WATE at PMA

[Englander]

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Dang, Laki, you're right. I should have looked at that before.

 

Now what's the difference--is it the lens or the camera or both? Newer firmware?

 

@Guy- Was it your camera that you used? or a newer version from Leica? Either way, I hate the idea that my brand new anxiously waited for WATE might already be superceded. Or is it a new firmware not available to us? I do not see any firmware designation in EXIF. Guy, I don't suppose you happened to look at the mount of the WATE or noticed if the frame lever moved when you changed focal lengths? Guy, you have to always wear that CIA earpiece so we can ask on-the-spot questions, oh Great Source. That PC-Guy's video camera from the Mac ad wouldn't be such a bad idea, either...

 

I have updated firmware but I still only get one WATE focal length in EXIF.

 

Probably the vignette/cyan correction will not work properly without the right focal length info and they have shown they can retreive that with their WATE. Hopefully it is something in the firmware otherwise, when did they start to change the WATEs? Are all the ones just reaching the shelves old? Will all have to be sent back like the early M8s? Sure hope not. I hope it is somehow in the firmware for mid-April.

 

Joe

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[scott kirkpatrick]

I checked some of Jono Slack's posts and found a WATE picture taken with 1.09 firmware that said focal length 18 mm, so it is not new with 1.092.

 

(correction, he showed one with 1.09 that did not show focal length. The one that did was with 1.091, and it showed 18 .. although the picture suggested that it was taken at 16 -- a skyfull of clouds.)

 

I think the firmware version doesn't show in Guy's posted images because he passed through CS3 beta, and that covers the firmware (which appears in a field called "software") with its own release details. EXIF has lots of fields of no obvious value, and not enough to answer our questions.

 

scott

[4season]

I see a couple of familiar faces there!

 

As for the lack of magenta, that's easy: Just shoot under lights which don't emit much IR.

[Englander]

Scott,

That's right. The EXIF for the WATE has returned 18 for 16 ,18, and 21; all at f/1. Now an f/1 at 18mm would be a great lens but it isn't the one I am using. What's new with Guy's report is that it can report changes in the WATE's focal lengths. What we all want to know is how it is done and if it requires returning stuff to Leica to make it happen.

 

Joe

[Englander]

Guy, do you still have the original DNGs? Can you check them to see what Firmware was installed on the camera that you used with the WATE? Thanks, Joe

[Guest guy_mancuso]

Dang, Laki, you're right. I should have looked at that before.

 

Now what's the difference--is it the lens or the camera or both? Newer firmware?

 

@Guy- Was it your camera that you used? or a newer version from Leica? Either way, I hate the idea that my brand new anxiously waited for WATE might already be superceded. Or is it a new firmware not available to us? I do not see any firmware designation in EXIF. Guy, I don't suppose you happened to look at the mount of the WATE or noticed if the frame lever moved when you changed focal lengths? Guy, you have to always wear that CIA earpiece so we can ask on-the-spot questions, oh Great Source. That PC-Guy's video camera from the Mac ad wouldn't be such a bad idea, either...

 

I have updated firmware but I still only get one WATE focal length in EXIF.

 

Probably the vignette/cyan correction will not work properly without the right focal length info and they have shown they can retreive that with their WATE. Hopefully it is something in the firmware otherwise, when did they start to change the WATEs? Are all the ones just reaching the shelves old? Will all have to be sent back like the early M8s? Sure hope not. I hope it is somehow in the firmware for mid-April.

 

Joe

 

Nothing secret here guys I have 1.092 on my camera and that was the one i used . I checked in both LR and PS it says 16mm and F1. leica does like the idea of at least putting the actual F stop of the lens in the EXif and thinks they may be able to do that . So folks using 2 different 50's know which one

[gogopix]

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PS: I have the WATE on order for 2 months now. Wonder when it'll show up?

Steve

Now you know why they call it that!

[scott kirkpatrick]

Guy, do you have a WATE shot taken at 21 mm. If so, what does its EXIF say?

 

scott

[Englander]

Well, Guy, if we are using the same camera with the same firmware, it must be the version of the WATE you were using. Wonder if they changed any of the ones they are selling or if you had your hands on a "prototype." Wonder if they put a frame-changer cam on it that doesn't change the frames. No longer wonder if moving the frame lever changes the EXIF; it doesn't. Wonder if they will update any of the WATES already sold. Wonder about the ones already shipped but not sold, are they updated or fixed? Wonder why they wouldn't tell anyone that the fix was in. Yeh, Leica really is a wonder.

