Lens Encoding - Permanent

[rljones]

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I've had Leica encode my 35/1.4 and 24/2.8. But due to time constraints, I do not have enough time to allow them to encode my 1.0 Nocti. After looking at the threads and Carsten's site, I thought the Nocti should be easy to do.

 

I have only seen people doing discrete markings with Sharpies, however, it would seem to me that any black spots simply don't reflect light and the white ones do. The discrete locations for each encoded site would seem to be for easy filling with epoxy paint for Leica and should not be necessary. I decided to test it out.

 

First, I used the sharpie technique, but blocked out 5 straight sites with black, leaving one location for white epoxy paint. This is the proper pattern for the Nocti. It worked perfectly. This means that the black/white parts can be continuous with their same-colored neighbor.

 

I next decided to make it permanent by routing a channel for the black and white epoxy acrylic paint. I used a dremel and routed a row for for black and a small spot for the white. I covered the rear element with saran wrap to keep metal filings to a minimum. (For those who might cringe at using a dremel on a Leica lens, I'm one who dremeled my mirror on a 1Ds2 for Leica glass...)

 

I used a toothpick to fill the routed areas with the proper paint. After drying, it works perfectly, reading out as a 50 mm lens (which it did not before encoding).

 

The technique should work reasonably well on non-Leica glass and it will not wear off like a Sharpie because the epoxy paint is setting below the level of the mount. (The photo shows a step before the white was 'topped' up with more paint; it worked well either way.)

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[Jack MacDonough]

Glad to hear that your coding works. Admittedly it is not pretty. But I hate the slow fix that Leica offers. I sure wish there was someone with a machine shop in the US that could do this cleanly in a day so I could get it done without missing a lens for more than 4 days. Overnight to the service, one day of work, overnight back might get it done in just 3 days. The $125 per lens would be fair, if only I could be using my lens with only a 4 day delay. I know there may be legal issues with this, but someone should start a business.

[Shootist]

Let me add that it is possible to remove the mounting ring, if you can get the screws loose, to do the grooving without worrying about getting metal in the lens.

[marknorton]

Dr Walter Mandler will be spinning in his grave looking at this effort.I am very surprised you did this without removing the bayonet ring, don't tell me, you only have the cross-head screwdriver you used to fix up your pickup truck....

 

As you've discovered, the Nocti is one of the lenses where there's a screw hole in the middle of the code and a coded bayonet ring uses only 5 screws to secure it, not 6.

 

I'd recommend you check that the surface is perfectly smooth and there are no burrs which will scratch the camera lens mount. Not that you probably care.

[sean_reid]

You're a brave man, Robert and I'm glad it worked out well. Another forum member was kind enough to mill some Leitz adapters for me just as an experiment. I paint the colors in with black and white enamel nail polish and a toothpick. Patent issues might restrict anyone producing these commercially but individuals can certainly tinker. So here's another variation on your theme. I have some pictures of the painted rings...if I can find them.

 

Cheers,

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[sean_reid]

Found them...here's a painted adapter on a CV 35/1.7.

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[yoMammabot]

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Wow Sean! Very Tidy! me like!

I'll take 3!

[sean_reid]

I couldn't begin to do the kind of machining John did when he made these. I'm very grateful for his work. They're CNC machined (computer controlled cutting) based on John's own measurements and template, etc. I love them and would love to see Leica license its coding (even if only for LTM - M adapters for now) so that these could be made and sold. Needless to say, the old Leitz adapters they're based on are getting harder to find.

 

Cheers,

 

Sean

[rvaubel]

I couldn't begin to do the kind of machining John did when he made these. I'm very grateful for his work. They're CNC machined (computer controlled cutting) based on John's own measurements and template, etc. I love them and would love to see Leica license its coding (even if only for LTM - M adapters for now) so that these could be made and sold. Needless to say, the old Leitz adapters they're based on are getting harder to find.

