Brian1664876441

The Admin post in the prior thread before locking it is the worst bullshit I've seen here. They cannot run a forum, put no work or thought into organizing the forums, and then try to claim their definition of assisted applied. Stupid beyond belief, so long and thanks for all the fish.

I thought for sure Nikon and Canon started making Interchangeable Mirrorless cameras. Maybe the people running the forum are using the Wayback Machine. This is pathetic.

I think it means that no thought was given into the new forum structure. The use of the word "Assisted" in the forum name shows that this 30 year old forum is going senile.

I've lost count of forum re-orgs over the past 20+ years, but this one is the worst. "Assisted Cameras"- Most cameras require some assistance. Film cameras need assistance loading, shooting, unloading, and developing the images. The process is different from Digital. Digital cameras require much more assistance, and type of assistance is much more complex. Likely to generate a different type of thread.

The SPD's used in the Nikons, and most cameras if not all- have a filter over the cell to block IR. It is 95% effective in blocking IR, is the same type of glass as used in digital cameras using CCD and CMOS. The alternative to SPD's with IR blocking filter is Gallium photocells, used in the Nikon FM and Konica FS-1.

When buying a camera with a corroded sensor: AVOID the M9-P and M Monochrom. The S8612 cover glass is thoroughly epoxied into place and is very difficult to remove. The M9 cover glass is held in place with epoxy on the sides, and can be removed by cutting it. This is what Jadon at Red Dot Repair stated about replacing the cover glass. The Epoxy on the M9-P and M Monochrom must be heated to soften it. This process can cause damage to the CCD.

Tomorrow Secondhand Leica M-E Typ240 Anthracite Grey Attractive Model Is Now In | eBay Ebay has sellers that are insane.

I paid $2500 for my M8 over 12 years ago, used with spare battery. It is zero-defect CCD, I use Raw Mode all the time with it. "IF" I sold it, would ask for $1500 as a sane price. The Epson R-D1.used to go for $900, somehow has gone insane.

With Liveview- a Simple adapter, this one was $25 or so. Minolta SLR mount to M-Mount. For a film camera, or an M8, M9, or M monochrom: you need an RF cam that moves with the lens- exactly the correct length. This one is made from the leg of a broken tripod, and calibrated using Copper tape. Cheap, Skyllaney would charge a few $ for a professional conversion.

Arthur- Of course Live-View would make it much easier to use a lens adapted to Leica mount. You would not have to worry about calibrating the lens to the rangefinder. Depending on the lens- this can be relatively easy. I used a late Valdai Jupiter-3 mount to convert the 1934 5cm F1.5 Sonnar to RF coupled LTM, then use a good quality LTM to M Mount adapter. I can also use it with my film cameras. The 5cm F2 Sonnar, i used a Jupiter-8 mount. The trick is to properly Shim the lens and then re-index the aperture ring. Amadeo sells Contax to Leica adapters that are RF coupled. and Skyllaney will convert lenses to RF coupled Leica mount. 50mm Jupiter 3 f/1.5 Information — Jason Howe Jason Howe hosts PDF versions of the instructions above. For newer csameras with Liveview- a Simple adapter to M-Mount (or which ever mount) is all you need. There are some great bargain lenses- like the Konica 50/1.7 and Minolta 50/1.4, and the Canon FL mount 50/1.4. For those- I ended up making an RF cam to use on the M8. It's a change from writing code.

Magnificent Seven by fiftyonepointsix, on Flickr Now I'll have to see if the M Monochrom has the bigger buffer. In all these years- never filled it up.

Sonnar_F2_1b by fiftyonepointsix, on Flickr 1934 Carl Zeiss Jena 5cm F2, wide-open on the M9. This one converted to Leica mount as shown previously. Lighting is from the Red canopy of the miniature Train we are riding in.

In the 90s, I used to have two optical engineers that worked for me. Being a computer engineer (going back 40+ years)- I'd tell them "When my work day is done, I want to use a lens that did not even involve a computer in its design". The senior optical engineer, working on a multi-Aspherical lens to match a sensor we were building softly stated, "Computers really did make this easier". As he fretted over the polynomial for the "Wiggle of the Surface" I'd also point out that the sensor was 320x200- and it did not matter much.

I had the CCD in my M9 replaced when the M10 was announced, and the M Monochrom the year before that. Leica replaced the main circuit board at the same time. Basically rebuilt the camera while they were at it. How long will either last- you never know, but the chances are good that they will go for a long time. It is the S8612 cover glass that is the source of most problems suffered by the M9. Earlier M9 problems included the CCD itself cracking, and of course electronics failures. The Back-Side Illuminated CCD with offset microlens arrays are optimal for the older lenses that I prefer. Optically, they are well matched to the older lenses. The 18MPixel sensors have fairly large pixels, meaning more efficient at collecting light coming in at an angle. Small pixel/ high-count sensors are not as efficient collecting light of lenses sitting close to the image plane. If someone wanted an M9, and could get one with the newer CCD in it- they know up-front that if the CCD blows out, they have a paperweight. This is true of most Digital products: components at end-of-life and no longer available. Whether it's the LCD screen of an M8, the CCD of an M9, or an embedded microcontroller or FPGA used in the electronics. Camera manufacturers are at the mercy of the parts vendors. One critical part out of production, or back-ordered for TWO YEARS the camera will be useless. Two Year Back Order: I just got hit by that. I had my hardware engineer design a new circuit board using different components. Something most camera manufacturers will not do. Otherwise we'd have a CMOS based sensor replacement board for the M9. That would not be hard to do, just manufacturers want to sell new cameras, not update the old ones.

