50mm and the Leica M6

[jonathan_auch]

Hi there everyone, I am new here but have been lurking frequently.

Recently I just bought a used m6 classic, I knew the first time I

picked up a leica it was something special, the camera is in excellent

condition I love the action and the feel. With the camera I also got a

summicron, a newer model with the rectratable hood, and man it is

sharp, contrasty and good.

 

Here's where I am looking for advice, I mostly shoot with 50mm lens as

my standard, I do mostly documentary work, street photography and

photojournalism and have noticed that with .72x viewfinder the 50mm

frame is relatively small. Now it is not unusuable by any means, but I

was wondering what the advantages of having this viewfinder vs the .85 is?

 

I plan on shooting with three primary lens, 35mm, 50mm, 90mm. Would

there be any disadvantages to finding a .85 with this setup?

 

Thanks for your help,

-J

[dan flanders]

Stick with what you have and learn all you can about it and the 50. The 35 and 90 as auxilliaries are reasonable since that is the range Leica has been desigined around for the past fifty or so years. If you don't have eye problems the .72 VF should not present any troublesome issues. After you have learned the ins and outs of the M6 the way it is you then might explore a different magnification on the VF, but I've used mine for twenty odd years now, and though I have since had cataract surgery, I can still use the it comfortably. Glasses are a PITA anyway and they would be equally so with any magnification.

[jose f.]

The "loose" viewfinder on an RF camera looks odd to people who are used to the tight framing of an SLR, but has a lot of compositional advantages once you're accustomed to reading the frame lines. The .72 is a nice compromise if you plan to use the 35-50-90 set. Happy shooting.

[lee hamiel]

You would want then a .58 for the 35, a .72 for the 50 & a .85 for the 90 if you followed your reasoning.

 

Stick with the .72 as others have said - use it for a while - the framing is not what you are used to with slr's - the advantage is that you can see outside the edges of the framelines & capture the image as it unfolds - kind of like sniping in an odd sort of way.

[SCL]

Use it and learn to maximize its potential. I have an .85 finder on mine which works well for the longer focal lengths. It is all what you get accustomed to anyway, and not worth worrying about unless you have a particular eye problem. It was great that Leica offered a menu to buyers...but it has caused countless anxieties for new users who "worry" that they didn't get the optimal finder, when most viewfinder users just adapt and do fine.

[lee hamiel]

This has been posted here before but I feel it's appropriate at this juncture.

 

I will post two versions - one with white framelines & one in negative with black framelines per the various lenses.

[lee hamiel]

Also:

[lee hamiel]

Sorry - here's the other

[sid_chatterjee]

You should consider getting the 1.25X viewfinder magnifier. For 50 and 90mm it helps the framing and focusing quite a lot.

[feli]

The x1.25 magnifier doesn't solve the problem of the smaller 50mm framelines on the M6/

M7/MP. The amount of coverage the 50 marks indicate remains the same, they are simply

magnified in size.

[working camera]

Hate to paraphrase Jay, but some imagination solves the frame line issue.

[paul_beavin]

Lee--thanks very much for posting the comparisons. I hadn't seen them before and it's really helpful.

 

Thanks again!

 

Paul

[Nowhereman]

As I use mainly 50mm lenses, I had both my M6s converted from 0.72 to 0.85 viewfinders.

It's a great improvemeent because, otherwise the 50mm VF frame is just too small. I don't

have any problem with the 0.85 VF for the 35mm frame; and for 28mm, I prefer in any case

an external VF. A great improvement!

 

--Mitch/Manila