Can someone help me compare the M6 viewfinder to the R-D1?

K

kennylovrin

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Hey guys

I'm looking at getting an M6, just browsing whatever info I can find on the classic and TTL version.

I'm a bit confused with the viewfinder magnifications though. I understand .85 is a higher magnification than .72, and seeing that the R-D1 that I will be replacing is 1x I first thought I wanted .85 because it's closer to 1x.

But now I'm reading that wider than 50mm might work better on the .72? I will first of all throw a 35mm lens on the camera, so the question I'm having is if it's hard to see the 35mm framelines in the .85 viewfinder?

Comparing it to the R-D1, it's really easy to see the 35mm (because they are equivalent to 50mm), but the 28mm frame lines are quite hard to see (and those I guess would be closer to the 35mm on the M6).

I still used my R-D1 with 28mm framelines quite a bit though, so if the 35mm on the .85 isn't worse than the 28 on the R-D1 I should be fine.

Am I making any sense here at all? 😉

Thanks guys, and any input is appreciated!

Kenny
 
Hi Kenny,

the 0.85 viewfinder ist perfect with a 50mm or a 90mm for me, but for anything wider, i would choose a 0.72 model. The 35mm-framelines on a 0.85 are usable, but you can´t see anything thats out of the frame. There are no framelines for 28mm and wider also, so if you want to stick to your 28 and if your main lens is the 35, get the 0.72, if you ask me.

M
 
Consider add ons.

How soon will you want wide angle lenses? 0.72 or 0.85 wouldn't matter if you are going to add 25,24,21,15, or 12mm lenses to your camera bag. You'll still need to use external viewfinders.

Alternatively,if you dont mind spending an additional $130 for a Hong Kong removable eyepiece magnifier and arent bothered by the eyepiece sticking out the back of the camera -
0.72 on camera x 1.25x = 1.06x
or
0.85 on camera x 0.85 = 0.68x
(the 1.25 is the same as the 0.85, only that the 2 glass elements are flipped).
Attach or remove the eyepiece as needed when switching from the 35mm lens to 50 or longer.

I prefer a high viewfinder magnification for more accurate focusing so I have a 0.85 x 1.25 and a russian 35mm external finder (inexpensive and very good). I should mention that I also use a Bessa T and LTM cameras so I'm not bugged by external viewfinders. YMMV.
 
I will most likely not go wider than 35mm, I'm not generally a wide-angle type of person. 35mm is about my limit, at least as it stands right now.

However, I am more of a no-accessories-type-of-guy, so I'm not too fond of addons. I'd prefer as little fiddling as possible, to much stuff can really become a negative for me, and I end up getting nothing done but messing with addons. 😉

It sounds like .72x is more for me, I will most likely shoot mainly 35mm with it, and if I was to add anything it would be a 50mm. I never really saw the point of the focal lengths between 50mm - 200mm, but that is just me. 🙂

But, is it a problem using 50mm with the .72x finder? I mean, it's not like your looking at a tiny speck of a frame line? (i'm sorry, I am not able to look at a leica in real life).
 
.72 is the safe bet. like you, i prefer to avoid add-ons. i once had an SE 18mm for use on my M8, but really didn't like using the external VF. finally, you can easily use a 50mm lens on a .72 finder.
 
also, see here. this will give you an idea of what you see on different M6 finders with different lenses ...
 

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Goddamn, I never thought this would be such a huge problem for me. Now I'm worried about the bigger risk for flare of the .85 that I'm reading about. It's quite common when I use my R-D1 that the patch "disappears" just because I angle my eye a bit wrong and I'm totally fine with that, but the question is if the .85 finder is worse than that or if it is just that Leica users expect so high quality that even the tiniest of problems become overblown..
 
Thats probably because the happy customers are busy out shooting pictures while those that arent, spend their time complaining on the net. I'm ok with mine.
 
i have a .72. when i purchased it, i was thinking i would definitely end up getting the MP viewfinder modification (which costs a bit more than $300). but now i'm not sure, as i really haven't yet been troubled by flaring. we shall see ...
 
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