.58 Finder Opinion Please

[BOSS65]

I wear glasses and am considering buying an M6 or M7 with a .58 finder. I have a Bessa 3m and have trouble seeing the 50mm framelines of the 1:1. I use lens 28, 35, 75 & 90 generally. Is there any downside to the .58 finder. Would I be better off with a .72. Thank you in advance.

 

[Ossifan]

I don't wear glasses and I have Ms with both the .58 and .72 finders. I use the .58 for my 35 cron and the .72 for 50mm lenses and am very happy with that setup - I enjoy being able to see outside the framelines when I compose. The rangefinder base is smaller on the .58, but I have not encountered any problems. I understand that people who wear glasses really enjoy the .58. Not sure if this helps.

 

[thomasw_]

i wear spectacles, too. the ,58 is something you should try before you buy....i can't stand it. a .72 or higher VF seems more conducive to the bespectacled man. maybe this is why i love my m3 VF more than any other.... the .85 mp finder is great as well for the 4-eyed man. but because you like to shoot 28 and 35 FLs you should think about external VFs with a .85 or .72.

 

[Tom A]

I have a couple of M's with the 0.58 finder (a Millenium M6 that was converted to 0,58 from its 0,72 and a MP). I am primarily a wide angle user, 21/25/28 and 35 go on the 0.58 with the outside edge of the 28 frame becoming a reasonable 25 frame. The 50mm frame is usable but not great and the 75/90 frames are useless.
Up to and including the 35 it is easy to focus and it is precise enough ( although with the VC 35/1,2 I prefer a 0,72 finder).
The "companion" to the 0,58's is a O,85 M6 as that one will give me a big,bright frame for the 50 and 90, For the 75's i simply use the Bessa R3M as that one has a "free-standing" 75.
What I like about the 0.58 is that for the 35 lenses it will give me a unencumbered set of 35 frame lines and nothing else.
However, if you keep going between 35/75 and only one body, you would be better of with a 0,72 as the 75 is a lens that requires a very deft and precise focus! The 1,4 in particular takes no prisoners - at 1,4 you have a very slim margin of error! The f2 Summicron is better, but to take full advantage of that lens, you want to "hit" it right everytime.

 

[sepiareverb]

I found the .58 not quite the startling better finder that I was expecting. Perfect for me with the 35mm lens, ok with the 28. My initial thought was to use it for the 25, using most of the field, but I'm not sure. Still working out all that. My usual set-up has been the .58 with a 35, and the .72 or M5 with a 50. I'm now throwing the 28 or 25 onto the .58 for part of the day out, getting the feel for them. And inevitably there is now sellers remorse for the 75- seeing more images where a 75 would be just the ticket. Well, something to long for again never hurts...

 

[AusDLK]

Love it. Wouldn't want to use an M with any other VF.

Anyone have a black M7 with the .58 finder that they have to get rid of...?

 

[peter_n]

One body only I would go with Tom's advice and get the 0.72 mag M. Maybe consider the 1.25X magnifier if you have a 75/1.4.

 

[sepiareverb]

Love it. Wouldn't want to use an M with any other VF.

Anyone have a black M7 with the .58 finder that they have to get rid of...?

Not mine sorry Dave. It really is the perfect VF for a 35 in my working. I kept an eye out for a long time before this one came along.

-side note: that Hexanon surprises me again and again Thanks!

 

[furcafe]

In addition to trying out the finder if you can find 1, I would assess what focal lengths you use more often, i.e., if most of your photography is in the 28-35mm range, then the 0.58 works well. To follow on Tom A's post, the big downside to the 0.58 finder is the reduced focus accuracy; if your 75 & 90 are fast (f/1.4 or f/2) & you use them wide-open often, then the 0.72 is a better solution.

I had a 0.58 M6 TTL for a little while, but sold it because I just didn't use it very much; I generally shoot @ 35mm & longer (vast majority @ 50mm). I also already had a Hexar RF, which has a similar magnification (0.60?), for wides. IIRC, the 0.58 finder had plenty of space around the 28mm lines for my purposes, but I don't need to have a lot of space around the frames (as a right-eyed shooter, I find it easier to just keep both eyes open when framing).

I do wear glasses, but I think eyewear prescriptions & faces vary too much to make that a useful criteria when reading/listening to opinions from other people.

I wear glasses and am considering buying an M6 or M7 with a .58 finder. I have a Bessa 3m and have trouble seeing the 50mm framelines of the 1:1. I use lens 28, 35, 75 & 90 generally. Is there any downside to the .58 finder. Would I be better off with a .72. Thank you in advance.

 

[humanized_form]

.58 is great

.58 is great

i use a .58 M7 and love it with a 35mm lens. when using 50mm and above i add the 1.25x magnifier for more precise focus.


k.

 

[Doug]

I would opt for the .58x finder if/when I get another Leica body. My M2 of course has the .72x, and though it's reputed to be ideal for 35mm lenses, I can just barely make out the 35 framelines in peripheral vision (without glasses). I never had a 50mm until recently, so I'm now delighted to see the "elbow room" in the finder for the 50mm framelines. I expect the .58x would be similarly ideal for 35mm and workable for 28.

Amazing how the wide-field viewfinder of the Zeiss Ikon displays very usable 28mm framelines despite the .74x magnification.