Anyone using a 50mm w/ a .72 finder (MP)?

[markbrennan]

Hi everyone -

Earlier this week I started a thread over in the Canon forum about moving to an M body - I now shoot w/ a Canon P. My Canon forum buddies have been very helpful.

Now that I'm getting close to getting an M, I wanted to ask M users' experience using the 50mm framelines w/ a .72 finder.

Specifically, I'm interested in an MP; I looked at a couple at Tamarkin yesterday and was blown away by the handling, smooth and quiet, but mostly the bright, contrasty finder. I should disclose that I've posted this same question over on photo.net's Leica forum; although I don't generally cross-post (I like each forum for slightly different reasons), this specific question is important enough to me that I wanted to solicit as much feedback as possible. I hope no one minds.

So - are people using a 50 w/ their .72 MPs much? (I realize the 35 is the most popular focal length, but for now I'm committed to the 50). Of course the .85 MP finder is bigger, but when I tried them both I didn't think it made THAT much of difference in my focusing. Also, the .72 is clearly more versatile for me, if I ever go wider.

Two dealers I've spoken with have strongly encouraged me to go w/ a .72 finder on the MP.

What are people's experience? Would love to hear your feedback.

Thank you.
Regards,
-Mark

 

[merciful]

Sure. I did lots of properly-focused work (close-up, wide-open) with a 50/2 on my M6 before I switched to an M2 and M3. I'm sure it would have been perfectly good for everything down to the 50/1, as well; and after all, there weren't any new Ms with finders bigger than .72 for quite awhile, and folks got along fine.

 

[rover]

I have a .72 M6TTL and 13 50mm lenses. Guess what my opinion is. 🙂

 

[peter_n]

LOL rover. As you know Mark I love the 0.85. I thought I was happy with the 0.72 until I tried the 0.85. Now I want another 0.85. I can do 28mm thru 135mm on the 0.85 cam no problemo. So my vote is for the higher mag but I bet I'll be in the minority.

 

[former member]

It will work fine. Many glass wearers prefer the 0.72x finder with 50mm lenses as they do not have to look around for the whole frame.

 

[Doug]

For years I had never used a 50mm on my M2, and when I finally did get one I was pleased with the 50mm frames... Very nice size with a decent amount of room around them to see stuff nearby. Excellent, like the 40mm frames on my (0.6x) Minolta CLE.

 

[tajart]

i love the .85, no problem...i have a 35 dedicated to this body...for wider, well i guess i'll just have to put a 15 or 21 on it and see. i don't think i'll worry about it though. but hey, i could be surprised. but then i'm just a shoot from the hip, zone focusing weirdo, at times anyway.

 

[awilder]

The .72x finder has been around since the M2 and until recently, it was the only mag. available except for.91x in the M3. I've used both .85x and .72x and because I use a 35/2 and wear glasses, the .72x is all I use now. If I want more mag. for my 90/2 Apo Asph. or 50/1.4 Asph., I'll just screw in the 1.25x eyepeice mag. Don't sweat the mag. difference because even though the Canon P has 1x mag., the Leica M allows for vernier acuity to kick in with it's split image focus at the patch border. This is 4x more accurate than simple coincidence focus on the Canon RF patch. Another RF feature that sets the Leica ahead of it's competition is the apparent brightness of the patch. It actually brighter than what the naked eyes sees outside the viewfinder because of the unique optical design that projects a real image from the rangefinder on top of the virtual image from the viewfinder. This additive combination actually amplifys the brightness of everything inside the RF patch allowing focusing in extremely low light situations. One thing I've noticed on M cameras is that the M6 and beyond had a brighter viewfinder image by about 1 stop than earlier models even though they were more RF patch flare resistant. The current MP and M7 solved that problem without loss of viewfinder brightness.

 

[Gabriel M.A.]

I tried a 0.85 M6 once, and it was nice. But .72 is good enough. If I were to use a bigger mag. viewfinder for 50mm framelines, well, there's the M3.

If I had a choice, I'd probably go with 0.85; but I like the option of a 28mm frameline. Decisions decisions decisions...

 

[Ken F.]

Hi Mark,

You'll love the MP, it is a wonderful camera!
I bought the chrome .72 almost a month ago, prior to that I had a .85 M6, prior to that an M2 and .72 M6 Clasic. I wear glasss so the .72 works much better for me, I also use mostly the 28, and 35mm focal length. The .72 is great with the 50 as you can see what is going on outside the frame lines, difficult to do with the .85 if you wear glasses, was for me anyway.
If you have not already, make sure you talk to Tony Rose at PopFlash Photo, he's a pleasure to deal with!

Cheers,
kf

 

[gabrielelopez]

No problem with the combo you think about. I had a 0.85 now i have a 0.72. I like even more the 0.72 for giving me more room for viewing outside of the frame I'm shooting at. i only shoot M with 35 and 50, and the framing with the 50 isn't hard at all, be confident.

 

[kevino]

M6TTL .72 user here. I primarly use a 50mm. Works well for me. I can see plenty around the outsides of the 50mm framelines while wearing glasses.

Go for it! The MP is a sweet camera.

I'm considering having the upgraded finder optic(s) installed in my M6TTL - $190 from DAG.

 

[Ben Z]

I've been using a 50 with .72X Leicas for a long time with no problem. I've got an M3 but I rarely use it because its such a kludge with a 35mm lens. I had an MP for almost 2 years. I had to seal up the eyepiece with silicone caulk because Leica redesigned the way the eyepiece fits the body in a most ludicrous way so there's a huge gao along one side and dust can get behind the lens easily. The black paint finish also was well on its way to looking really grungy. Not the smooth "patina of wear" hyped on the 'net, but lots of ugly scuffs and spidermarks like hood of a black car after a couple of cats fought on it. I'd bought it as a demo and sold it for what I paid for it (thanks to Leicas huge price inflations), bought two M6 bodies and a Voitlander 28/1.9 with the proceeds. But the MP is a fine camera if that's what you really want, get one.

 

[Photar]

sold it for what I paid for it ... bought two M6 bodies and a Voitlander 28/1.9 with the proceeds.

Ben, everyone knows that by now. Really. Everyone 😉

 

[markbrennan]

Hey everyone -
Thanks again for all the great responses! Sounds like .72 is the way to go. I don't normally wear glasses when I shoot, but DO wear them, and not having to worry about taking them for shooting might be a convenience.

AWilder - intersting comments about the optics of the M finders. It's true: despite the smaller size of the finder, the MP .72 finder was much, much more easy for me to focus than my Canon P when I tried it in the store.

Ken - I've already been speaking w/ Tony Rose (at PopFlash) and our transaction is nearly complete! Great guy, great service.

Gabriel Lopez - thanks for the encouragement. I like your site, love the images - but wish I cold navigate from one pic to the other once I click on the image.....

Jenni, Rover, Brian, Doug, Kevin and everyone else - thanks; good feedback!

Peter, Gabrielma - I've had one other person (a photographer I met at Tamarkin who replied to me over on photo.net) say they think the .85 is better. It's been a tough decision for me, but if I hadn't found the .72 so easy to focus I would have been persuaded. Also, I really do prefer the black body, black lens combo and the .85 is only available in chrome, I believe.

Thanks again, everyone!
best,
-Mark