No go with Jinfinance 6 Bit Adaptors...

[CropDusterMan]

Advertisement (gone after registration)

Well, thought I'd give the cheap 6 Bit adaptors from China's "Jinfinace" a try...they attached well and hole spacing and 

quality seemed fine. I painted the white and black slots as per Leica codes and the results were completely erratic. 

My M240 and M9 would read them during each lens change and then not. I tried gloss paints, then matt paints then just

using black sharpie...same story. The same lens would even read correct, I'd remove it, and then it would say "R-Adaptor"...

WT%? They were painted and cleaned with high magnification accuracy.

 

I know some of you have had great results with them, but mine have been nothing but frustrating. I'm going to order proper 

Leica flanges from Leica USA. $225 each that are pre-coded or $300 if they install...but a three month wait for them to install it.

 

It was a cheap experiment.

 

Jason

Edited June 20, 2018 by CropDusterMan

[Fgcm]

Jason, the paint must be mat, not glossy.

I have one of those flange on my elmarit m 90.

At the beginning I had the same problems as yours.

Painting the code with a mat paint fixed the problem.

[Advertisement]

The Leica Q3 is available for pre-order at B&H Photo Video and Adorama

[CropDusterMan]

I tried matt.

[jdlaing]

I tried matt.

How full and flat are the coding pits?

[Fgcm]

Neither full, nor flat.

 

 

 

 

Welcome, dear visitor! As registered member you'd see an image here…

Simply register for free here – We are always happy to welcome new members!

[jdlaing]

Neither full, nor flat.

 

 

 

 

IMG_0124.jpg

It really needs to look like this:

 

If concave or bumpy it will not be picked up by the reader. It takes a little practice to get it right but worth it.

Welcome, dear visitor! As registered member you'd see an image here…

Simply register for free here – We are always happy to welcome new members!

Edited June 21, 2018 by jdlaing

[pico]

Advertisement (gone after registration)

Can we leave the white slots unpainted? It seem so.

[Fgcm]

Can we leave the white slots unpainted? It seem so.

 

 

I don't know, I never tried this.

Leica paints also white pits, but this could be for the sake of aesthetics.

 

We should also consider that the reader uses infrared diodes, so the paint could be more or less reflective than it looks in the visible spectrum.

Maybe different enamels could work better or worse

[pico]

[...] We should also consider that the reader uses infrared diodes, so the paint could be more or less reflective than it looks in the visible spectrum.

Maybe different enamels could work better or worse

 

Good point! An amusing thing I found, an Army Surplus supplier was selling dull black nylon gear. I bought one item to use for 4x5" film holders. In the darkroom using infrared goggles they were pure, bright white! So much for stealth!

Edited June 21, 2018 by pico

[jdlaing]

Can we leave the white slots unpainted? It seem so.

Some folks say it’s okay.

[Fgcm]

In the darkroom using infrared goggles they were pure, bright white! So much for stealth!

 

 

LOL

[250swb]

You can leave the white slots unpainted, all my self coded lenses only have black infills and they are recognised by my SL and M10.

[CropDusterMan]

Ok gang,

 

As one who never likes to give up to easy, I've had another go at them. I'm based in the USA, so I went and picked up different paints

at my local hardware store (Rustoleum)...this time very Flat Matt White and Black. I'm using a multi-step process this time doing 2 coats to get the

paint completely flush  if possible...basically, using a pin to dab paint into the slots using 20X magnification jewelers loup. I add the paint,

then use a razor as a scraper and gently scrape excess paint off. Allow to dry, then re-apply and re-scrape. The paint seems to be less full when dry

than when wet....I then use 1600 Grit sand paper to smooth and dull the already dull paint.

 

I think one almost needs to have the paint dry slightly high (convex) , then sand it flat.

 

It seems to be working. The only true test will be multiple lens tests in the field. I am regularly switching between 21mm, 28mm and 35mm.

 

We'll see.

 

Best,

Jason

Edited June 22, 2018 by CropDusterMan

[jdlaing]

Ok gang,

 

As one who never likes to give up to easy, I've had another go at them. I'm based in the USA, so I went and picked up different paints

at my local hardware store (Rustoleum)...this time very Flat Matt White and Black. I'm using a multi-step process this time doing 2 coats to get the

paint completely flush  if possible...basically, using a pin to dab paint into the slots using 20X magnification jewelers loup. I add the paint,

then use a razor as a scraper and gently scrape excess paint off. Allow to dry, then re-apply and re-scrape. The paint seems to be less full when dry

than when wet....I then use 1600 Grit sand paper to smooth and dull the already dull paint.

 

I think one almost needs to have the paint dry slightly high (convex) , then sand it flat.

 

It seems to be working. The only true test will be multiple lens tests in the field. I am regularly switching between 21mm, 28mm and 35mm.

 

We'll see.

 

Best,

Jason

[CropDusterMan]

Ok,

 

So I re-worked the flanges with my technique described above (thanks for the encouragement gang) and they all seem to be

working now...except for my 21 Elmarit!!

 

My 240 will not recognize it ever, but my M9 always will. The pits are full, perfectly flat and are nice and clean and very matt.

 

Frustrating. But it's not that big a deal when I think about it, because a switch to that lens also involves removing my Thumbs Up

grip (when using my EVF) or adding the 21 Leica finder to my Thumbs Up...so I guess a manual programming isn't that big a deal.

 

Just hate to give up.

 

Jason

[Fgcm]

Ciao Jason

 

Sorry to read that it doesn’t work.

 

Don’t be sad. You have the right excuse to buy an M10.

Given that it works on the M9, we can conclude that self-coding requires a properly numbered M :-))

 

Franco

[CropDusterMan]

Ok...last update...

I found that once lens is installed and the "click" is heard, a tiny turn in the opposite direction brings up the lens data.

 

Jason

[jdlaing]

Ok...last update...

I found that once lens is installed and the "click" is heard, a tiny turn in the opposite direction brings up the lens data.

 

Jason

As did some of us.

[sblutter]

Coding doesn't have any effect when shooting in RAW - which is all I use.  I turned off lens detection a few months into M9 & now with the 240 - never looked back

 

The rare times I have issues like CA, Photoshop does a fine job

[Advertisement]

Hallo,

Look here: Leica M

[250swb]

Ok...last update...

I found that once lens is installed and the "click" is heard, a tiny turn in the opposite direction brings up the lens data.

 

Jason

 

It may be possible that you haven't fitted the flange correctly or that there is maybe some metal flash in the screw holes that isn't allowing the flange to seat properly.

 

I think the Jinfinance flanges are accurately made but not necessarily perfectly finished and I've had one where there was a tiny edge of flash around the screw holes. This meant that as the flange was screwed down (a half turn at a time and opposite screw to opposite screw) the screws weren't centering on the holes. It's the countersink that should centre the screw, not the actual hole in the flange that it goes through, and if they can't do this the flange will be misaligned. The solution was to use a small round file and take the edge of flash from around the screw holes and then the new flange worked properly.