Of course there have been many advances in photography since the 1930s. Autofocus lenses that are far faster, easier, and more precise than using an Optical Rangefinder built into a Leica. Prices on Film Leica bodies has shot through the roof. I bought my M3DS with 5cm F2 Rigid Summicron and 135/4.5 Hektor-M for under $1K less than 20 years ago. M3 made the Month that I was born. Yet here we all are, living a fairy tale of using Rangefinder cameras and Lenses. Obsolete Technology, obsolete for decades.

Also would not sell my M Monochrom. 1936 5cm F1.5 Sonnar, wide-open. Optimized for the color filter.

Leica no longer has replacement sensors, manufacturer discontinued productions. Leica will still service the M9. If the CCD dies, it cannot be fixed. My oldest Digital SLR is 30 years old, and still works. DCS200ir. The M8 still works, the Nikon E3 (25 years old) still works. SO- MTBF is a statistic that has been pretty good to me. Warm November day by fiftyonepointsix, on Flickr 1934 5cm F1.5 Sonnar, on the M9. sonnar_1607_1 by fiftyonepointsix, on Flickr I also have the ZM Sonnar 50/1.5. And a 1932 5cm F1.5 from the test batch of the first 100 made. Paid twice for that one what the ZM C-Sonnar goes for. Thought about an M240 since I have the Olympus EVF. It stored DNG files as Big-Endian. I prefer little Endian. I've worked with Digital Imagers since 1981. The 80s for me, when they were in the Research Lab. I've been writing image processing code for that long.

Carl Zeiss Jena 5cm f/2 – 0.7m MFD w/ Air-Feel Brass Focus Stick – Single Coated 1937 Skyllaney has made a business out of converting lenses to Leica Mount. I refer people to them when asked about Sonnars. 5cm F2 Sonnar, Converted to Leica Mount by fiftyonepointsix, on Flickr I sold this one for $200 to a friend two years ago, about what I had into the parts. You can't find good ones for that price anymore. Each of these conversion took 8 hours or more, take apart the Sonnar, clean it all, take apart the J-8, clean and lube, then assemble and test on the Leica. I know why Skyllaney charges what they do. I could pick up an M11 if I wanted one. I just don't. The M9 and M Monochrom work the way I want them to. I use classic glass, but also have a new set of Voigtlander Noktons and the APO Lanthar 50/2. I have some 125 lenses in Leica LTM and M-Mount. Buying another M9 for $3K would be my choice over a newer camera.

In Jan 2010 I paid $2500 for an M8 with 400 clicks that had been bought 4 months before, had a spare battery and Leica half case. I could probably get $1500 for it now. It has a zero-defect sensor, I use it in button-dance Raw mode. Never given a problem in use. The price of classic lenses have shot way up. I paid $70 for a Summicron collapsible before the M8 came out, $70 for a Canon 50/1.5, $70 for a 1934 Carl Zeiss Jena 5cm F1.5, $125 for a Summarit 5cm F1.5, the list goes on. I'd be happy to find them at those prices again, will not happen. A forum friend told me the 1934 5cm F1.5 Sonnar was going for ~$1,000. Limited commodity that is in demand. Same with the M9 and M Monochrom with CCD using BG-55 glass.

DigiKey sold the KAF-18500 for over $4000 up until production ceased. Someone using the CCD in a piece of scientific equipment could easily buy a camera with the new rev of the CCD in it for spare parts.

Summar on the Leica IIIa. Like shooting Kodachrome ASA 10 again.

It's worth more to me. I would not trade my M9 for an M10. The M9 has the last generation full-frame (24x36) CCD made. Same with the M Monochrom- would not trade it. Both have the CCD with BG-55 cover glass. The M10 uses front-side illuminated CMOS. Loses collection efficiency and larger non-uniformity correction is required. The M11 forgot to put a Light Meter into the camera, rely on sensor-on for metering. Besides, the uncompressed DNG of the M9 and M Monochrom is much easier to read in from disk when writing your own code. Probably not why most people stick with the M9 and M Monochrom, but a big reason for me. A quick check on Ebay Sold listings indicate that you can pick up an M9 with new sensor for about $3000. One with a shutter count under 7000 went for $3400. So- in the 12 years that I've owned mine, price has fallen 50% from what I paid new.

The AF-D Micro-Nikkor series lenses are all first rate. I sold my AIS Micro-Nikkor 200/4 after getting the AF-D Micro-Nikkor 200/4, the latter is better. I use the AF-D Micro-Nikkor 60/2.8 over the AIS Micro-Nikkor 55/2.8, but kept it. Never had a manual focus Micro-Nikkor 105. The AF-D Zoom Micro-Nikkor 70~180 is the best zoom I own.

The AF-D 105 F2.8 Micro-Nikkor is optically better than its AF-S equivalent.

It will be hobbyists that take on work for others, rather than formally trained repair technicians. That is a big difference, and a big learning curve.