While Leica's solution of coding lenses in order to identify them to the camera may have made sense at the time the M8 was introduced, today a better solution is available. Nikon deals with lens identification in firmware, by simply allowing the used to enter the focal length and maximum aperture of the lens. With such a facility available in the M8 firmware the user would not have to send lenses away for coding, which is not only relatively expensive but is also bothersome in that the lenses have to be sent away and may not be received back for some time; it is also often onerous for Leica M8 users who do not live in Europe and North America, in that lens shipment is more costly, takes longer and involves troublesome customs clearance when the lenses are shipped back. We therefore call on Dr Andreas Kaufmann and Leica to institute an M8 lens identification system in firmware, preferably on an open-system basis for all lenses or at least for all Leica lenses that can be used on the M8.