Leica LTM IIIc VF w 35mm lens?

Leica M39 screw mount bodies/lenses
Frank Petronio said:
Hi - just wondering how close the IIIc's vf is to matching a 35mm lens? Or is it highly advisable to get a viewfinder?
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Hi Frank,

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.

Regards,

Bill
 
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.
 
I use the VC metal auxiliary finder on my IIIf and find it to work well with a 35mm lens.

See my avatar for the setup.

Jim N.
 
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.
 
David Murphy said:
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.
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Any idea who made the bullet shaped ones that just say 'Made in Japan'? I have a 9cm one with parallax correction but no brand.
 
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.)
 
I'll second the TEWE or Nikon Varifocal finders... very nice to use.

The TEWE finders turn-up freqquently on e-bay; there were at least two versions: one model covers 28mm - 150mm, another covers 28mm - 200 mm.

In either case , I find the the optical zoom finders easier to work with than the "shrinking-mask" variety...

Good luck !

Luddite Frank
 
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