Finder for CV 15 on the M8?

[fiatlux]

I ordered a CV 15mm to use on my M8. It is an old stock but new LTM one, which comes with a matching viewfinder.

On M8, I'd ideally need a 20mm vf, but since viewfinders tend to be on the conservative side, I wonder whether I could not just live with the 15mm vf and mentally adjust for a tighter crop.

OTOH, I could use the CV 25mm VF I already have and imagine a slightly (?) wider image.

Is any of the above options workable or do I really need to look for a 20/21mm vf?

TIA

 

[Olsen]

I bought both a 15 and 21 mm Voigtländer viewfinder with my VC 15. With my M8 I use the 21 mm.

 

[efix]

I'm using the Voigtländer 21mm finder which works well with the 15/4.5 on the M8. It's well-built and the frame it shows is a bit tighter (as is to be expected) than what the 15mm captures, but not by much. Works fine.

 

[fiatlux]

I realise I could buy a 21/25 viewfinder and sell my 25 viewfinder, loosing little money and no functionality in the exercise.

How is the 21/25 combined viewfinder compared to the fixed 21 and 25 ones?

 

[Bobfrance]

21 VF here too.

As a side note. I had to buy a Version 2 Voigtlander LTM to M-mount adapter as the original one has a cut out where the 6 bit coding should go, meaning it couldn't be coded. Not genererally a problem but I find it vital on the 15mm to prevent the cyan vignetting.

YMMV.

 

[k.a]

21mm plastic voigtländer finder for me aswell. the viewfinder distorts a lot which can be distractive but otherwise it's ok. heard that the zeiss ones are better. maybe the new metal finders are better?

+1 on the coding, easiest fix for colorshifting in the edges

 

[fiatlux]

21mm plastic voigtländer finder for me aswell.

Plastic 21mm finder is the cheapest but buying one of the remaining Skopars with VF included seems a better deal than the VF alone (ca. 340€ vs 140-200€).

And then there are the metal VF, the Voigtlander and Leica zoom finders.... aargh, too many choices 😀

+1 on the coding, easiest fix for colorshifting in the edges

Yes, I bought a special adapter with "holes" for 6 bit coding.

 

[Bobfrance]

A 15mm finder would be worth having in case you buy a 12mm Heliar in the future. 😉

 

[fiatlux]

(This was meant to be a reply to Bobfrance)

I have no plan to go that wide. 15mm is already a bit wide to my taste on M8. I'd rather have a 18mm, but the Zeiss (not to mention Leica) are a bit expensive (and large for the ZM) for the occasional use I will have of them.

I have no plan selling the 15mm finder as it would make selling the 15mm lens later more difficult.

 

[Bobfrance]

I was lucky, I bought mine second hand complete with a 21mm finder form a Leica shop so I wasn't stuck with a finder I couldn't use.

Don't be too hasty regarding how often you'll use it. Mine has blown me away and I find I'm using it more and more.

Even for doing street shooting after dark. 🙂


Untitled by Bobfrance, on Flickr



Nobody mentioned UV filters yet? 😉

 

[k.a]

Yes, I bought a special adapter with "holes" for 6 bit coding.

not just the "holes", you will need the right viewing frames aswell. both the coding and the view-frames has to match for the coding to work properly

 

[ampguy]

The CV 15 and 21 finders are about the same. The 21 has brightlines for the 21, while the 15 you just use what you can see.

So on the M8, the 21 can work for a 15, and the 21 can also work for a 21 on film or an M9, but like a RF VF, it covers more than you frame, you use the lines.

If you only have a 15 VF, but are using on an M8, RD1, or other legacy focus type appliance, you could mask off the equivalent of 21 on the 15, if you are handy, and need ~21, but have a 15 VF.

So the 21 VF is the one to get if you have both 15 and 21 lens, and only want to use a single VF.

Does anyone know if the new 21/25 also does 15 using the whole VF?

 

[efix]

Bobfrance - superb shot! More encouragement for me to let the 15 stay on my M8 for now 🙂

 

[Bobfrance]

Bobfrance - superb shot! More encouragement for me to let the 15 stay on my M8 for now 🙂

Thanks efix! Keep it on it's an amazing lens.
I found it took a bit of getting used to but it's worth persevering.
Over time it has made a really positive impact on my work and still keeps on surprising me.








Bob.

 

[fiatlux]

Update: I've shot a few frames with the 15mm on the M8 and find that 15mm vf is actually fully usable: when holding one's eye 1cm away from the vf, the field of view matches fairly well what's captured by the M8.

 

[robklurfield]

After I carelessly knocked the plastic 21mm CV finder off my M2 last winter and had it run over by a truck, I picked up a ginormous Kobalux 21. It's the same size as my 35/3.5 LTM Summaron LENS. Not exactly the way to go if you're looking for something small and stealthy, but I like it just fine.

In this silly picture, finders from left to right: Kobalux 21, CV 15, Tewes 35-135 Varifocal. Does it make any sense to have all of these mounted simultaneously on an M8? Of course not!