Has your rangefinder eyepiece scratched your glasses?

T

Tuolumne

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A pet peeve of mine about rangefinders is the metal ring on the eyepiece that scratches one's glasses. Once your glasses are scratched you get an overall haze at the point of the scratches (I have a little cloud of them on my glasses) that reduces contrast and makes focusing even harder. Why can't these expensive rangefinders, especially Leica, accomodate glasses wearers with a rubber rim around the eyepiece? Or at least make it an add-on option.

/T
 
A friend of mine shot with a Nikon FE for about 20 years; the rubberized edge of the eyepiece had worn off long ago and all his glasses had the "haze" you mentioned where the eyepiece rubbed on the lens. We always kidded him that his glasses would be easily identifiable if he left them somewhere!
 
Not yet -- knocking on wood.

I wear both regular distance glasses and prescription sunglasses and so far so good.
 
No scratches so far. I'm using a bare Leica M2, and my glasses touches the edge all the time.
 
I make thin leather donuts with self adhesive backs. When one wear out I remove and replace with a new one..

DAG sell plastic donuts
 
I just put a rubber washer on my M5 eyepiece that I picked up at the hardware store...it cost 25 cents...to protect $500 eyeglasses, it seemed like a good idea.
 
Last edited:
PlantedTao said:
I just put a rubber washer on my M5 eyepiece that I picked up at the hardware store...it cost 25 cents...to protect $500 eyeglasses, it seemed like a good idea.
Click to expand...

What did you use to hold the washer in place?

/T
 
After many years of encountering this problem with my Leica IIIa and IIIf, I obtained some black adhesive-backed felt (Wal-Mart) and cut protective pieces with holes for the view opening. Peels right off the camera with no marking, and one package is a lifetime supply.

Jim N.
 
Tuolumne said:
What did you use to hold the washer in place?

/T
Click to expand...

superglue...just be really careful not to get on viewfinder...if you do it will come off with some mineral oil (light amount), it happen to me but be careful because it does raise ones pulse a bit :)

I don't plan on selling my m5, so superglue works for me. If I planned on selling it, I would use a lighter adhesive...problem with those is on a hot day they turn to goo, which then get on your glasses and pisses you off.

cheers.
Jason
 
haagen_dazs said:
Same here
my glasses are also glass and dont scratch as easily as plastic
Click to expand...

The problem with glass lenses is that they are heavy, especially at the high index of refraction I need. I suspect this is true for all of the serious myopes here. So, it's not really a practical solution for me. I still can't believe that the rf manufactureres leave us to our own devices for such a problem after it was solved many years ago by SLR manufacturers. It seems to me that the least you can expect from a $3,000+ camera is that it not ruin your $500+ pair of glasses!

/T
 
Yes, the original metal ring did scratch my glasses.

My M5 now wears the newer style eyepiece trim like on the M7 & M8. This should fit any of the M cameras and is rubber coated. No scratches.

Best,

Ray
 
harmsr said:
Yes, the original metal ring did scratch my glasses.

My M5 now wears the newer style eyepiece trim like on the M7 & M8. This should fit any of the M cameras and is rubber coated. No scratches.

Best,

Ray
Click to expand...

I have an MP, but not an M7 or M8. I didn't even know there was a rubber coated eyepiece option. What's it called and where can you get it? I've never seen it listed by any of the Leica dealers I buy from.

/T
 
My M3 (when I had it) scratched the heck out of one pair of specs before I got those little soft felt "O"s that stick on there.
 
DAG has plastic snap-on rings for M cameras (or at least he has in the past). I bought them for mine. They work great. My eyeglasses have glass lenses and the metal ring around the viewfinder certainly does scratch them over time.
 
Second commendation for DAG's little plastic rings. Way too expensive for what they are, but perfect. Snap in place, don't fall off, you can't even see they are there, and they work. I have them on two cameras.
 
I have gotten scatches on my glassesf rom my FSU cameras, but I got some "doughnuts" from Aki Ashai in Japan. They were shaped the correct size and where easy to put on and remove. Recommened.

http://www.aki-asahi.com/store/

Leo
 
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