[Leica] Answers About M8 in LFI

[robert.rose at mac.com (Robert Rose)]

I just picked up a copy of the 2/2007 issue of LFI, and there are several
articles about the M8 that relate to questions that have been bouncing
around the LUG.

Coding and the Tri-Elmar:  There are micro switches that are activated by
the frame selector mechanism which tell the camera which of the three focal
lengths is selected.  P. 28

Coding and flash:  Here is the reason to code all your lenses (if you want
to use flash).  Coding is used by the camera (among other things) to tell a
flash unit which focal length to zoom to.  This would require a Metz 54Mz-4
with SCA Adapter 3502-M4 or 76Mz-5 with SCA3502-M5 adapter.  P. 26.

Aperture information is needed for the flash system, and is (cleverly I
think) obtained by using that little small round sensor that sits above and
to the left of the red Leica logo. The light from the subject is compared to
the light coming through the lens, and an aperture is inferred.  This is +/-
one stop in accuracy, which is good enough for the flash system, but it is
not recorded in EXIF because it is only an estimate. pp. 25, 48

A Nikon SC-17 cable works well to allow the SF24D to be used off camera. A
mini soft box on the 24D works with the TTL.

The Leica IR filters will have "different optical attributes to comparable
filters by B+W, Heliopan or Tiffen.  Leica's adapted firmware may not even
deliver the best results when run with third-party filters; but since these
all strive for the same effect and abide by the same principles, any
deviances would be nominal." p. 47

White balance with an IR filter is "a little out of sorts" This will be
addressed in firmware 1.10.  P. 48.

The wide-angle cyan correction in firmware 1.10 will need both coding data
and aperture data, which is approximated using the little sensor near the
Leica logo (see above).  P. 48

So, that's my summary.  It is an overall very interesting issue for M8
owners.

Cheers,
Bob Rose