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To 6-bit code or not

VINCET

Member
Hi, I have a 35 lux ASPH and a 50 Noct that I will be using with a M8.2. Both of which I've owned for quite some time now so they are ot 6-bit coded. Is it worth spending the $175 per lens to send the Leica for 6-bit coding or not if I will be using with the M8.2. The shooting condition will be all varieties from indoor to outdoors and different lighting condition. So it will be for general use.

Thanks for any advise.

Vince
 

thrice

Active member
Shoot them and decide if there's a potential benefit, shoot some uniform colour subjects and you should see if coding is necessary for you or not.
 

jonoslack

Active member
HI Vince and Welcome
I think that if you can bear to be rid of them, the answer is always YES. On the other hand you can easily code them by hand with a sharpie - it lasts for weeks, easy to 'touch up' and does the job just as well.

All the best
 

VINCET

Member
I was actually able to code the 35 with a Sharpie but it seems to last only for one use. The 50 Noct however is a different issue. I can't seem to get it to read the code. I think it is because of a screw that is in the code area.
 

Ocean

Senior Subscriber Member
I had my 35 Summilux ASPH coded by DAG ($95). For indoor use, the coding made a big difference in color uniformity.
 
A

a_summarita

Guest
your mileage might vary but personally, I don't see the need of 6 bit coding for focal length less than 50mm, or even 35. To put it another way, I can't tell the difference in the final pictures :p

35 lux asph non-coded -



35 lux asph coded -


granted, these photos are of different subjects, settings and all.
 

jonoslack

Active member
your mileage might vary but personally, I don't see the need of 6 bit coding for focal length less than 50mm, or even 35. To put it another way, I can't tell the difference in the final pictures :p
Nice pictures
I agree that you can't always tell the difference - especially over 50mm.

The point really is to be able to keep the UV/IR settings the same in the menu, and to be able to tell which lens you were using in the exif information.

I used a coding kit for the manual coding - it seems to work well, and I've found that it lasts for more than a month . . . . so, if you 'top it up' at the beginning of each month it isn't an issue.
 
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a_summarita

Guest
The point really is to be able to keep the UV/IR settings the same in the menu, and to be able to tell which lens you were using in the exif information.
This. If usability is your concern, then by all means do it. Accurate exif info is important for many people.

But I wouldn't expect magic sprinkling on your images just by 6-bit coding your lens. It does help improve the vignetting problem on my ultra wide VC 15mm but other than that...
 

VINCET

Member
Nice pictures. If the lens are not 6-bit coded, do I benefit from putting on a UV/IR cut filter still? In your picture without the 6-bit coded lens, did you use a UV/IR cut filter?
 
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a_summarita

Guest
6 bit coding and UV/IR filter solve different problems :)

6 bit coding will not help you eliminate the infamous purple black problem. Yes, I use the filter on all my M lens (unless someone wants to donate to my M9 fund :p)
 

VINCET

Member
I am currently without a M8 body so I am going by memory on this but isn't there a setting in the camera that states the lens is with a UV/IR filter and isn't that also related to the lens having the 6 bit?
 

Ocean

Senior Subscriber Member
your mileage might vary but personally, I don't see the need of 6 bit coding for focal length less than 50mm, or even 35. To put it another way, I can't tell the difference in the final pictures :p

granted, these photos are of different subjects, settings and all.
If you shoot the lens coded with your two non-coded images, the color rendition will be different. For indoor use, using coded option will remove the green tint cast at the out edges of the images.
 

Paratom

Well-known member
I am lazy and have a bad memory so I dont want to have to go into the menue for certain lenses and have auto for others.
Thats why I prefer coded if possible. Have few uncoded lenses but only those which I either use seldomly or which can not be coded. (135mm for example)
 
D

disambiguated

Guest
Get the M-Coder Kit from Match Technical - the marks the pens they provide make are pretty durable, and the wheel is a great aid in getting the coding right in the first place. Just take then pen with you in the field and re-apply if necessary.
 

jonoslack

Active member
This. If usability is your concern, then by all means do it. Accurate exif info is important for many people.
That's only part of my point.
Thomas has it
The real point is that you need to turn off the coding in the menu if you're using non-coded lenses. This is fine with your nice uncoded Nocti, until you put your wonderful 24 'lux on and forget to turn it back on again . . . and have a huge batch of badly damaged photos


But I wouldn't expect magic sprinkling on your images just by 6-bit coding your lens. It does help improve the vignetting problem on my ultra wide VC 15mm but other than that...
Well - it may not add magic sprinkling having it, but it certainly takes it away from many wider lenses if you don't have it.
 

Peter Klein

New member
My M8 experience is mostly like Jono's, with one small difference. I have coded all my 35mm and 28mm lenses. My 50s and 90s are not coded. I leave the UV/IR setting in the menus all the time. Works fine.

Coding the 28mm and wider lenses is a must. Coding the 35mm is a good idea--you may not notice the slightly cooler corners under most conditions, but you will be better off with coding. With most 50s, it really doesn't matter on the M8, and does matter on the M9. With the Noctilux, it probably does matter, because that lens vignettes a lot, and dealing with both brightness vignetting and slight cyan shift in the corners is complex.

There is some anecdotal evidence that if you send your lenses to Leica for coding, they might come back with the focus somewhat off. They take your old mount of and give you a new one, and sometimes have not adequately readjusted the lenses to digital M tolerances. I don't know if this is a thing of the past, or if it still happens. I always use DAG for my lens adjustments. He adjusts your lenses to a known "good" M8.

You should always use a UV/IR filter on your lenses, coded or not. Otherwise, you get magenta synthetic black fabrics, overly ruddy skin in tungsten light, and yellowish foliage in sunlight. You also get less sharp pictures, as each picture has a slightly unsharp IR component overlaying the sharper visual light component. Some people like that look in B&W, or like to play endless games with color correction. I don't.

I use the M-coder kit for some lenses that I didn't want to send away. It works fine. If there is a screw in the coding area, you can cover it with white nail polish, then add a black line if necessary. Some M-coder kits are slightly off in alignment. But once you discover which direction it is "off," you can simply thicken the black marks in the opposite direction, and all's well.

Hope this is useful!
--Peter
 

VINCET

Member
First off, thanks to all who have responded. I just called DAG and he told me that it will take 3 weeks at $115 each lens. Since I am without a body right now anyway (anyone selling a M8 Silver with upgrade or M8.2 silver?), I can spare the 3 week so the lens will be off to DAG this week.
 

jonoslack

Active member
First off, thanks to all who have responded. I just called DAG and he told me that it will take 3 weeks at $115 each lens. Since I am without a body right now anyway (anyone selling a M8 Silver with upgrade or M8.2 silver?), I can spare the 3 week so the lens will be off to DAG this week.
I'm sure it's a decision you won't regret. . . . but of a no-brainer really :)
 
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