composition help on leica iiic

paull64

Newbie
Local time
11:29 PM
Joined
Jun 29, 2005
Messages
4
Hi everyone, I'm new to rangefinder cameras and have just got myself a leica iiic, can anyone offer me any advice on how I go about composing my images, I'm used to using a manual SLR and really wanted to try a iiic, I know that what you see in the viewfinder is not what you get with rangefinders. Is it leftside and top that is wasted space therefore I have to make sure I keep everything down and right? or am I completely on the wrong track?
Any help would be much appreciated.
 
Particularly with an old-technology camera such as a IIIc, you'll have to practice a bit to learn the differences between what the viewfinder sees and what gets on the film.

At distances close to infinity, you'll probably find that the film shows at least as much as you saw through the finder. They designed it that way as a safety device -- if you see something in the finder, you can be sure it will be on the film. You can crop out any excess when you print or scan.

At the closest distances (3 to 5 feet or so) you'll encounter the phenomenon of "parallax" -- the difference between what the lens sees and what the finder sees. On a IIIc, the finder is just about exactly above the lens, so some of what you see along the top of the finder may be cut off in the picture. Experienced users of old-time RFs would learn to deal with this when shooting close-up portraits and such -- they'd compose the shot in the finder, then tip the camera upward a bit. Or, just frame all your shots somewhat "loose" and crop out the excess later.

It's problems such as this that led rangefinder camera makers to improve the viewfinder system in cameras made later than the IIIc. Although it's a cool camera, you really owe it to yourself someday to at least try a model with a more modern finder system: an M-series Leica, or a Bessa R-series model, for example. Among other conveniences, these have white framelines projected into the finder field; the lines show the area of the picture much more precisely (although still not quite as exactly as an SLR) and they move as you focus the lens to compensate for the parallax effect.
 
You may find it useful to buy & use a 50mm auxiliary brightline finder. Not only do they provide a brighter & clearer view than the squinty little window on the IIIc, they have bright, easily seen, 50mm framelines w/parallax correction markings. Leitz made 1 (model # SBOOI) & Cosina Voigtlander currently makes 1.
 
Thanks for the advice, it looks like i'm gonna have my work cut out, but it'll be fun learning I hope without too much stress.
Should I try different focal lengths or is it best to stick to the 50mm lens it came with?
 
paull64 said:
Thanks for the advice, it looks like i'm gonna have my work cut out, but it'll be fun learning I hope without too much stress.
Should I try different focal lengths or is it best to stick to the 50mm lens it came with?

I suggest using the 50mm normal lens until you're comfortable with it. Then buy an IMARECT universal finder that will have fields for 35/50/73 or 85/90 & 135mm lenses. The early Imarects had the 73mm setting while later ones include the 85. You'll also note that the dial to set the field has two lines. The longer one is the "normal" view for each setting while the shorter line is for tightening your view. If you were to get one with the 73mm setting and actually have an 85mm lens to use on the camera, the tight view for 90mm should be very close to giving you an 85mm field of view.

Once you have the finder then buy whichever lens suits your needs or wants. The Imarect finder has an excellent parallax correction dial.... much better than the Contax-style finders. Some people prefer the Contax-style finder's view but it has an absolutely awful parallax correction system. The Contax finder does have the 28mm field which the Imarect doesn't offer.

Walker
 
I use the same camera with the Jupiter 12, 35mm lens, and the accessory viewfinder and have not problems with it at all. There is a Russian multiformat viewfinder that some find works ok.
 
Check out the latest issue of the British magazine "Amateur Photographer". It is a special edition devoted entirely to Leicas, particularly screw-mounts. There is a lot of info on the IIIC, and photographers who use them.
 
Does anyone know if AP is available in the US? I'm interested in the IIIc article.
Thanks
 
I bought mine in New York City (only $5.95).
It has a great article about a guy who uses beat-up screw-mounts with a 25mm Canon, no viewfinder
 
Back
Top Bottom