Can't get my M6 VF to flare ;)

[Krosya]

Hello all,
Well, as most Leica M6 users know - there is that famous VF patch problem. My new (old) M6 has that ussue as well. I tried to ignore it, but as I like to shoot in all kinds of conditions where light is far from perfect, it was beginning to bother me. I read all kinds of advice here and other places and was even considering sending it to get fixed (plus it could use a CLA), but than I decided to experiment with some "home made" remedies. I tried all kinds of ideas untill..............one seemed to work. It was a Scotch tape that I covered a window that illuminates frames, etc with. I don't know what it is - maybe its the colour, or maybe its the consistency or whatever else, but ever since I put it on the camera - I can NOT get it to flare!!!!!! I'm amazed. I didn't expect for it to work so well. Glasses or not, sun or lamp - no flare at any possible angle I tried. I have not, obviously tried it at every possible light and it may not be a 100% workaround, but, I deffinately will not have that VF upgrade done now.
I didn't notice a significant change in a VF brightness either.
Photos below show all you need to know to try this. Try it if you want and see if it works as well as it did for me. No guarantiees, just some shared experience.
Hope it helps someone as well.

 

[ferider]

Cool Krosya. Similar to the patch that Leicagoodies used to sell (polarized tape) !

I had a related experience at the new-years party I went to:

Normally I never have problems with patch flare on my 2 M6 bodies. I always thought some bodies are more prone to flare than others.

At the party, doing a portrait-format shot I accidentally held the camera
other than usual: normally in portrait format I hold the camera vertical (right eyed), viewfinder down. This time I put the viewfinder up (like many other
people shoot Leicas). When I did this the finder (against a lamp)
flared like crazy, for the first time in about a year of M6 usage.

So I was wondering if the way the camera is held has to do with the problem ...

Roland.

 

[Krosya]

I'm sure how you hold a camera has some effect on VF patch flare. Mine did too, but by the time I'd find just the right way to tilt it - I'd lose a shot. My new fix seems to work in if not any - in most positions you hold a camera. I keep trying , but I can't get it to flare so far, after doing this fix. Like I said before - I think it's the type of the tape you use to cover the window. I tried several, but with limited degrees of success. This one worked out best.

 

[Davor]

Btw. Is there any way to "see" if your M6 has had the viewfinder upgrade, without actually opening up the camera?

 

[wotalegend]

Here’s my experience and opinion so far with RF patches: I have a Bessa-R, Bessa-T, several bodies from the three major FSU makers, a recently acquired Leica M3, and two 60-year-old eyes which are somewhat less than 100%. I give my top rating to the Bessa-T which doesn’t really have a “patch”, it’s all-RF, and it also deserves top rating for its adjustable dioptre. Next I would rate the Bessa-R – the RF patch is clear and easy to focus, but the camera is less than a year old – well, less than a year in first use anyway. The FSU bodies are a mixed bag as usual, with a particular honourable mention to those with both wide-base rangefinders and adjustable dioptres (Zorki 5/6 and FED 2). The wide-base Kievs are OK but miss out by not having an adjustable dioptre. The M3 as it came to me was a disappointment. To be fair, it is 52 years old. The RF patch was just a near-opaque white rectangle in the viewfinder and nearly unusable in all but bright daylight. I have experimented by sticking masking tape over the bright-frame window (the middle window) which is pretty much the same as George’s fix, but I have found the most effective is to stick a tiny rectangle of black electrical tape (about 3mm x 2mm) in the middle of the viewfinder window. When looking through the viewfinder it is just a small black blur which does not detract from the overall view, but when lined up with the RF patch it makes the split image somewhat clearer.



These are my opinions of the rangefinders only, not the overall camera bodies. That would be somewhat different.



Cheers, Peter.

 

[ywenz]

Krosya: Is that "brassing" that I see on the top edge of your M6? Right above the viewfinder and the light collector window. I want to specify "brassing" as opposed to "Zincing" since it's golden instead of silver in color.

 

[Krosya]

Krosya: Is that "brassing" that I see on the top edge of your M6? Right above the viewfinder and the light collector window. I want to specify "brassing" as opposed to "Zincing" since it's golden instead of silver in color.

Nah, lol, - sorry to confuse you - it's just the light reflected off the edge of the camera. It really is black paint there, no brassing of any kind.
Cheers

 

[Ben Z]

You put semi-opaque masking tape over the frameline illumination window? Can you still see the framelines in low light?

 

[Flyfisher Tom]

thanks for the tip Krosya 🙂

It sometimes amazes me that the RF/VF window of my relatively cheaper R2A is way more pleasurable to use than my M6. If Cosina could get it right, I wonder why Leica could not easily have gotten it right.

cheers

 

[Krosya]

You put semi-opaque masking tape over the frameline illumination window? Can you still see the framelines in low light?

Well, I'm not sure what low light means for you, but I'll give you an example - from M6's meter: film ISO 400, at 1/8sec and f/ 1.7 you can see frame lines well enough to be usable with this particular tape on the window. As this is sort of a borderline of handholding for me - it works out well. In darker situations it may get a bit more difficult to see framelines.
Hope this helps.

 

[Mazurka]

And there're those who claim the largely transparent SHADE from Leicagoodies dims the framelines too much. 🙄

It darkens the frames on my M6TTL by roughly a stop. A tiny price to pay, just like what the SHADE cost me. Darn RF patch whited out at the slightest provocation before the plastic. Now it's always useable.

 

[jaapv]

And there're those who claim the largely transparent SHADE from Leicagoodies dims the framelines too much. 🙄

It darkens the frames on my M6TTL by roughly a stop. A tiny price to pay, just like what the SHADE cost me. Darn RF patch whited out at the slightest provocation before the plastic. Now it's always useable.

It works- and gets lost in about two weeks 🙁

 

[Gabriel M.A.]

I spent the $$ for the upgrade. I just had to; I tried the tape thing, too, but it's not quite the same when you compare it side by side with an M3 or an M2.

My "upgraded" M6 behaves just like the M3 and M2, and the framelines did loose some brightness, but are in line with the brightness of the M3 and M2.

But whatever works. The flare made me lose a number of shots during my first months of using the camera, then got used to it, and learned how to "zone" focus, but it still annoyed the **** out of me. Had the money at the time, and took the plunge.

 

[vrgard]

Gabriel, can you enlighten me a bit? I wasn't aware that upgrading the M6 in this way caused any loss in brightness. Is that really the case and, if so, why is that?

Thanks,
Randy

 

[Mazurka]

It works- and gets lost in about two weeks 🙁

Haven't lost mine so far.😛