Having Trouble with Focusing. Help!!

[wburgund]

I'm a new guy with a new M6 and 50mm Summicron-m. I am having a terrible time focusing. The focusing rectangle turns white while I'm trying to focus and I can't see what I'm focusing on. This happens all of the time and it's making me miss lots of shots. I have no trouble at all with my Canon L lenses on my Canon SLR's but this is something I can't figure out. There are lots of times in full sunlight (behind my back) and other times that I can't see a thing in the focus area.
Can anybody shed some light (pun not intended) on this? Are there different focusing screens that I can get and by the way, is the focusing done through the camera or the lens?
Thanks, Bill

 

[people_atease]

Would it be caused by 'Flare problems' or internal reflection in the Viewfinder?
as you said it happens in full sunlight condition.

 

[ywenz]

perhaps your finger is blocking the patch's window??? that little window next to the Leica Red dot...

 

[Mazurka]

Welcome to the rangefinder-flare club!

Welcome to the rangefinder-flare club!

Congrats! You've experienced the mythical (according to some people) finder flare! 😀

Go to http://www.leicagoodies.com/shade.html for a quick and inexpensive fix. (No pun intended.) Your focus patch and framelines will be dimmed a little, the patch will still flare BUT it won't white out to the point of unusable.

More info and options at http://www.nemeng.com/leica/020b.shtml

 

[richard_l]

This happens all of the time

All the time? I wouldn't put up with that! Sell that crappy Leica gear quickly and stick to Canon. (If you want to lose the occasional rangefinder whiteout, stick a finger over the framelines illumination window.)

You don't happen to live under a bridge do you?

Best wishes,
Billy Goat 😀

 

[pvdhaar]

Here's two more hints:

Make sure your eye is centered behind the viewfinder, looking at the rangefinder from an angle will make it oblique.

Make sure that no direct sunlight falls into the viewfinder from behind. I don't know whether you wear glasses, or are used to not putting the finder straight up to the eye, but there may be room for light to peep through. The resulting glare will white-out the finder easily.

 

[fotografz]

Range-finder parch white out is no Myth. When faced with a strong light source usually above and at a 45 degree angle down, the RF patch can totally white out. I was experiencing this at wedding receptions where the environment was pretty dark punctuated by higher up hot points of light (like floods shining on the dance floor).

Centering your eye can sometimes lessen this, but in my experience doesn't eliminate it. Plus, by the time you re-orient your eye, the photo op is gone.

The MP finder and later versions of the M7 eliminated this problem with a redesigned baffle system in the RF mechanism.

The RF can be altered by Leica by installing the MP version. I had both my M7s corrected by Leica and the "white out" phenomena totally disappeared.

 

[wburgund]

Thank you to all that responded. And, Richare-I, no, I live under a rock!

 

[Flyfisher Tom]

That flare out is quite annoying.

Here's what I have done to get rid of it. Cut out a small rectangle of gaffer's tape (smaller than the frameline illuminator rectangle). Place it in the center of the frameline illuminator rectangle (I'd say covering about 75% of it). Voila ... your framelines will be dimmer, but you will cut out the flareout incidents. Adjust to your personal liking. Once you've internalized the 50mm frameline, you can even just cover the whole illuminator box and get rid of ALL flare outs.

good luck