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Framelines and ZM lenses?


MA-Sweden

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Hello,

 

I´m new to Leica M cameras, but I know that it is a lever in the mount that activates the framelines for a certain Leica lens and I know that I can activate a frameline couple manually with the lever at the front of the camerabody too.

 

Does all of the ZM lenses activate the correct framelines in the Leica M9 or are there any exceptions?

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Hej Magnus,

om du beställer ett Zeiss ZM-objektiv från en leverantör, /if you order a Zeiss ZM lens from a dealer, / begär då uttryckligen / then ask expressly / att det har en bajonett "för Leica M" / that it must have a bayonet "for Leica M".

 

En komplett lista / A complete list / över ljusramar och sexbitkoder finner du här: /of frame positions and six bit codes is found here:

http://whimster-photography.com/leica_m_lens_codes/index.html

 

Den gamle mannen med guldramarna /The old man with the golden frames

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Then you have to have it milled for coding, of course. I have used Jon Milich, of Brooklyn, in spite of the transatlantic return voyage, and with excellent service, but I was an early Zeiss user. There may be others closer to Sweden by now.

 

The old man with the golden frames

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The older 21 lenses need to have their mounting ring changed.

 

Jaap, I just wanted to clarify this. Why does it matter what framelines come up on M9 or any M (except the M8) for that matter, if there are no 21mm framelines on the M system? I thought it was only the M8 where mattered because there you want to see the the 28mm framelines to show what you get with the 21mm lens. Am I correct? I just ordered a used Biogon 21/2.8 from Japan for my MP/M9 and I thought it did not matter if it was modified for the framelines.

thanks

Miklos

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Jaap, I just wanted to clarify this. Why does it matter what framelines come up on M9 or any M (except the M8) for that matter, if there are no 21mm framelines on the M system? I thought it was only the M8 where mattered because there you want to see the the 28mm framelines to show what you get with the 21mm lens. Am I correct? I just ordered a used Biogon 21/2.8 from Japan for my MP/M9 and I thought it did not matter if it was modified for the framelines.

thanks

Miklos

Just in case you want to code it a s a 21mm Elmarit you need the same frameline to be activated (28/90 in this case), otherwise the code will not be recognized.

Cheers,

Ario

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Miklos,

 

The M8 and the M9 require the same coding. When you mount a 21mm lens on an M8, you will be getting a 28mm field of view in full frame terms so, you have to use an external 28mm finder. If you use the same lens on an M9 (or any other film M body), you’ll have to use a 21mm external finder.

 

Things become more complicated when it comes to how the coding and lens-to-camera information transfer works on the M8 and M9. Because of how the firmware is set up, the only way that the camera can provide correct EXIF information and at the same time deliver proper correction, is when the lens keys in its correct frame lines.

 

Lenses that are wider than the frames of the M8/9, have to, by default, key in the 28mm frame – that is how the firmware is designed. So – if you have a correctly coded 21mm lens but it does not automatically key in the 28mm frame, the camera will not recognize the lens correctly. That is why all lenses wider than 24mm have to bring up the frame for the 28mm lens. It has nothing to do with framing, only with correct lens recognition and in-camera correction.

 

If you are using a Zeiss 21mm lens on an M8/9, the mount has to key in the 28mm frame. Once the lens is coded as a 21mm lens, the camera will recognize it as such but only if it activates the 28mm frame.

 

All this may sound like a lot of rambling and I hope it makes sense. For more information about coding, please check this site:

http://whimster-photography.com/leica_m_lens_codes/index.html

 

Best,

 

Jan Dvořák

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Jaap, I just wanted to clarify this. Why does it matter what framelines come up on M9 or any M (except the M8) for that matter, if there are no 21mm framelines on the M system? I thought it was only the M8 where mattered because there you want to see the the 28mm framelines to show what you get with the 21mm lens. Am I correct? I just ordered a used Biogon 21/2.8 from Japan for my MP/M9 and I thought it did not matter if it was modified for the framelines.

thanks

Miklos

Jan has it right. The camera needs the correct input of both lens and frameline selection to recognize a lens. Two reasons for that - it was needed for the 28-35-50 Tri-Elmar and it expands the number of combinations.
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That should be correct - I have not tried to do so as I don't have a lens that would qualify for the experiment - but the manual setting should override the automatic one.

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Jan or Jaap, one more question, if I don't bother you. If I manually select the 21/2.8 lens in the M9 menu, all this coding issue is irrelevant. Is that correct?

 

Yes, you are correct. I do it with my Zeiss lenses. Works perfectly.

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Yes, you are correct. I do it with my Zeiss lenses. Works perfectly.

The trouble is of course that you are setting yourself up for an unpleasant surprise -- when, after using a menu-identified lens, you mount a coded lens and forget to change back to auto identification. And that will happen, and when it has happened a few times, you will get the point of both coding and correct framelines.

 

Now if you have just one single lens and never change, then menu identification works just fine.

 

The old man from the Age of the Enigma Codes

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