Leica M Diopter

[Firemedic]

A product called an MS-Mag x1.15 magnifier contains an adjustable diopter, which is what I need for my old eyes looking through the viewfinder of my Leica M7. Is there anyone out there who may have such a thing and is willing to part with it? They are difficult to find; no longer manufactured, I believe.

 

[maddoc]

Did you check the homepage of "japanexposures.com" (former "megaperls.com) ? If anybody they should be able to help.

 

[Firemedic]

Yes I did check their site. An adjustable viewfinder magnifier with the least level of magnification is an x1.15 one, and it has been discontinued by the manufacturer, just my luck. There is no adjustable diopter made without some sort of magnification, strangely, as far as I know.

 

[awilder]

Why not use a screw-in diopter lens since the 15% increase in magnification is negligible?Just ask your eye doctor for your distance correction and then factor in the -0.5 diopter viewfinder power to determine the correct power to buy.

 

[whitecat]

I have a Leica +1.0 diopter I was just going to post for sale. If you can use it PM me and maybe we can cut a deal.

 

[awilder]

If your distance prescription is +0.50 D or +0.75 D in your shooting eye, the +1.0 diopter lens is ideal.

 

[john_s]

Your optical prescription is a start, but not the final answer. Leica diopters are available in 0.5 increments, which is great for us old folks. If you can, try before you buy. Test with your camera preferably in not very bright light, and also near and far subjects.

For an SLR, if you wanted to take a stab at a value, you would ask your optician what diopter you need to view a subject at about 1metre. This is the equivalent optical distance of the focusing screen (which of course does not move). However with a rangefinder, you are actually still using your eye's focusing mechanism going from a near to a far subject. Not good news for us with minimal accomodation. (Look at Wiki's article on eyesight presciptions to see what happens as we age- it's scary).

So I think trial and error is the way to go, starting with your prescription for mid-distance.

 

[Ben Z]

For an SLR, if you wanted to take a stab at a value, you would ask your optician what diopter you need to view a subject at about 1metre. This is the equivalent optical distance of the focusing screen (which of course does not move). However with a rangefinder, you are actually still using your eye's focusing mechanism going from a near to a far subject.

That is so true and yet so rarely understood or correctly explained when people try to give "good advice" on forums for choosing a diopter for the M series.

The good thing for us who are in our late youth 🙂D) is that M lenses don't focus closer than 70cm, so we don't need to be able to see things clearly through the finder that are closer than that, and so most of us can get away with a single diopter strength and things will be sharp enough (remember, lining up the rangefinder images doesn't take as precise vision as focusing on a ground glass). Me I'm very nearsighted and taking glasses on and off is a royal pain, so I use a +1 on the camera and still keep my glasses on and it works great. In fact I could focus accurately without the diopter, but viewing is more comfortable with it on.