Leica LTM 35 mm finder

Leica M39 screw mount bodies/lenses
Leica III, SBLOO, Ultron 35mm f/1.7 LTM, 400-2TMY.

Erik.

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I use a Voigtlander Kontur. I like the 'both eyes open' concept. Mine is intended for use on a 6x9 camera, but the field of view seems very close.
 
I have an early Leica II and the 'both eyes open concept' was invented with that camera it seems. The rangefinder magnification is 100% :cool:

For the 35mm lens, I happily use a Voigtländer Minifinder. But they are near impossible to get by now...
 
There is a version of the Voigtlander Kontur that is specifically made for 35mm lenses on the 35mm format, though they're quite rare, to the point where I thought they were a myth until I found one for sale. Great viewfinders, clearer view than any glass finder due to their wonderful design.
 
Alfasud said:
I use a Voigtlander Kontur. I like the 'both eyes open' concept. Mine is intended for use on a 6x9 camera, but the field of view seems very close.
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+1 Takes a bit to get used to it, but its great. Be aware though, that although they are marked 35mm, they are mean to be used with 50mm lens. Apparently, 35mm seems to refer to the film format. It seems there are indeed some of them that where made for 35mm lens, but those are rare.

Regards.


Marcelo.
 
I seem to be a one man marketing department for Swallow finders. OK so the Leitz SBLOO etc are the best but these little things are very good indeed and a whole lot cheaper!

DSC02102 by dralowid, on Flickr
 
Erik,

Although my magical powers almost failed me with the Contax they are now back on top form!

It is one of those rareish 'changeover' lenses which has an M mount ring secured by a grub screw. Remove this and you expose a standard ltm thread. It will focus closer than the rangefinder (if you see what I mean) but apart from that and the rather unsightly aspect of the red dot, it is fine.

I have seen a similar arrangement on a 90mm Summicron and I guess there will be others.

Michael
 
O, yes, I remember! On the 90mm Summicron these rings are often glued.

The normal Summaron 35mm f/2.8 with LTM-mount will focus only to 1 m.

I wish that I could mount my Summaron on my screwmounts.

When I free my goggled Summaron from its goggles, I have an LTM-Summaron with a red dot too, but the focusing is then completely off.

Erik.
 
Dralowid said:
It is one of those rareish 'changeover' lenses which has an M mount ring secured by a grub screw.
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Like this one :) The attached finder is a metal CV 35mm finder, which has a great view and is very solid. Great value for money IMO.

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presspass said:
The Leica ones are high dollar and most have loose glass. The Voightlanders are fine but I wonder if there are any other new finders for this focal length, even if they are not intended for an LTM camera? Any suggestions?
Thanks.
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This is the one I used with my Leica X typ 113: Leica X1 Brightline Finder

It's not cheap ($310 from B&H), but it's all metal, nothing's loose, and it has a near perfect field of view for a 35mm lens. I also have the Voigtländer 35mm Viewfinder, available in either black or chrome, that works very well too and is $100 less expensive.

The difference between them is the eyepoint standoff: the Leica is easier to use with glasses with a larger ocular and more eye relief.

G
 
Erik van Straten said:
Yes, but that is a Summicron!

I just checked mine. Guess what? Mine is build on a screw mount chassis too.

Maybe the serial numbers are the giveaway. Mine is 1627820 and is very light, 114 grs.

Michael, what is the number of yours?

Erik.
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I'm no expert on these things, but I was under the assumption that convertible mounts were quite common on Leica lenses of that period. Such as the SA 21/4 for example. Every one of those I've seen has had a convertible mount.
 
Erik van Straten said:
Yes, but that is a Summicron!

I just checked mine. Guess what? Mine is build on a screw mount chassis too.

Maybe the serial numbers are the giveaway. Mine is 1627820 and is very light, 114 grs.

Michael, what is the number of yours?

Erik.
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Newer than yours!!!

1679415. Beware the little grub screw is very small and can split. Also, the mount will be tight. I used an old back cap as a grip first time.

It works very well but is perhaps not very 'elegant'...not bad though.

Michael
 
I have some rubber rings that are great for jobs like this.

The Summaron 35mm f/3.5 is a great lens, but the early screw mount version is not very ergonomic to put it mildly. The f/2.8 is easier to use.

Erik.
 
Erik van Straten said:
There is also a very good Nikon 35m brightline finder for the Nikon S2. Prices vary. Last year I bought one of those for EUR 35 on eBay. There is also a chrome Nikon 35mm finder for the Nikon S, but that finder has no brightlines and the Nikon S has no 24 x 36 mm frame but 24 x 32 mm.
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The chrome NKT 35mm finder with no brightlines is an excellent finder with a manual parallax correction cam and it fully covers the 24x36 format. If you wear glasses you can see the whole frame for composing with no problem. Basically, what you see in that finder is what you see in the Nikon Varifocal finder once set to 35mm. It's very similar to the Canon chrome finder looking almost the same externally.

Note : the Nikon S has 24x34mm frame (the 24x32mm frame belongs to the Nikon One and the Nikon M).

There are lots of excellent 35mm finders out there, from the prewar Zeiss 432/5 finder (still remarkable even by modern standards) to the recent CV brightlines finder, of all specs., sizes and budgets. This is not a difficult hunting.
 
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