My M8 keeps cutting off feet

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rf1552

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Question for M8 owners: I use a 28mm elmairt and when shooting a subject roughly 8-12 feet away, I always loose a LOT of the bottom of the scene and get more on top. Im trying to compensate but Im getting frustrated.

I've heard the frame lines are for .7M but I also heard this was a problem for longer lenses and not wide angles. Is what Im experiencing with my 28mm normal? I guess im loosing about 20% of the bottom and getting 20% more on the top vs. what I see in the vf. \

Does this sound like the M8.2 frameline upgrade will help in this situation?

Im wondering if it needs to go into Leica for calibration of some sort.
 
that's weird, are you keeping there whole figure within the framelines not going out
of the lines at all. if you are the framelines might be off.

Range
 
Sounds like the frame lines need to be adjusted.
Have you done a test on a tripod to confirm that the frame lines are not matching the exposed image?
 
Like Ben said, stick it on a tripod and shoot a book case or a brick wall with little bits of tape to index the corners of the framelines as you see through the VF and then marks as you see in the final image. Once you get both set, back up a few feet and take a snap then send it along with the camera for adjustment. Sometimes Leica is gracious about these things and sometimes not. Good luck with the issue. When I had a rangefinder adjustment issue on my out of warranty M8 Leica billed me over $600 for servicing. I talked them down to just over $500 then in order to pay for the repair, I had to sell the camera at a loss.

Phil Forrest
 
I thought what I was experiencing was the inaccurate framelines everyone was talking about.

I'll try thhat test.

I didnt even know it was possible for the framelines to move or get loose.
 
The framelines sit in their own carriage and move according to distance in order to correct for parallax error as well as they can. The DON'T correct for field of view increase/decrease that every lens experiences. This is focus breathing and can be seen more easily in an SLR.

Basically all you need to do is set the lens at whatever distance you have found the error, aim it at a flat surface that you can attach pieces of tape to. Set one piece of tape as an index mark then put one corner of your framelines on that piece of tape. Then put pieces of tape at the other 3 corners as you see in the viewfinder and shoot. Your VF error will become apparent. Having an assistant with the tape is easier than doing it yourself as you can tell them precisely where to stick the tape on the wall while you look through the VF.

Phil Forrest
 
Phil_F_NM said:
Like Ben said, stick it on a tripod and shoot a book case or a brick wall with little bits of tape to index the corners of the framelines as you see through the VF and then marks as you see in the final image. Once you get both set, back up a few feet and take a snap then send it along with the camera for adjustment. Sometimes Leica is gracious about these things and sometimes not. Good luck with the issue. When I had a rangefinder adjustment issue on my out of warranty M8 Leica billed me over $600 for servicing. I talked them down to just over $500 then in order to pay for the repair, I had to sell the camera at a loss.

Phil Forrest
Click to expand...

What do you mean "then mark as you see in the final image?" I get the first part. thanks.
 
rf1552 said:
What do you mean "then mark as you see in the final image?" I get the first part. thanks.
Click to expand...

it's not necessary but by putting marks on the wall where the corners of the actual image are, you'll be able to see in real life how great the framing error is. This will allow you to compensate until you can get a repair done.

Phil Forrest
 
Are you sure you are not looking into the viewfinder at an angle to the optical axis? That would create a parallax error of the kind you describe. The resulting focussing error would not be apparent on a 28 mm lens.
 
I have no idea. I stick my eye into the eye piece and shoot. I dont wear glasses. But in any case, I will try the wall test and report back.
 
Jaap may be onto something. Sometimes if I look a little "off centre" into the viewfinder, the bottom frame line disappears on my 28mm Elmarit 2.8 pre-aspherical. This precludes accurate framing at the bottom of the image causing cutoff. I corrected my technique when I realised this was occuring, but perhaps this is happening to you?
Just a thought, and also may save unnecessary repairs with subsequent delays.
Mike
 
If it's cutting off feet, don't do any sharpening. Most of your subjects would probably find that a blow with a blunt object is preferable to losing their feet altogether.
 
mikenic said:
Jaap may be onto something. Sometimes if I look a little "off centre" into the viewfinder, the bottom frame line disappears on my 28mm Elmarit 2.8 pre-aspherical. This precludes accurate framing at the bottom of the image causing cutoff. I corrected my technique when I realised this was occuring, but perhaps this is happening to you?
Just a thought, and also may save unnecessary repairs with subsequent delays.
Mike
Click to expand...

Thanks,
Im going to go back out shooting this weekend and will really be aware of how im looking into the VF. I do shoot VERY quickly so there is certainly a chance I am off axis. Thanks guys.
 
How tall are you???

How tall are you???

Just brainstorming some possible solutions here.

Place the subjects feet in the middle of the frame and see if you get the heads.
 
Maybe you can try taking the lens off the camera and remount it to ensure the lens clicked at the right position with the camera (the release button should not be depressed after mounting), hence bringing up the right frame line. Good luck.
 
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