.72 vs .85 finder with a 50mm and glasses

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Kiyatkin

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Sorry for this stupid question, but I have no access to M's to try. I am looking to get an M7 to use ONLY with 50mm or above lens. I tried a .72 with 35mm and my glasses and was very unhappy with how much of the frame I could see.

So my question is, if I wear my glasses, is the view with the .85 finder and a 50mm as bad as the view with .72 finder and a 35mm? I hope my quandary made sense.

TIA,
Dmitry
 
For .85 finder, the 50 frame lines have a little more relief than the .72 35mm frame lines, but not much more.

Actually, you might get used to the tight frame lines after a while. I wear glasses and initially could not get used to using the 35 frame lines on the .72. But now i have no issues with it.
 
There's a bit of a learning curve when using the 35 lines on .85 finder with glasses.
The 50 lines on .72 finder is easier...meaning you get to actually see at least half of the frame. Of course this depends on how you wear your glasses on your face.

Are diopters an option?
 
Too blind for diopters I think. Its just hard to tell w/o physically trying the cameras. There are some good .85 deals out there and I already have a .58 one. It would be a good combo, but the 35mm lines on .72 M6 really bothered me.
Dmitry
 
If you are going to buy the M7 0.85x to use it mostly with AE then I can`t see much of a problem in daily use while wearing glasses. However, if you want to easily see the red LEDs then a 0.72x is the better option from my experience (M6TTL 0.85x and various 0.72 M Leicas)
 
I wear glasses. I posses both the .72 and .85 viewfinder. With a 50mm lens the .85 viewfinder is preferable for me as I can see more. The .85 viewfinder with a 35mm lens is for me like the .72 viewfinder with a 28mm lens. But, I must add, that I do not have a problem with a .72 viewfinder and a 35mm lens. Therefore, to answer your question: If you will be using ONLY a 50mm lens go with the .85 viewfinder.
 
I wear glasses and have a 0.72 M6TTL. I find the 50mm framelines perfect. The 35mm framelines fill up the whole viewfinder view and fit just barely (i.e. cannot see outside/around the framelines) when having my glasses touching, not pressing into, the viewfinder.

The 28mm I can see only if I move my eyes around (I would call this unusable).

Just my experience with the 0.72. Never tried a 0.85. I was also thinking about getting the 0.85 as there were good deals, but I ended up with this.
 
Last edited:
I wear glasses and need to second the comments about the M3 - I can easily see the standard frame lines, and moreover I can keep both eyes open without any visual discomfort.

Randy
 
Kiyatkin said:
Sorry for this stupid question, but I have no access to M's to try. I am looking to get an M7 to use ONLY with 50mm or above lens. I tried a .72 with 35mm and my glasses and was very unhappy with how much of the frame I could see.

So my question is, if I wear my glasses, is the view with the .85 finder and a 50mm as bad as the view with .72 finder and a 35mm? I hope my quandary made sense.

TIA,
Dmitry
Click to expand...

I have the M7, wear glasses and have the 0.85 VF. Works great with the 50 mm and above. Not so great with the 35 mm.

Harry
 
I am interested in the same question as I toy with the idea of getting an M camera and I wear spectacles--thick ones. 😀 My experience is with a Bessa-T and its 1.5x RF with built-in diopter. I have never looked through a combined RF/VF. I am attracted to the increase in speed of operating the camera, fearful of squinting at a tiny image with nebulous borders.

I have read that the M3 is the camera to get for its .91 RF/VF, but it is also limited to 50mm and longer lenses.

What if 35mm, rather than 50, is one's preferred normal? Is it possible for someone wearing glasses to see the 35mm framelines on a M2 or M6?

Obviously I should try these cameras out, but I'd appreciate any comment at this point.
 
I wear thick-ish glasses and suffer from short sight. The thickest lens being 5mm at the rim and made of glass because they said it would be thinner.

Anyway, I use the M2 and the 35mm frame lines are OK but I see only 3 of them at a time. Usually one of the side ones is just on the edge or over the edge. Reality is that you get used to it.

I don't know a simple solution. I've tried contact lenses, great for normal use but distance problems. Then contact lenses for distant and middle vision plus reading glasses and, of course, those glasses with a changing focal length from top to bottom. I don't think there's an answer.

I often wonder why glasses have to be so far from the eyes, the frames do get in the way a lot with any camera and make you hold the camera too far away.

Regards, David
 
I'll add one more opinion to the mix. I wear glasses and had a .72 M7. I started off with a 35mm lens but got rid of it because I could barely see the complete frame, let alone what is going on outside of the frame (my primary reason for liking rangefinders). I switched to 50mm on .72 and it was perfect. I would not have wanted any more viewfinder magnification than that.
 
I think I'm in the same boat as Fixed Point above...

The M2 has larger framelines than the M6 and later finders, so 35mm frames are even harder to see. I apparently have more trouble than most, even without glasses, and cannot quite see the complete 35 frame at once except in peripheral vision with the eye positioned just right. Using a 50 for the first time was a revelation... finally I could see useful areas outside the frame!

Since I like 35mm, my solution was to get a goggled Summaron, which gives me a 35mm view through the 50mm framelines AND outside the lines too. Great!
 
It all seems so complicated and idiosyncratic that it seems I will have to get my hands on the cameras before I buy one, or buy one that can be returned. One concrete thing I learned from this thread is that a 50 is visible on a M-2, even though a 35 is not necessarily visible: quite ironic considering the identification of the M2 with the 35mm lens. Anyway it bears investigating
 
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