 

Cheers,

 

Sean

 

I knew someone would finally do it I Finally got my M8 and an old Leitz adapter so I was about to machine one myself. By the way, some have had success with simple coding round dots instead of ovals. This means (for you non-machinist) that an end mill and a drill press will do the job....no need for a CNC mill !

 

The real problem is getting someone to manufacture the old style Leitz adapter. I doubt that any patent protection could remain on the adapter itself (after over 50 years). Once the Chinese get wind of this I suspect that we will be up to our eyeballs in adapters.

 

Rex

[rljones]

Mark,

 

There are no burrs.

 

I'm not too concerned about the beauty of the rear of the mount; if it works and takes photos, I'm happy.

 

The basic message from my post, however, was not how pretty it turned out, but that while the position of the white reflective spots is important, the shape and discreteness of white/black areas are not critical.

[jlm]

I wondered about the oval vs the dot; must have been some hedging in the Leica R/D dept about exact radial location/tolerance for the photodiodes as the coded lenses were released 8 months before the body. by the way, removing the standard Leica base ring and then machining it would be the way to go.

[sean_reid]

Mark,

 

There are no burrs.

 

I'm not too concerned about the beauty of the rear of the mount; if it works and takes photos, I'm happy.

 

The basic message from my post, however, was not how pretty it turned out, but that while the position of the white reflective spots is important, the shape and discreteness of white/black areas are not critical.

 

And it worked, which is the key thing.

 

Cheers,

 

Sean

[sean_reid]

I wondered about the oval vs the dot; must have been some hedging in the Leica R/D dept about exact radial location/tolerance for the photodiodes as the coded lenses were released 8 months before the body. by the way, removing the standard Leica base ring and then machining it would be the way to go.

 

Hi John,

 

Its good to know that the rings would function either way but I do like the elegance of the ovals in your cuts.

 

Cheers,

 

Sean

[Guest guy_mancuso]

I am a little confused here , I have the CV 15mm and the CV 28-90 adapter ring and are we saying this adapter will not work becuase it is to small and i need to get a leitz adapter instead, because i can't seem to code my adapter. So would this be what i am looking for

eBay: Leitz Wetzlar Leica M2, M3 Bayonet Lens Mount Adapter (item 280084146195 end time Feb-25-07 18:30:00 PST)

[sean_reid]

Hi Guy,

 

What you need is one of the old Leitz 9 cm adapters. The 21 Elmarit triggers the 28/90 frame lines and so does an older Leitz 9 cm adapter. You can then code the adapter with the 21 Elm Asph code. It won't fully correct for a 15 but it will get you closer than no code. Eventually, people will want to make the M8 think a 15 is a WA TE set to 16 mm but we can't do that yet.

 

The new style adapters, Leica, CV, etc. are notched right in the area where one needs to code them so they won't work unless you try to fill the notched area with a piece of cardboard or something - not an ideal solution. Leitz adapters have become rare on E-Bay so try various stores that might have old Leica stuff.

 

For the interiors/architecture shoot, my advice would be work tethered with no filter on the CV 15. Use Jamie's profiles and see if that can get color where you want it. If you can avoid filters on the 15, I'd recommend it because the cyan drift is pronounced with the filter and correcting for it will require some trial and error in Photoshop. If you can work without the filters on, the coding can still cut down the mild amount of vignetting.

 

Lastly...you were waiting to hear on the Zeiss. The WA TE did not arrive on time (I'm leaving for a long trip in a few days) so I can't do the full tests of the ultra wides yet. As time allows, however, I'll do a provisional article on the CV 12, CV 15 and Zeiss 15. If that's possible, it should be on line by Thursday night and you can compare the two 15s. I'd suggest buying the 12 (for your shoot) right now because you may well need it unless all of those room are huge. You can use that same hand-coded Leitz 9 cm adapter for both of those lenses (again, to cut vignetting).

 

Cheers,

 

Sean

[Guest guy_mancuso]

Thanks Sean, good info