 

Joe

[gogopix]

Dear Guy

 

Kidding aside, sometimes it just takes real life shots to push to a decision. I have been debating which lens to get for the 30% off, and these are just great. At 640, with people etc at f4 to get shots like that - I am convinced

 

but what was f stop again? was not wide open was it ?(I know even with 1.4 you like to go up a half stop or so.maybe 1.8) were these 4.8?

 

In any case, the letter and charge number are in the mail, so I will buy the

 

light

weight,

 

WATE, and

 

WAIT!

 

regards

 

:-)

[Guest guy_mancuso]

Well, Guy, if we are using the same camera with the same firmware, it must be the version of the WATE you were using. Wonder if they changed any of the ones they are selling or if you had your hands on a "prototype." Wonder if they put a frame-changer cam on it that doesn't change the frames. No longer wonder if moving the frame lever changes the EXIF; it doesn't. Wonder if they will update any of the WATES already sold. Wonder about the ones already shipped but not sold, are they updated or fixed? Wonder why they wouldn't tell anyone that the fix was in. Yeh, Leica really is a wonder.

 

Joe

 

 

Joe in the latest firmware maybe I am the only one that saw this but it said ALL lenses are in the EXIF data. i would assume that means the Wate. I believe this is the same lens as being delivered with the coding and my camera had the coding on. I believe ither wide open or at 5.6 i shot these but at ISO 640 and the are damn nice right to the corners

[Guest guy_mancuso]

I did not shoot one at 21mm .

[Englander]

I am using latest firmware and have lens detection on. With other coded lenses, it returns the correct focal length. With the WATE is always returns 18. I wonder if anyone else who now has a WATE gets EXIF data that shows focal length change with the WATE.

 

Joe

[osera]

I am using latest firmware and have lens detection on. With other coded lenses, it returns the correct focal length. With the WATE is always returns 18. I wonder if anyone else who now has a WATE gets EXIF data that shows focal length change with the WATE.

 

Joe

 

Just tried the same with my similar set-up - same results: 18mm at all three focal lengths. I have an early WATE.

[Guest guy_mancuso]

Here is my file guys

 

http://www.yousendit.com/transfer.php?action=batch_download&batch_id=T2djblRveDM4NVUwTVE9PQ

[gogopix]

Maybe the firmware just taking the last mounted lens frameline and 'interpreting' as 16-18-21

 

guy

if you mount two different frameline lenses and try the WATE after each, does the FL in EXIF change?

[Guest guy_mancuso]

I went from the WATE right to the 135 3.4 non coded and it shows no lens in the EXIF

[scott kirkpatrick]

Just to get the complete info -- Guy, did you take several shots at 16 mm and they all show 16 mm in the EXIF, not just the first one? Do you recall what frame lines were showing, and whether they changed when you changed from 16 to 18? The exif in your .dng file shows 16mm all right, possibly in two different places.

 

Joe -- what frame lines normally show in the WATE? Do they ever change?

 

I'm looking at the 1.092 firmware table of lenses to see where the information about a 16mm focal length is stored and what else appears alongside each of the three focal lengths.

 

scott

[cbretteville]

Comparing the 1.09 to 1.092 lens table there are a few bytes that differs in the immediate vicinity of the WATE name entry. Don't know if this is significant. Soemone must be able to get an answer from Leica if the mount has changed.

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[scott kirkpatrick]

Comparing the 1.09 to 1.092 lens table there are a few bytes that differs in the immediate vicinity of the WATE name entry. Don't know if this is significant.

 

The TE's ascii label is preceded by the unique frame code "04" and before that the three focal lengths, 28, 35, and 50 are each rendered in hex, 2 bytes apart. The WATE, like the 21s and 28s is preceded by the frame code "01" and slightly before that is a few bytes that start with the hex encoding of 16. There's no sign of an 18 or a 21 encoded in hex nearby, so I am mystified. Other lenses with frame code "02" have either a 35 or a 24 nearby, the 50's have a "Z" which decodes as the integer 50 and use frame code "03".

 

scott