.72 or .85 ?

[5nap5hot]

I am shopping for a M6. I have a Nokton 40/1.4 that I will be using for a primary lens. Which magnification would be better for taking pics with this lens? Is it easier to get accurate focus with the .85?

 

[ray_g]

Either will be able to accurately and easily focus the 40/1.4 wide open. Neither will have 40mm framelines. The question is, how wide do you shoot? If you use 28mm, you may want the 0.72. If you shoot quite a bit with longer lenses, the 0.85.

 

[boilerdoc2]

Also, I'm not sure which framelines the 40 brings up. So keep that in mind. As Ray-G said the .72 is the 'all around' VF and the .85 is for longer lenses - which it is great for. I have the .85 but using it with a 28mm...needs a external viewfinder. I'm pretty certain you can't get a .85 now in new Ms.
Steve

 

[x-ray]

I have two .85's and two .72's. The .85x is certainly more accurate for faster lenses in longer focal lengths but for a 40mm even a .58x would be fine. If you want to shoot with a 28mm or wear glasses then go for the .72x over the .85x. Otherwise if you don't wear glasses the .85x is more accurate but only of real value with the 75 1.4 and possibly the 50 1.4. In any case you will need a 40mm finder if you want reasonably accurate framing. Why not go for the Bessa with the 40mm frame?

 

[5nap5hot]

Well... I know I will eventually want a Leica. Maybe I should get a Bessa... lots of people have been saying so. I am still a new photographer... maybe a Bessa would be a better choice for me.

 

[peter_n]

No. Get a Leica right away if you have the funds and that's your end goal. You'll just lose money if you start buying intermediaries. As Ray asks above, where do you lean with your shooting preferences: shorter focal length or longer? A 40mm lens brings up the 35mm framelines on an M, on a 0.85 mag M there isn't too much to see outside that frameline (a major reason for using an RF cam IMO). OTOH the 0.72 mag is a bit of a compromise between the 0.58 mag & the 0.85 mag and the 35mm framelines have lots of room outside them in the VF so you can see what's going on there easily.

I would consider the 0.72 M, it's more suited to a 40mm lens and you can always buy the Leica 1.25 magnifier to make it a 0.85 mag cam if you want to try that magnification later. I have one and it works very well.

 

[Benjamin Marks]

What X-Ray said. If you are planning on using the 50/1, 75/1.4 or 90/2 then the 0.85 can be a help. Or you can get a 0.72 and a x1.25 eyepiece and have the best of both worlds. The magnifying eyepiece provides greater RF accuracy, but sacrifices an easy view of the whole VF.

 

[Crasis]

No. Get a Leica right away if you have the funds and that's your end goal. You'll just lose money if you start buying intermediaries. As Ray asks above, where do you lean with your shooting preferences: shorter focal length or longer? A 40mm lens brings up the 35mm framelines on an M, on a 0.85 mag M there isn't too much to see outside that frameline (a major reason for using an RF cam IMO).

Ack! The 40 Nokton does not bring up the 35mm framelines unless you take a metal file and hack away at the Nokton. It brings up the 50mm framelines by default.

 

[furcafe]

Actually, unless it's been modified, the CV 40/1.4 Nokton (like the Minolta 40/2 M-Rokkor & Leitz 40/2 Summicron) brings up the 50mm framelines on a Leica M camera. Thus, if you can do without an accessory finder, you can use the entire viewfinder, including the area outside the 50mm frames, as a rough approximation of the 40mm field of view (many photographers, including me, will do this when mounting a 40mm lens on an M3, which has an only slightly higher magnification VF than the M6/7/P 0.85, & more accurate 50mm framelines to use as a guide). The 35mm framelines are generally more accurate for 40mm, certainly more so than the 50mm framemlines in the modern M cameras, but if you don't want to mess w/your lens, the "whole VF" trick works pretty well (no parallax correction, of course).

A 40mm lens brings up the 35mm framelines on an M, on a 0.85 mag M there isn't too much to see outside that frameline (a major reason for using an RF cam IMO).

 

[ray_g]

IIRC, for a 40mm lens, a safe bet would be to use the 35mm framelines at infinity and the 50mm framelines when focusing near.

 

[Flyfisher Tom]

If you wear glasses, I strongly suggest you get the .72. The 40mm is approximated best by the 35mm frameline, which, on the .85 mag, is really pushing the limits of what you can see with glasses on.

 

[nikon_junkie]

I like the .85 magnification. I was spoilt buy the M3. The .72 was nice and honestly didn't think about it or feel it disadvantaged to the .85, however it seems easier to focus.

 

[raid]

I rather have a more accurate finder for lenses that require more accurate finders than having a finder that is more versatile but is more challenging to use with fast normal-tele lenses. I preferred recently to buy the M6 0.85 over the more popular M6 0.72. An external finder for a wide angle lens is not a hassle.

Raid

 

[peter_n]

Ack! The 40 Nokton does not bring up the 35mm framelines unless you take a metal file and hack away at the Nokton. It brings up the 50mm framelines by default.

Ack indeed! My bad!! 😱 Sorry about the mistake, I knew the one I had tried was filed and I just plain forgot... :bang:

 

[Magus]

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