M lens codes

[adan]

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On 10/5/2023 at 8:38 AM, jerrybro said:

I tried to access it but it appears that it's not available. Am I doing something wrong?

Nah - the link to the FORUM'S M lens codes list has been broken for ages- and no one with the access to fix it seems to care.

Try this one - although it also is missing post-2013 lenses.

https://moritzrecke.com/adding-6-bit-coding-to-leica-m-lenses/

Best bet for post-2013 lens codes (75 noctilux, 90 Summilux, 35 APO-Summicron, 35 Summilux steel-rim reissue, 28 Summaron re-issue, 90mm Thambar re-issue) is to try and find a web image (online shops, reviews etc.) that shows the mounting flange and coding pattern. Those all come with coding from the factory - but in case you want to "borrow" it for similar 3rd-party lenses.

[onelensman]

On 8/12/2023 at 12:20 AM, TAFFY said:

Hi can someone share the appropriate lens code for the Voigtlander Nokton 50 1.2? 
 

Would it be that of the Noctilux 50 1.2? Thanks

6-bit code of the new Leica Noctilux-M 1:1.2/50 ASPH

001110

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[Syrjames]

I only find 6bit codes for the Summicron 28mm.

Any pic of the 28mm Summilux so I can code my new Voigtlander 28mm f1.5?

Thank you!

 

[AndreasG]

Look here

https://www.natcam.com/products/leica-leitz-summilux-m-28mm-f1-4-asph-manual-focus-rangefinder-lens-black-11668/

[lct]

No experience but found this flange on e**y

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[yukosteel]

Posting it here, since more questions on known lenses list keep showing up. Related GDOC.

 

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[lct]

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6 hours ago, yukosteel said:

Posting it here, since more questions on known lenses list keep showing up. Related GDOC.

Great list. Order number of the black Summarit 75/2.4 is not 11645 but 11682. See attached specs.

Datenblatt_Summarit-M 2.4_75mm_e.pdf

[tobey bilek]

10 years too late, but had a good experience Akara Lab 6 bit coder.  I coded a bunch of lenses with those Chinese mounts with unpainted pits and DAG did one or two.  Chinese mounts were not always same thickness a Leica originals so I had to fuss with focus and one ws .001 inch different from one side to another.  Two I had to grind down thinner to match 039 inch originals.  All the frequently used have been done for a long time.  Then I saw Akara lab coder and did my new design ones but came uncoded and were 50+mm  and little correction was necessary .  My 75 2.0 APO did not read correctly, but I found the black paint was too glossy. Overpaint with new pen fixed it .

 

Really buy the suggested pens , Amazon, Great Britain.  The are oil base matt which dries in 15 minutes or less.  I  Did 6 or 8 lenses today and all came out well.  It took around 7/8 business days to get to Chicago. I spent $50, but could not ship to repair for that much.  Codes are enclosed with coder.
 

Edited June 26, 2024 by tobey bilek

[Musotographer]

On 6/26/2024 at 11:02 PM, tobey bilek said:

10 years too late, but had a good experience Akara Lab 6 bit coder.  I coded a bunch of lenses with those Chinese mounts with unpainted pits and DAG did one or two.  Chinese mounts were not always same thickness a Leica originals so I had to fuss with focus and one ws .001 inch different from one side to another.  Two I had to grind down thinner to match 039 inch originals.  All the frequently used have been done for a long time.  Then I saw Akara lab coder and did my new design ones but came uncoded and were 50+mm  and little correction was necessary .  My 75 2.0 APO did not read correctly, but I found the black paint was too glossy. Overpaint with new pen fixed it .

 

Really buy the suggested pens , Amazon, Great Britain.  The are oil base matt which dries in 15 minutes or less.  I  Did 6 or 8 lenses today and all came out well.  It took around 7/8 business days to get to Chicago. I spent $50, but could not ship to repair for that much.  Codes are enclosed with coder.
 

