6-bit encoder kit for Leica M lenses, Leica SL

• Lets the camera recognize the lens: You code your manual lens yourself. Your digital Leica then knows which focal length is mounted, without you having to set it by hand every time you change lenses.
• Affordable alternative to other coding methods: Clip it on, fill it in, let it dry. That's all there is to coding it yourself.
• EXIF data and image corrections included: The camera saves the focal length and lens in the metadata and applies vignetting and distortion correction.
• Important for image stabilization: On the SL2 and SL3, IBIS only works accurately with the correct focal length stored.
• Matching pen included: The included uni Super Ink Marker PNA-125 has a fine bullet tip that fits through the openings in the template. The camera reliably detects the code drawn with it.
• Clip-on template, no drilling: The encoder clips onto the mount and serves as a template for filling in the dots; the coding can be removed without residue if needed.

Compatibility

Fits all lenses with a Leica M mount, whether older Leica, Voigtländer or Zeiss. On the camera side, all digital Leica M models as well as the SL, CL and TL with M-Adapter L read the code. Current Leica lenses are coded from the factory. You can find the code for your lens in the coding tables below, for Voigtländer, Zeiss and other manufacturers in a separate table.

Scope of delivery

• Standard: 1x 6-bit encoder kit + 1x uni Super Ink Marker PNA-125 (black)
• Set: Standard + 1x red dot cover (set of 2)
• Complete: Set + 1x Quick Focus Tab

Technical details

• Encoder material: engineering plastic
• Pen: uni Super Ink Marker PNA-125, black, bullet tip, line width 0.9 mm, oil-based pigment ink
• Fit: designed for Leica M mounts
• Manufacturing: Made in Germany

Description

With this encoder kit, you handle the Leica 6-bit coding yourself and code your manual M-mount lenses, whether older Leica, Voigtländer or Zeiss. Your digital Leica (M directly, SL, CL and TL via M-Adapter L) then recognizes the focal length, saves it in the EXIF data and applies internal image corrections.

We've learned from our customers when it comes to the pen. Glossy ink can reflect the light from the sensors in the mount instead of absorbing it, and then the camera reads “white” instead of “black”. And with the pen we used to include, the tip was too wide: it didn't fit cleanly through the openings in the template and frayed after just a few lenses. After testing several pens, we now include the uni Super Ink Marker PNA-125. Its fine bullet tip goes through the openings, and the camera reliably detects the code drawn with it.

The encoder clips onto the mount and serves as a template for filling in the dots, without drilling. The coding holds up in everyday use and can be removed without residue if needed.
Tip: If there's a screw at a coding position, the camera may read it as black. If the field should be black, simply paint over it. If it should be white, you're better off using the code of a Leica lens with the same frame whose code is black at this position.

Coding instructions

In the guide, we show you how to use the encoder, which codes match your lens and what you need to watch out for: Coding Leica M lenses.

We also show the whole process in a video, from fitting the template to the test on the Leica M8 (just under 9 minutes, in English with subtitles): Video guide on YouTube.

Coding table

Find your lens in the table. Voigtländer, Zeiss and other manufacturers are listed in a separate table further down.

Legend: □ = leave white (no paint, bare metal), ■ = paint black. The six boxes stand for fields 1 to 6 in order.

Both tables together with step-by-step instructions are available as a printable PDF on the downloads page, in case you want to check it right at the lens while coding.

Special cases: Summilux-M 35 f/1.4 pre-ASPH, including the original “Steel Rim”: code as Summicron-M 35 f/2 (IV) (000110); the 2022 reissue of the Steel Rim is coded from the factory. Thambar-M 90 f/2.2 (soft focus): best left uncoded or coded as Elmarit-M 90 f/2.8 (100110). Current Leica lenses are coded from the factory. Source: lavidaleica.com / Match Technical (community data, no guarantee).

Third-party lenses

Voigtländer, Zeiss and most other manufacturers ship their M lenses without a 6-bit code. You then paint on the code of a Leica lens. The frame line is what matters: the camera reads the code together with the frame line your lens brings up in the viewfinder and only recognizes it if both match. That is why 40 mm lenses like the Voigtländer Nokton classic 40mm f/1.4 get a 50 mm code: on the Leica M they bring up the 50 mm frame line. The image data will then show the Leica lens from the table.

If your lens isn't in the table, pick one from the Leica table with the same frame line, then with the closest possible focal length and maximum aperture, if in doubt the larger one. Preferably pick an older Leica model: older cameras don't always recognize the codes of very new lenses.

¹ 40 mm lenses bring up the 50 mm frame on the Leica M, hence the 50 mm code. The image data then shows 50 mm. ² With the code of the Tri-Elmar 16-18-21, the lens does not transmit a focal length to the camera. ³ Early series came with exactly this code from the factory. ⁴ Nokton classic 40: on some copies there is a screw under fields 5 and 6, and the camera then reads field 5 as black. The Noctilux code is black there anyway and therefore works with or without the screw. Tested on a Leica M8.

Black-painted mount, as on some black Voigtländer lenses: in that case the white fields need white paint, otherwise the camera reads them as black. Sources: Zeiss recommendation list for ZM lenses, lavidaleica.com and experience from Leica forums, without guarantee.