before looking at more drastic return options can anyone recommend anything different that I can

look at that might remedy the color cast

 

Thanks, in advance,

Mark

 

Mark Tomalty Photography Montreal Canada Travel Landscape Stock FineArt

[Nikkor AIS]

Suggestion 1. Go back to shooting. Suggestion 2. Remenber suggestion number 1.. Sorry to be a cheeky but the the wide angle with the digital M's are sometimes problematic. Iv heard people talk about a softwear corner fix but haver never needed it or tried it.

 

Gregory

[mtomalty]

Suggestion 1. Go back to shooting. Suggestion 2. Remenber suggestion number 1.:

 

...or suggestion #3 Ignore reply #1 :>))

Seriously, I shoot for a living so suggestion 1 is one I live by every day.

With that in mind, I don't have time to use a camera (professionally or recreationally) that

imposes a certain set of corrective workflow issues.

I'm hoping for suggestions that might minimize the magenta cast before the point of capture.

If, as you say, the M8 is problematic with wides, then back to the store it goes and some

other lucky individual can take advantage of a pretty good deal.

 

Mark

Mark Tomalty Photography Montreal Canada Travel Landscape Stock FineArt

[shootinglulu]

Mark, sorry i can't be of help...

I just spent a while looking through your portfolio, very enjoyable, thankyou.

[jaapv]

I think you will have to buy a subscription to Reid Reviews, not for a solution, but to get to see the extent of the problems and the camera corrections, which are documented there. The final software solution is Cornerfix

[UliWer]

... The final software solution is Cornerfix

 

I really do not hope that it will be the "final" solution for the problem of "red shifts" with wide-angle lenses! CornerShift solves it well, but I'd rather prefer Leica putting an end to the discussions about this issue with the next firmware update.

[geotrupede]

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Is the filter a UV-IR filter?

If not, then that is the problem.

G

[wda]

Mark, have you set lens identification in the menu? Sounds basic, but easily overlooked or zeroed inadvertently.

[sandymc]

M8s do produce red edges, but generally only very slightly - I've never actually seen a M8/21 mm combination that you could see the shift in normal use. If you can easily see it in normal images, then I'd be a bit suspicious of the camera. If it's just the normal very slight shift - well, CornerFix or maybe Photoshop in post are pretty much the only solutions, I'm afraid.

 

Sandy

[UliWer]

Though I can't speak of 21-mm-lenses but just about my own experience based on the 3.8/18mm-Elmar with the M8 and on what I' ve seen and read here in the forum mainly about the M9 I can only say that there are no substantial differences between both cameras. Whether you notice the issue does depend considerably on motive, lighting and especially white-balance: it is most evident under artificial light with equal lighting from both sides.

 

CornerShift solves the problem as well for the M8 as for the M9. From hearsay information about the proposed new firmware I hope that there will be an in-camera solution for both models in the not too far future. So I should not abandon any wide-angle lens before having seen the results of the firmware update.

[jaapv]

I really do not hope that it will be the "final" solution for the problem of "red shifts" with wide-angle lenses! CornerShift solves it well, but I'd rather prefer Leica putting an end to the discussions about this issue with the next firmware update.

Final not as in never - but at the moment.

[jaapv]

Mark, have you set lens identification in the menu? Sounds basic, but easily overlooked or zeroed inadvertently.

That sounds like a very sensible suggestion.

[UliWer]

Of course it's sensible to set the lens detection - though without lens detection the red shift may go away...

 

I think mtomalty told us already:

 

"I have my ZM 21 manually coded as a non-asph 21 and

camera detects it as such

."

The camera wouldn't detect a lens if lens detection was off.

 

And for the obvious question about filters:

"Lens has

Leica brand IR filter

in place."

 

I think Leica doesn't produce any IR-Filter which are not "UV/IR", or do they?

[jaapv]

Lens detection can be set to "on", or to "on/UV IR".

[Ronazle]

Mark, as of yet, I haven't had to use cornerfix. For my 21mm (a Zeiss C-Biogon), the ir blocking filter approach has worked well. I suggest you try alternate filter manufacturers, preferably for free in a well-stocked camera store - the B&W, Heliopan, or Panasonic(?) may work better for your lens than the Leica one. regards, ron

[Nikkor AIS]

Sorry missed typed the first one was supposed to be "Go back to shooting film". Sorry about that. I tested a 21 Super Angulon on the M9 and the red edge was there as well.

 

Gregory

[jaapv]

Mark, as of yet, I haven't had to use cornerfix. For my 21mm (a Zeiss C-Biogon), the ir blocking filter approach has worked well. I suggest you try alternate filter manufacturers, preferably for free in a well-stocked camera store - the B&W, Heliopan, or Panasonic(?) may work better for your lens than the Leica one. regards, ron

My Biogon 21/2.8 ZM had no problems in this respect with the Leica filter, coded as Elmarit 21/2.8 I cannot test it now , however, as it fell apart internally and has been in repair for a couple of months with no predicted date of return...

[UliWer]

Just to give an illustration what the "magenta sides" or the "red shift" issue are about and how different settings of lens-detection influence it.

http://www.l-camera-forum.com/leica-forum/forum-zur-leica-m8/98843-problem-mit-dem-super-elmar-18mm.html#post1040024

 

or here:

 

http://www.l-camera-forum.com/leica-forum/leica-m9-forum/103003-cornerfix-1-3-0-0-available-2.html#post1092262 .

 

All my examples taken with M8 and 3.8/18mm-Elmar.

 

(P.S. I noticed that I called "CornerFix" Corner"shift":o, sorry to SandyMc about that, for his creation really fixes it, and does not only shift it to the corners...)

[wda]

Of course it's sensible to set the lens detection - though without lens detection the red shift may go away...

 

I think mtomalty told us already:

 

"I have my ZM 21 manually coded as a non-asph 21 and

camera detects it as such

."

The camera wouldn't detect a lens if lens detection was off.

 

Despite the statement, it is still easy to reset the selection, inadvertently, once you change the parameters of your chosen presets mid-shoot.

 

I have the 21mm Elmarit lens which showed pronounced magenta casts on the left of frame before Leica coded the lens for me. The 21mm is a fine lens on the M8/8.2 I repeat, it is all too easy to reset preferences, inadvertently. I make a habit now of always checking lens recognition at the start of every shoot.

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Hallo,

Look here: Leica M

[mtomalty]

Thanks to all for the well-considered opinions.

 

For clarification sake my ZM21 is fitted with a Leica brand UV/IR filter (13418)

Menu setting was,and still is, set to "Lens Detection On + UV/IR"

 

Thinking I had found the Holy Grail late last night in another thread, here:

 

Leica M Lens Codes

 

I recoded my ZM21 as an Elmarit 21 asph, this morning but unfortunately found the results

pretty much on par as when the lens was coded as the non-asph version of the 21.

 

I guess it is just something I'm going to have to live with (or not) and resolve to build a generic action

to deal with it in post.

 

Not the end of the world, by any stretch, given the real problems out there but

disappointing nonetheless especially since I had based a lot of this decision to buy into

the M8 three years 'late' on a series of tests that I had done about a year ago with my dealers

demo M8 and his non asph 21 which has absolutely ZERO magenta/red cast.

 

Looking at these clean files in front of me now is a cruel taunt :>))

 

 

Thanks again to all.

Best,

Mark

 

Mark Tomalty Photography Montreal Canada Travel Landscape Stock FineArt

 

P.S.-Got your tongue-in-cheek intent, Gregory. Thx