+1

At last, a foolproof gizmo for coding our older Leica or Zeiss or Voigtländer lenses - and if I can make it work then anyone can. I ordered it Thursday evening, it arrived this morning (Monday) and I now have two older Leica lenses and a Zeiss 50 coded and flawlessly recognised by my M10-R and M10M. I decided not to code the Summilux 35 v2 as there seems to be some doubt as to what the correct code actually should be, and as it is now my only uncoded M lens the cameras will anyway always recognise it as the last manually entered one.

The ink may wear off to some extent after a lot of use - but it really is a matter of only a couple of minutes to reapply it

I have nothing at all to do with Akara Labs other than being a very happy customer.

https://akaralabs.com

[wlaidlaw]

A pity it is in plastic. I have from 18 years ago, one of Tim Isaacs's (Thumbs-up) one of his M coder kits, identical in principle to the Akara Labs. It was extremely accurate when I first got it but is now a fraction out, which, given that the Leica dimensions have not changed, means the coding template must have warped slightly. I don't change lenses that often on my M cameras, usually picking up a different camera rather than changing lenses, so on the later digital M's I can just use manual lens selection. Some M cameras were easy to code for, e.g. M8 and M240, some are fussy pigs, like the M9 and M10-R. A lens I use quite a bit on my M10-R is the 1999 Special Edition  50 Summilux III-LTM, with a Kirin LTM to M adapter ring. I try to code this as an ordinary Summilux III but the slightest wear to the markings from mounting the lens and the M10-R thinks it is an ASPH 35 Summilux. 

Wilson

[lct]

2 hours ago, Musotographer said:

I decided not to code the Summilux 35 v2 as there seems to be some doubt as to what the correct code actually should be, and as it is now my only uncoded M lens the cameras will anyway always recognise it as the last manually entered one.

The ink may wear off to some extent after a lot of use - but it really is a matter of only a couple of minutes to reapply it

Only 6-bit code i know of for Summilux 35/1.4 v1 & v2 lenses is that of the current Summilux-M 35/1.4 reissue (001100). I would not pen-code flat surfaces like uncoded Leica lenses, though, since black paint or black ink rubbing off can cause false coding reading.

[lct]

33 minutes ago, wlaidlaw said:

A lens I use quite a bit on my M10-R is the 1999 Special Edition  50 Summilux III-LTM, with a Kirin LTM to M adapter ring. I try to code this as an ordinary Summilux III but the slightest wear to the markings from mounting the lens and the M10-R thinks it is an ASPH 35 Summilux.

Simple fix, choose a LTM to M adapter with 6-bit coding pits. Mine are Kipon 50/75 and 35/135.

[wlaidlaw]

3 hours ago, lct said:

Simple fix, choose a LTM to M adapter with 6-bit coding pits. Mine are Kipon 50/75 and 35/135.

I bought a Kipon adapter and it was very inaccurately machined, varying from 0.93mm to 0.97mm. Also the one I bought was bright aluminium which often gives the "no lens detected' reading from reflection of the IR LED's into the detectors. Other ones with pits like those made by the man in the Brooklyn Naval yard, whose name I forget, had the pits in the wrong place. The Kiron black anodised adapters are not cheap but they are very accurately machined and being black anodised do not give rise to the "no lens detected" message. I don't think anyone in the UK now stocks them and you have to get them from Dirk Rosler at Japan Camera Hunter. 

Wilson

[lct]

I have no experience with Kiron adapters, but my Kipon ones look well made actually. I didn't buy them in Japan but in Germany where Kipon seems to have a subsidiary or agent. Their website is here for those interested. The cost is about 60 EUR per adapter, including VAT and shipping to France by DHL. Just for info as I have no connection with them but based on my own experience I can only recommend them, sorry.

