M2 and 28 Elmarit, Accessory finder or No

[madNbad]

Last year I cleared out a bunch of stuff and bought a 28 2.8 Elmarit ASPH and love the lens. Also, I sold my M6 TTL, deciding on the M2. The M2 is retuning from Don Goldberg this week with, in addition to other work, replacing the eye aperture with the larger opening M4 style allowing me to see more of the viewfinder. Prior to sending it off I shot a few rolls just using the viewfinder and the framing was pretty good. So I though I would ask the group if anyone had strong opinions on the matter.

 

[Ko.Fe.]

It is very individual.
I see and frame it without EVF and it works.

 

[nickthetasmaniac]

I have an M2, VM 28mm and Voigtlander 28mm VF. I love the external viewfinder, but 95% of the time I find myself using the M2's internal finder... It's more convenient, doesn't try to fall off all the time and frames close enough.

 

[michaelwj]

I use(d) an M4 with a 28/2.8 ASPH, and excellent combo and never felt the need to use an external VF. I could barely see the 28 franelines on my old M6 anyway.

 

[shimokita]

I have a IIIf with a Canon 28 f/2.8 and an MP with a 28 f/2.8 Elmarit-M so I picked up the Voigtländer external finder. I really enjoyed using it one time on the MP, made more sense to me on the IIIf with zone focus.

I have never tested the Voigtländer external finder for framing accuracy, and it does have a bit of distortion.

Just got back from a four week road trip where I used the MP & 28mm combination almost 100%... did not use the external finder. With the MP I have a diopter and remove my eye glasses when shooting.

 

[santino]

Wow, interesting result so far. Imo the M loses it compactness...

 

[Doug]

I have used 28mm a lot with my M-D(262) and it works fine with its built-in viewfinder, but.... my old M2 is a totally different story in this matter. With the M2 I have to move my eye around to even see the left/right sides of the 35mm frames, so 28mm framing just doesn't cut it. I use the excellent Zeiss viewfinder. Of course you can just wing it anyway...

 

[Archlich]

Treat yourself to a Nikon DF-CP1 viewfinder, originally made for the Coolpix A, that occasionally shows up with heavy discount.

It's the best.

 

[ACullen]

I’ve just added a CV28 f3.5 ltm to my collection for use on my M2. I’m finding the M2 finder to be more than adequate. I’ll use the Zeiss 25/28 finder on my CL and Leotax should I use the lens on those cameras. I added the CV28 because I wanted the widest lens that could be used with the internal finder. I’m very happy with the result.

 

[Rayt]

If I can live with my lenses blocking a chunk of the viewfinder I can live with not seeing the frame lines.

 

[mpaniagua]

umm Don't really use any external finder with the M's, unless I got to. Not really comfortable. I do it all the time with the LTM, because I change from rangefinder to viewfinder anyway, but on M, not really a comfortable thing to do.


The only times I use them on the M's is when using a super wide (12-15mm).

Regards

Marcelo

 

[Huss]

For maximum accuracy carry a 35mm slr with 100% coverage viewfinder and a 28mm lens attached. Like a Nikon F.
Look through that get up to see what you will get. Then recompose with your Leica and take the shot.

(I actually prefer using an F6 to do this, as it is six times better than an F.)

 

[taomei]

I prefer using the external VF and zone focusing - wearing glasses it's barely comfortable enough to see the 35mm framelines already with the M2.

 

[Rob-F]

I use the external finder with my M2. I won't bother with the camera finder unless using my .58 finder MP or M7. It's just so much easier to frame when I can see the framelines clearly.

 

[Phil_F_NM]

When i shot my 28mm Kobalux, I owned the huge VF but decided I didn't want to use it. I screwed the lens into a 50mm LTM adapter and used the keyed up 50mm framelines on my M4 as rule of thirds lines. It worked out perfectly.

Phil Forrest