M240 Firmware update long overdue

[wlaidlaw]

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I was trying to use a 7Artisans 28/1.4 M fit lens on my M240. I went into manual lens selection, with the expectation of being able to declare it as a 28/f1.4 Summilux, only to find that this lens was not listed, unlike on my SL and CL. On checking, I found that the latest firmware release, 2.0.5.0, dates from around 20 months ago in November 2017 and does not seem to allow for a number of the latest lenses such as the 28 Summilux. I also noticed that a number of the links on Leica's download page for the M240 are dead or inactive (take you to a blank page). It would seem that the M240 is now being written out of Leica's consciousness, even though it is still listed as a current product. It cannot be a big rewrite of the firmware to add additional lenses if the firmware was well written in the first place, as this should have been allowed for.

On the basis of past experience, it is an extremely laborious process to get Leica to listen when they have made firmware errors and/or omissions and can take up to 2 years to get these corrected, after Leica have admitted that they have made an error or omission. The GPS error on the multifunction grip is a good example of this, when GPS was pretty much disabled by an FW update error and it took 2 years for Leica to correct it, in spite of many reminders from me and others. 

Wilson

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[scott kirkpatrick]

Wilson,  recent M lenses listed in the firmware for the CL and SL might not be listed on an M because they have always been produced with 6-bit coding and thus in principle an M wouldn't need any help recognizing them.  Only lenses which first shipped before the 6-bit codes are listed in my M firmware.  

[a.noctilux]

Hello Wilson,

In my view, you would not be able to manual select newer all 100% 6bit coded lenses like the Summilux-M 1.4/28mm.

Only lenses without (some with in the production run) native 6bits coded can be manually selected in menu.

[wlaidlaw]

20 minutes ago, a.noctilux said:

Hello Wilson,

In my view, you would not be able to manual select newer all 100% 6bit coded lenses like the Summilux-M 1.4/28mm.

Only lenses without (some with in the production run) native 6bits coded can be manually selected in menu.

The SL and CL manual lens selection menu was updated in Firmware to include the latest lenses, so there is no reason that the M240's could not similarly be updated. I doubt if the six bit code for the 28/1.4 would work either, as it was released after the last FW update for the M240. 

Wilson

[jdlaing]

Well let’s see.

Lenses that have been six bit coded since inception are not added to a manual choice menu. No need. The M bodies have a six bit reader.

SL and CL bodies have no six bit reader so they are added in the menus so you can pick them.

I have not yet seen an article or interview from Leica where they now cover third party lenses or any issues using them. Maybe I missed it.

[wlaidlaw]

7 minutes ago, jdlaing said:

Well let’s see.

Lenses that have been six bit coded since inception are not added to a manual choice menu. No need. The M bodies have a six bit reader.

SL and CL bodies have no six bit reader so they are added in the menus so you can pick them.

I have not yet seen an article or interview from Leica where they now cover third party lenses or any issues using them. Maybe I missed it.

But the official Leica M to L adapters, which one uses to mount M lenses on the CL or SL do have an active IR 6 bit reader on them, so technically no different from an M. So as they have added the new lenses to the CL and SL list of optional manual lenses, they can do it to the M 240. 

Wilson

[jdlaing]

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They could  but they won’t. It serves them no purpose to cater to a third party lens. 

[jdlaing]

And besides........

The same purpose can be achieved setting the manual lens choice to a Summicron 28.

Edited June 12, 2019 by jdlaing

[wlaidlaw]

2 hours ago, jdlaing said:

And besides........

The same purpose can be achieved setting the manual lens choice to a Summicron 28.

That is what I have done but I wondered if the Summilux might have more vignetting correction. 

 

2 hours ago, jdlaing said:

They could  but they won’t. It serves them no purpose to cater to a third party lens. 

So why have they done it on the SL and CL?

[jdlaing]

1 hour ago, wlaidlaw said:

That is what I have done but I wondered if the Summilux might have more vignetting correction. 

 

So why have they done it on the SL and CL?

I would have to see the results but I doubt it. That one anomaly is easily corrected in post processing if it is indeed more.

[jdlaing]

1 hour ago, wlaidlaw said:

That is what I have done but I wondered if the Summilux might have more vignetting correction. 

 

So why have they done it on the SL and CL?

I’m not sure why they did it with the SL other than that mount is now part of a collaboration with other manufacturers and the M mount is not. It may have something to do with adapters.

[lct]

Does the M240 recognize the Summilux 28/1.4 automatically? If yes, it should recognize any other 28mm lens with the same coding. If not, as i suspect it, the firmware must be updated. I have no experience with 28/1.4 lenses though.

[jdlaing]

Yes it does.

[jaapv]

On 6/12/2019 at 1:12 PM, wlaidlaw said:

The SL and CL manual lens selection menu was updated in Firmware to include the latest lenses, so there is no reason that the M240's could not similarly be updated. I doubt if the six bit code for the 28/1.4 would work either, as it was released after the last FW update for the M240. 

Wilson

Leica often includes upcoming lenses in the current firmware. I would guess it is automatically recognized.

[sblutter]

I set lens detection in my M240 to Off after some tests

I don't see any difference in the results in Photoshop or prints

[wlaidlaw]

1 hour ago, sblutter said:

I set lens detection in my M240 to Off after some tests

I don't see any difference in the results in Photoshop or prints

With a 28/f1.4 lens? 

Wilson

[jdlaing]

3 hours ago, sblutter said:

I set lens detection in my M240 to Off after some tests

I don't see any difference in the results in Photoshop or prints

I do with 35 and wider lenses.

[helohe]

You can trick the camera into recognizing it as 28/f1.4 Summilux  by buying a template and coloring the parts black on the lens where the barcode is supposed to be. Another option is to get a pre-printed sticker or a new lens mount for the lens. I guess you can find all those options on ebay. See here for example: https://www.dpreview.com/forums/post/60273426

or here

 

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[wlaidlaw]

59 minutes ago, helohe said:

You can trick the camera into recognizing it as 28/f1.4 Summilux  by buying a template and coloring the parts black on the lens where the barcode is supposed to be. Another option is to get a pre-printed sticker or a new lens mount for the lens. I guess you can find all those options on ebay. See here for example: https://www.dpreview.com/forums/post/60273426

or here

 

I have a Tim Isaac 6 bit coding kit but it is back at my UK house. However its list of codes is far too old to include the code for the 28 Summilux (2015-). Can anyone please tell me the Summilux code in zeros and ones. I will probably get Malcolm Taylor to mill the mount on the 7Artisans 2/1.4 for me in due course but I will wait until he has finished the mountain of work he already has from me. 

Wilson

[a.noctilux]

Hello Wilson, Summilux-M 28mm has 6bit code : 110110

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Edited June 27, 2019 by a.noctilux