[Ecar]

On 7/15/2024 at 11:48 PM, wlaidlaw said:

I bought a Kipon adapter and it was very inaccurately machined, varying from 0.93mm to 0.97mm. Also the one I bought was bright aluminium which often gives the "no lens detected' reading from reflection of the IR LED's into the detectors. Other ones with pits like those made by the man in the Brooklyn Naval yard, whose name I forget, had the pits in the wrong place. The Kiron black anodised adapters are not cheap but they are very accurately machined and being black anodised do not give rise to the "no lens detected" message. I don't think anyone in the UK now stocks them and you have to get them from Dirk Rosler at Japan Camera Hunter. 

Wilson

"The man in the Brooklyn Naval Yard" was John Milich. He passed away nearly a decade ago IIRC. I agree that his machining of adapters or special hoods was not always flawless, but at least for a while he offered the hungry Leica crowd a solution that would sometimes work.

I too have had luck-of-the-draw experiences with Kipon ones.

Never heard of Kiron adapters... do you mean Rayqual (made by Kindai)? They do indeed come in black, are extremely well made - and expensive. Crucially, they allow to use infinity lock LTM lenses AND cover the 6-bit sensor, which is important for digital LV/EVF users. Dirk does indeed sell them (but that would be Japan Exposures, not JCH - a different company). So does Cameraquest in the US. I buy them directly from Japan Hobby Tool, who offer fast worldwide shipping.

[wlaidlaw]

1 hour ago, Ecar said:

"The man in the Brooklyn Naval Yard" was John Milich. He passed away nearly a decade ago IIRC. I agree that his machining of adapters or special hoods was not always flawless, but at least for a while he offered the hungry Leica crowd a solution that would sometimes work.

I too have had luck-of-the-draw experiences with Kipon ones.

Never heard of Kiron adapters... do you mean Rayqual (made by Kindai)? They do indeed come in black, are extremely well made - and expensive. Crucially, they allow to use infinity lock LTM lenses AND cover the 6-bit sensor, which is important for digital LV/EVF users. Dirk does indeed sell them (but that would be Japan Exposures, not JCH - a different company). So does Cameraquest in the US. I buy them directly from Japan Hobby Tool, who offer fast worldwide shipping.

Thanks for the information on John Milich. I came across him when he made the filter adapter for the WATE lens and then bought an LTM to M ring from him. I did of course mean Rayqual  for the adapter rings. I had Kiron on my brain, as I had just written an article for the Rolleiflex forum on the lenses made for the 66/6000 and 2000/3000 series Rolleiflex system cameras, where some of the better zooms were made by Kiron to Zeiss designs but although excellent optically, most have a fatal flaw that the diaphragms jam open and the lenses are exceedingly difficult to disassemble for repair. I have two 28-105 Rolleiflex/Kiron lenses for my 3003 Rollei, both with jammed diaphragms. I bought the second one as it supposedly had a free diaphragm. It worked twice then jammed.

I know I am missing one of the three Rayqual adapters but the other one is in the UK, so I cannot remember if I have 28/90 or 35/135. The 50/75 Rayqual is mounted on my LTM Special Edition Summilux, with me in France, currently on my M10-R.

Wilson

[BernardC]

3 hours ago, wlaidlaw said:

I had Kiron on my brain, as I had just written an article for the Rolleiflex forum on the lenses made for the 66/6000 and 2000/3000 series Rolleiflex system cameras

Wilson, which forum is this? Can you provide a link?

[wlaidlaw]

Bernard it is http://www.rolleiclub.com . However my article not yet published and given the disagreements between me and their editor, who seems to want to rewrite my whole article, I suspect it may never be published. 

Wilson

[lct]

29 minutes ago, Quarterpounder said:

I am chasing a 75mm 2.5 Summarit and came across one which is sold as "uncoded" - how can that be?

Never seen that. All Summarits 75/2.5 are coded AFAIK (101101)

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Hallo,

Look here: Leica M

[lct]

Lack of 6-bit code does not seem to be advertised here. It could be that coding pits are hidden on the photo so i would ask the seller for confirmation.

Edited December 26, 2024 by lct