[Leica] M8 shooting without lens coding or IR filters

[henningw at archiphoto.com (Henning Wulff)]

>I'm sure this has been discussed ad nauseum before, but I never paid 
>much attention because it wasn't relevant to me at the time. I 
>currently have a  50mm Summicron, 35mm Summilux, a Nocti, a 90mm 
>Summicron, and a CV21mm.  If I buy a used M8, will I realistically 
>be able to use my lenses without coding or IR filters? I'm thinking 
>about taking the plunge but the catch-22 is that my bank account 
>will be so broken I wouldn't be able to send my lenses in for coding 
>for awhile, and I don't know firsthand how severe the IR problem is 
>going to be. I could try a coding kit or the "do it yourself" method 
>and I know those are my only options for the CV but I don't know how 
>worthwhile those options are. If anyone is happily shooting uncoded 
>and unfiltered I'd like to hear from you. Off list response is fine 
>with me  - apologies in advance for boring 99% of the list.
>
>Sue
>
>


Hi Sue,

I'm sure you'll hear from a lot of people that IR cut filters aren't 
really necessary.

Unfortunately, for the best quality they are. Even outdoors on sunny 
days they are as IR reflection off leaves is quite intense and makes 
the colours murky. The only time that the IR filters are not 
necessary is when there is no IR radiation, as on very overcast days 
or under bad flourescents. The 'synthetic clothing' thing is a bit of 
a red herring, pun unintended. You'll find black cotton and black 
wool, black cars and black furniture that all gets various funky 
magenta hues. It can be subdued with clever Photoshop work, but not 
eradicated, and it doesn't solve the following problem.

IR also causes some degradation of sharpness, as the IR doesn't focus 
at the same plane as the visible light. This will generally be more 
noticeable with older lens designs.

So - best plan on getting IR filters at some time. I assume the 35 
Summilux is the non-ASPH that uses the series 7 filters? If so, and 
if your 90 Summicron is an older one that uses 48mm filters, or 
somewhat later that uses 49mm filters, you're in luck, as the 48 or 
49mm filters can be reversed in the hood of the Summilux where the 
series 7 filters reside. Then get a step down ring from 48 (or 49) to 
39 and you can use the filter on the 50 Summicron and the 21CV as 
well. Switching lenses (and filters) can be a pain, though.

The 21CV should be coded, as should all lenses below 35mm. Best is to 
either get an adapter ring (Leica thread to M bayonet) from John 
Milich which has the pits in the correct locations, or buy a 'type 2' 
Cosina adapter from cameraquest and send it to John Milich to get the 
pits engraved. Then just paint in the dots to code the lens as a 21 
Elmarit. Works great; no cyan corners and even illumination.

Your other lenses don't need to get coded as the cyan corners are 
barely noticeable (35mm lens) to non-existent (50 and 90mm).

That leaves the Nocti. You can try to live without a filter for a 
while, and you can compare the results from the Summicron to see if 
it's worth it. I eventually did get a filter for it.

So, budget about $200 for filter, adapter rings and John Milich, and 
you should be set to start.

A short term solution for the 21 is the Cornerfix program, but it's a 
bit of a pain and the quality can drop a bit erratically.

If you have any further questions, fell free to ask.

Regards,

Henning