M8 coder - simple manual handcoding of M lenses

Making life a little simpler, I roughed out the layout of the 6bit codes in Corel draw and tossed a sheet of cardboard in my laser, then a bit of glossy photopaper for the actual stencil. the result is a simply lock in place paper stencil. 

More pictures and layout for DIY types or purchase a ready to use template after the link.

Backside made from corugated cardboard to get a bit of grip on the edge of the lens mount, I made a tap for easy positioning.

The top side made from heavy glossy photopaper to prevent the sharpie from destroying it when used multiple times. The two little holes are for positioning when gluing the pieces together.

The result: CV 35 1.4 coded and ready to go, and yes it works.  
By the way, note the groove in the mount where the black marks is, this is a new feature on some Voitlander lenses, the recess protects the sharpie marks from being worn off when mounted on the camera..

DO IT YOUR SELF Click here for the original JPG file of the layout, you can print it and cut it out of a piece of cardboard with a xacto knife.     OR right click here and select save file, to download the coreldraw file. You can definitely make this template yourself in about 5 minutes with a printer and xacto knife. Enjoy.

READY TO USE. I have laser cut and assembled a couple of these.  PayPal me 5 bucks and I will toss one in the mail for you.  note this is only the template as pictured above, no suggestions for codes and no sharpie included.

M9 UPDATE: Just got my M9, clearly something have changed,  my coded lenses which works just fine with the M8 mostly did not work with the M9... until I socked on a bunch more ink.  they must have changed the sensor to require more contrast, as a single layer of sharpie don't seem to do the trick anymore.    this will be a easy fix on the new grooved lenses, I'm heading out in town for black model airplane enamel..  on my 15mm I have a coding strip and this worked, but the same strip on the CV 35 1.4 did not work, probably because it was a bit more worn, I updated it with a fresh one and now that lens also works.

Conclusion... soak on more ink, paint or whatever you are using for black.  The M9 have a more picky sensor, I'm almost wondering if they did this new calibration to bug people doing sharpie codes.

USA Delivery                              $ 5 - USA

INTERNATIONAL Delivery      $ 6 - INTERNATIONAL 

 

People much smarter than me have created a list of lens codes Click here for M lens codes
You will need these codes for coding your lenses manually.

Here is a very straight forward way to code your lens by hand Click to read post on LUF.

There are more than one way to skin a cat - read about my experiment with sticky coding-strips.

For those with no fear, pull out your Dremmel tool and make groves for coding. Click to read post on LUF.

Original tread about lens coding on the Leica User Forum  Click to read

DPreview have a posting of the original press release about Leica lens coding. Click to read

There is also a excellent code kit from Match Tech
which includes the list of codes and a sharpie in a very nice case.

Comments

[Mark Blumer]

Bo,

I received the stencils that you sent me. One did not work the other worked perfectly on my CV 35mm f/1.4. Thank you very much. Since they are delicate the way you make them, I am going to order another pair to hold for the occasion of my next non-Leica lens; probably a Zeiss 50 planar.

Thanks again,
Mark

[Bo Lorentzen]

Hello Mark,

You are the first to have a problem with one of these, Im sending you replacement right away, no need to order another.

Thank you for the feedback.

Bo

[Howie Feller]

Hey Bo... when i print out those jpg's the size is bigger in the cutout than the lens... trying to code the CV 35 f2.5 sokpar PII. Thanks, Howie

[Howie Feller]

I just ordered the template from you.. My exacto days are long over!

tks, howie

[Franc de Vocht]

Hi Bo,
I would like to order your M8 coder.
If I use the Buy Now button I can pay with paypal.
However, I live in The Netherlands - should I not add shipping costs?
Thanx.
Franc.

[Pétur Geir]

Hello Bo, I want to buy one of these but I live in Iceland. Would you ship there and how much would that cost extra?

Regards,
Petur.

[Bo Lorentzen]

Hello Petur,

The template is really small and is shipped in a regular envelope with a piece of cardboard for protection, PayPal me $6

REMEMBER - avoid the "fine-point" sharpie and stick to the traditional one as it make a more juicy mark.

Bo

[Markus Puustinen]

I would like to get one shipped to Finland. Is $6 enough?

[Karel Swinnen]

Hi Bo,

how much would you charge for the m8 coder to send to Belgium?

best regards

[dan valente]

hey I just sent you paypal for one of your encoder cutouts. That's awesome! I just purchased a pre-asph 28mm elmarit and going to self-code it for my M*

[Joe]

Hi, how long does delivery usually take? I'm in San Francisco and need to have it by the 9th. Hope to hear back!

[Yow Peng-chee]

Hi Bo,

I am in Singapore and wish to buy one from you. Please let me know the total cost including international air mail charges.

Regards
YPC

[Bo Lorentzen]

Hello YPC,

I have just added a paypal link for international. See above.

Bo

[Chris Simonsen]

Just ordered one, so stoked on finding a nice alternative to sending it in to a Leica dealer! Cheers from Norway!
Chris.

[Economic Dissertation]

Blogs are so informative where we get lots of information on any topic. Nice job keep it up!!

[Joe]

Hi Bo, I purchased your coder a couple of months back (had a friend purchase it for me). It worked for my Voigtlander 15 M-mount, but
I'm having a lot of trouble coding my Leica 35 Summicron Pre-asph. There's a screw at the place where I need to put the 2 marks, and I think that might be the problem?

I'm not sure if you've had experience coding this particular lens. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated!!

[Bo Lorentzen]

Hello Joe,

I have a lens like that, at first I could not make it work, but then I sacrificed a good new medium sharpie, and simply pushed the pen tip into the screw, the trick were to fill ink in all the screw lines and the ring around it, so I pushed the fibers so they became like a paintbrush... the lens work now. :-) I am not sure that will work for everybody, but it worked on my 75lux and also on a cv 35mm 2.5

The problem seems to be that there is a little bright spot somewhere in the screw, the leica sensor is very sensitive for any reflection of the IR signal, a little damage to the paint and it will not work. NOTE, the M9 seems to be MORE sensitive, with the M9 you really gotta go back and paint all the marks again a second time on top, carefully to get perfect function.

Bo

[Bob Mackay]

I have an early 35 mm summicron, because the screw refered to elsewhere in this forum is in line with the code reader on the M8.2 Leica advised me that it can not be coded. I tried using the coder kit on my 50mm lens, for use with a fairly late M8.2,the fit seems so tight that the coding only lasts for 1 maybe 2 attatchments to the camera even using a black enamal finger nail polish, so I gave up before damaging the camera coding unit.

[DRE]

Hi Bo,

Just received one. It looks nice. Thanks for the fast delivery.
I will try it later on Zeiss 21/f4.5 and Voigtlander 50/f1.1.
Guess the 6-bit codes should be 000001 and 011111 ?

Regards and Merry Xmas.

DRE