When I got my IIIc a little over a year ago it came with a 3.5cm lens and no viewfinder. My first few rolls through were shot just using the built-in viewfinder and framing loosely. I have a 5cm Elmar now that pretty well lives on that body, but I also use it with a 35mm Summaron. Although I have a VIDOM finder, I rarely bother to use it, going back to loose framing for the odd shot.
Just do it, and if it works for you, as it does for me, fine.
Well, I have a IIIf, which should be similar, and the built-in finder is nowhere near matching a 35mm lens. It's also small and squinty. An auxiliary finder would be a very good idea - I use the Voigtlander 28/35mm minifinder, which goes well with the small size of a screw-mount Leica.
The Russian ones are about $30 although I'd strongly recommend one of the Russian Zeiss Turret finder clones. These are well made, inexpensive, and flexible. About $50 on eBay plus shipping from the FSU.
I might add that there are zillions of pretty good Japanese 35mm finders around on eBay -- most are decent and can be had for $20-$40 or so. They look good too. Some have parallax correction.
I might add that there are zillions of pretty good Japanese 35mm finders around on eBay -- most are decent and can be had for $20-$40 or so. They look good too. Some have parallax correction.
Yeah I used to have one of these. I have no idea who made them -- most are pretty good.
I should note that there are also a variety of Turret finders from Germany that I've seen -- all copying the old Zeiss idea to some extent -- many excellent.
You might look at Tewe finders as well, if you end up shopping for a model with variable settings. It's a zoom finder, versus the ones that just impose a mask, making it a lot more useful for telephotos. I've been quite impressed with mine. (Random trivia moment: it's the "eye" in the famous Andreas Feininger portrait that my avatar is referencing.)
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