[Leica] Filter for the M8 B+W 486

[red735i at earthlink.net (Frank Filippone)]

Superb solution, but what do you do with the roughly 10 million lenses out 
there already?  You tell the new M8 users to dump their
lenses and buy new ones?  Use older lenses with a filter and newer lenses 
without, as the filter is built in?

It might be a really neat idea to make a new series of lenses with the 
coating internal, and label them as such.  That might boost
sales for new lenses.  But what do you do with the older lenses?  How can a 
user make images on his new M8 using his old 21?  Use
the filter...

Really, a pretty good solution... and it saves face for the Solms elves as 
well...

For IR users, use older lenses without the filter.

That accommodates the majority......

Frank Filippone
red735i@earthlink.net 


-----Original 

Don't you think an effective approach would be to provide a hot  
mirror layer on one of the optical surfaces *inside* the lenses, at a  
point where the light rays incidence angles are more parallel to the  
axis of the optical system and where internal reflections can be  
optimally minimized?

I think this would be an elegant solution if they can control, the  
internal reflections, as the lenses performance will not be altered  
neither on a digital nor on a film system. Leica should offer to  
incorporate such an internal coating on existing lenses at the time  
of the 6-bits conversion. At the same time, they should begin to  
market "digitally enhanced" lenses, with inner IR barrier coatings  
and 6-bits coding.

Best,

Ed