28mm Lens on ZI vs Leica M

[peter_n]

Its 28 & 35 together and I think discontinued so it may be going up in price slowly but surely. I use it and it is a cracking little finder. Very bright and a lot smaller than the regular CV finders.

 

[notturtle]

peter, I know the one and it looks tiny. How are the 28mm frame lines? Is there decent space around them and what is the distortion like?

 

[mfogiel]

I hae both the ZI and a 0.58 M7, and I wear glasses. As far as the area outside the 28mm frames is concerned, there is a tiny bit more of it in the 0.58x leica, but the VF of the ZI appears much bigger, so if you do not wear glasses, there is a certain advantage in the ZI. The 35mm frames in the Leica are much smaller than in the ZI, even worse for the 50mm. The best camera VF for the 28mm is, as has rightly been said, the R4A. I tend to use the 0.58x Leica for the 28mm, ZI for the 35mm and 0.85 Leica for the 50mm. The R4A feels much less well in hand, has a nasty back tilt, and the VF very close to the lens, so it blocks quite a bit of vision even with a lens of average size, so I use it only if I need wider lenses, like 25 or 21mm and do not want to use external finders.

 

[peter_n]

peter, I know the one and it looks tiny. How are the 28mm frame lines? Is there decent space around them and what is the distortion like?

The 28 lines are extremely clear, there is good space at the top and the bottom but less at the sides. For me not a problem as I don't need exact framing for what I do. There is a bit of barrel distortion at the sides but much less than other CV finders I've used.

One of the new metal 24mm finders arrived in the mail today. Ridiculous price but a bit more space around the frame, especially at the sides and absolutely no distortion. Very nice finder.

 

[lns]

I know quite a few people have commented on how the ZI's 28mm frame lines are somewhat easier to see than a 0.72 Leica for someone without glasses; however, I am wondering how significant this is....

Not very significant. The ZI's 28mm framelines have a bit more room, for me without glasses, than the .72 Leica MP. Specifically, the extra room is around the top, bottom and left side of the viewfinder. Also, the viewfinder seems brighter, so that helps too. But the difference is not life changing. I love the ZI, but wouldn't buy it, or recommend it, for the 28mm framelines alone. I think the Leica .58 must be better.

On the other hand, the ZI viewfinder as a whole and the 35mm framelines are much better than the .72 Leica MP. After 2 years or so of spotless service from my ZI, I find the whole durability "issue" to be over-hyped internet tempest-in-a-teapot stuff. The ZI is a great camera.

Hope that helps.

 

[TJV]

Do you mean the new Leica 24mm finder? What is the build like compared to the new Zeiss and older Leitz metal finders? Are the multiple frame lines for film and digi a pain?

The 28 lines are extremely clear, there is good space at the top and the bottom but less at the sides. For me not a problem as I don't need exact framing for what I do. There is a bit of barrel distortion at the sides but much less than other CV finders I've used.

One of the new metal 24mm finders arrived in the mail today. Ridiculous price but a bit more space around the frame, especially at the sides and absolutely no distortion. Very nice finder.

 

[kshapero]

R4A... 0.52x finder (hardly less than 0.58) and single 28mm framelines with plenty of breathing room. Depends on how important that VF is to you, how particular you are about the body, cost savings, etc. but I thought I'd throw that out to muddy things up a bit 😀

Otherwise, the ZI is the best compromise for built-in VF range: decent 85 and 28, gorgeous 50 and 35. Like Double Negative, I shoot with a 25mm Biogon on mine all the time. How many people do that on a 0.72x M... and remember the ZI is higher magnification at 0.74x. Cosina must be doing something right with their VFs.

i shoot with the 25mm on the ZI and I wear glasses. Lots of fun.

 

[peter_n]

Do you mean the new Leica 24mm finder? What is the build like compared to the new Zeiss and older Leitz metal finders? Are the multiple frame lines for film and digi a pain?

We're going OT here but yes the new one, I cannot compare to Zeiss or old Leica as I have not used or even seen either. It is smaller and a lot sturdier than the original plastic Leica 24, which I have. I thought the M8 lines were going to be a real pain but they are just corners. The dotted parallax guide at the top is in line with the top two M8 corners. I still might get the M8 corners taken out if its possible.