[Leica] Lens coding

[Frank Filippone]

Remember that not all lenses can be coded with a replacement flange.... the 35 Summicron V3 comes to mind.....

Going to Leica for the mods will be $$$, but they include a full CLA, as I remember.  Not sure the price is still $300.... at first it was $100......  Ask first......

The cheapest solution is to code them yourself with a Chinese flange.  It takes a few minutes each and at a cost of less than $25 per lens is by far the cheapest solution.  This solution works with almost anything except lenses with a really thin DOF.... Noctilux and Summilux lenses come to mind.  Tolerances are not quite right with the aftermarket flanges.  You could then send them to DAG, where for about $150 per lens, he will collimate your lenses..... Not a bad deal at all.....  ( I suspect Leica has the same problem and collimates the lens if needed..... )
I asked DAG once to do the whole enchilada, the price was not that much less than Leica.

Your other choice is to sell the lenses without coding, then buy replacements, upgrading your older lenses with more modern designs,  with coding.  Certainly not the cheapest solution.

If you have a WATE, this lens is difficult to do on your own.  There is a spring in the flange area that needs to be removed then installed.  It is a royal pain.

Skip the idea of painting your existing flanges.  It works OK for a few mountings, then wears off.  But it works and is cheap if the lens is not used often.

personally, I changed all the flanges myself.  Had my 75 Lux and 90 Tele-Elmarit collimated by DAG ( it was off focus anyway so this was a no brainer).  Never played with the Nocti.  Sold some lenses and rebought them with coding.)

Frank Filippone

Red735i at verizon.net

To fellow digital M users:  What do you folks do about lens coding?

Some of my lenses are coded, some aren't.  My general sense is that 35mm 
and shorter lenses need to be coded to avoid cyan drift in the outer 
regions. But for 50mm and longer, it doesn't matter much unless one 
cares that the EXIF data contains the correct focal length. I've found 
that when I'm changing lenses in fast situations, I can't count on 
always changing the manual lens ID in the menu.

I'm planning to get a couple of Fotodiox PRO adapters for my 50 and 90mm 
LTM lenses.  Their reviews on the B&H site seem to be mostly positive, 
unlike some other brands. Can anyone here verify this or suggest a 
better alternative?

As for my still uncoded M-mount lenses, I'm torn between coding them 
myself, leaving them alone, or getting them coded professionally. 
Choices include:

- Have Leica do it, at I believe, $300 dollars a pop.
- An independent repair person like DAG, or, who else?
- Buy lens flanges with coding pits from eBay and install and paint them 
myself. (beware Chinese quality control?)
- Using my M coder template and an oil-based industrial marker to code 
the lenses myself. I've done this before, but it is painstaking, 
requires some trial and error, and has to be redone periodically.

Advice based on personal experience would be appreciated.  Thanks!

--Peter