M series Framing Accuracy???...,

[LeicaVirgin1]

Greetings Tom and all the rest of the board-

I have an M3, (SS), M2, (Lever Rewind), M4, and a MP, (current). Sometimes when I think I have framed just as I like it; that when I finsh processing I notice that just on the corners, or the sides, etc., are intruding into what I thought was a meticulously framed shot...

I use focal lengths that are: 35mmLuxAsph., v.2, the 50's: Lux V.2, Cron v.5,
Elmar v.2, Elmar (Current), Summitar LTM, (Coated), The Tele's: 90mm Elmarit v.2, 135mm Elmarit f2.8 v.3

Am I doing anything that might be jeopardizing my shots? Any advise?

Many Thanx,

LV1

 

[Frontman]

It's quite possible that the frame lines are not precisely framing your shots. The parallax adjustment might need a little work to make sure the film is seeing what you are seeing. The frame lines can be adjusted a little bit either way for accuracy, but this adjustment requires a little skill and the necessary tools.

 

[Erik van Straten]

I have an M3, (SS), M2, (Lever Rewind), M4, and a MP.

The "inside" of the 50mm frameline of the M3 is very precise at 1 m. At infinity you should count one thickness of the frameline extra.

The 50mm framelines of the M2 and M4 are precise too, similar to the M3, but pictures with the MP show usually a lot more than the framelines show.

There are also differences in the focal lenghts of the lenses that cause framing error.

The 35mm framelines are worse, mainly due to the fact that the 35mm lenses can be anything from about 40mm to a true 35mm.

You'll have to study your equipment to anticipate to the error of the framelines.

Erik.

 

[johannielscom]

What Erik says.

Since you're not looking through the lens, some parallax will always be there and it will vary with focal length and distance. RF shooters just gotta live with that, or shoot an 100% viewfinder SLR for more precise framing...

 

[jsrockit]

are intruding into what I thought was a meticulously framed shot...

Welcome to the world of rangefinders... 😀

 

[Ljós]

[...] are intruding into what I thought was a meticulously framed shot...

🙂 Laplace's Demon muttering to himself. The world turned out to be a rangefinder ;-)

Greetings, Ljós

 

[Keith]

Rangefinders and accurate framing? Hah! 😀

Leica did the right thing by giving the M240 live view in my opinion and the option of an EVF ... I'm using the M for product shots currently and accurate framing is a must.

 

[taskoni]

I find my M2's frame lines dead accurate, I am pretty confident in my Leica as I frame my shots in a very precisely.
The fence pole on the right is exactly in the shot as the one on the left, just when mounting the print could not cut the window with the same accuracy.. Infinity focus at f/4 or 5.6, DR Summicron 50mm f/2.

Regards,

Boris

 

[furcafe]

In addition, the size of all of the framelines varies between Leica models. Ideally framelines would change size according to focus distance (smallest for close up, largest for infinity), but only a few RFs (not Leicas) have that feature. A good overview of the phenomenon here: http://leica.nemeng.com/006ba.shtml

All Leica Ms have framelines that are optimized for the closer focus distances, so you don't accidentally cut anything off, but that means you get more on the film/sensor when you're shooting at infinity. However, that close focus distance has changed over the years as the minimum focus on most lenses was reduced to 0.7m & Leica shrank some of the framelines to add 28mm starting w/the M4-P. I guesstimate 2m for older models like the M3, 1m for the M4-P onwards, though it seems the M 240, like the M8.2, has gone "backwards" to 2m for the landscape crowd.

The "inside" of the 50mm frameline of the M3 is very precise at 1 m. At infinity you should count one thickness of the frameline extra.

The 50mm framelines of the M2 and M4 are precise too, similar to the M3, but pictures with the MP show usually a lot more than the framelines show.

There are also differences in the focal lenghts of the lenses that cause framing error.

The 35mm framelines are worse, mainly due to the fact that the 35mm lenses can be anything from about 40mm to a true 35mm.

You'll have to study your equipment to anticipate to the error of the framelines.

Erik.