New Leica Viewfinders Anyone?

[sepiareverb]

Wondering if anyone has handled the new Leica Viewfinders and could compare them to the Zeiss. I'm considering the 18 VF for the 24/2.8 on film. Since the new VF's give full frame and digital sensor size lines, my thinking is I'll have a good M like view with lots of extra space.

I quite like the Zeiss finders, and currently use the 25 finder, but the view is tight outside the framelines. The older Leica 24 VF doesn't have good eye relief for me, and the framelines are rounded like in an M3, which I don't like much.

So, anybody seen them??

 

[Nando]

I have the new Leica 24mm finder. It's a huge improvement over the previous finder. The image is much brighter and there's little or no distortion. I haven't experienced any flare with it so far. The eye-piece is rubber so it should be safe for eyeglass wearers. It has the same style as my old Leitz SBLOO 35mm finder but I find the new 24mm to be better made. The 24mm brightlines are slightly rounded and somewhat resemble those of the M3. It also has brightlines for use on the M8 so there is a bit of clutter.

I think that they are on par with the Zeiss finders. I've looked through a Zeiss 25/28 finder once and found it very nice. To be honest, I bought the Leica finders primarily because of its looks. 🙂

 

[sepiareverb]

Ken's "clutter" is what I'm after, seeing lots around my 24 FOV, like shooting a 50 on an M. I dislike the tunnel type view of an SLR or the 12/24/28. Hearing the new Leica 24 is a vast improvement sounds good to me, do the lines show up well?

 

[Nando]

Oh yes, the lines show up very nicely.

 

[peter_n]

I didn't see a vast difference between the old and new 24mm finders. The new one has virtually zero barrel distortion though. The pic below shows from left to right, the old plastic Leica, the new metal Leica, and the 25 CV.

 

[Benjamin]

Any anoraks out there that have ever taken a series of pictures through the various available finders to help people get a better idea of what they'll be looking through?

 

[35mmdelux]

Thanks for the images. Helps when considering options.

 

[akalai]

Hi Peter,

Thank you for taking the time to illustrate the differences of the above finders and for making this invaluable information available here. Especially useful to those of us who are unable to readily walk into a camera store that stocks these all and make a comparison of our own. Cheers!

 

[35mmdelux]

What is the street price of the new 24mm vf? Thanks.

 

[Benjamin]

I think, though I can't be entirely sure,that it's around 700 US. I think..

 

[visiondr]

What is the street price of the new 24mm vf? Thanks.

If you have to ask... 😀

 

[Bill58]

How can anyone justify the price of a Leica or Zeiss VF when you can get a perfectly clear and bright CV one, unless you're filthy rich or obsessed w/ brand status.

Mr. K hit a homerun w/ his Vfs.

Put your money into the lens-not the VF IMHO.

 

[35mmdelux]

just asking cause I paid $350 for the cv21mm-M and to throw down $700+ for the VF is a little weird.

 

[RichardB]

Peter_N, thanks for the comparison shots.
I have the older Leitz plastic and Ziess 21mm finders. The Leitz is offset and the Zeiss is not as the Leica mount is not directly over the lens axis. I am still not sure of the effect of the offset but architectural shots I took with the Zeiss all had an angular rotation and I'm still trying to find out the cause.
It appears the new Leica finder has no offset. Is that because the mount for the M8 is directly over the lens axis?
The clutter in the new finder appears to be somewhat of a bother. Hopefully when an M9 comes out the dual finder will die as the M8 dies.-Dick

 

[peter_n]

I don't use an M8 so I can't tell you where the shoe is on that body. On my MPs it is slightly to the right of the center of the lens. My initial reaction to the new Leica was also that the VF was busy, but it is really not that bad. The corners of the interior frame are for the M8 and the top dotted line is for parallax. I'm thinking about sending it to DAG to remove the M8 corners. The reason that I got the new Leica is that it has a metal foot attached to a metal body and I can leave it on a body all the time, in the bag, everywhere.

 

[sepiareverb]

The reason that I got the new Leica is that it has a metal foot attached to a metal body and I can leave it on a body all the time, in the bag, everywhere.

Exactly. Many thanks for your comparison Peter. I'm most interested in two things as I muddle my way here-

First, is the eye relief any different between the old & new Leica's?

And, second, how well do the lines show up? The older 24 finder I have doesn't have the best frameline visibility.

And again, I think using the M8 lines in the 18 VF for the 24 lens might be ideal for me, getting a wider FOV more like the camera gives.

Not quite as elegant, but:

 

[peter_n]

First, is the eye relief any different between the old & new Leica's?

And, second, how well do the lines show up? The older 24 finder I have doesn't have the best frameline visibility.

Sorry this took a while Bob, long day... WRT eye relief, you're asking the wrong guy. I don't wear glasses and my camera eye has 20/20 vision. So to me the frameline in the new Leica is totally visible, but then it was in the old one too. I'm relying on my memory for the old one because I sold it but I think there was roughly the same area outside the frameline in both.

I think the frameline has a bit more visability in the new one. Also I think the image in the new VF is slightly brighter than the old one too. Definitely less barrel distortion if that means anything to you.

I still haven't been able to get hold of a 24mm Summilux to try... 🙁

BTW did you know that Leica is now selling a 24mm finder for the D-Lux 4? The Leica part nr. is 18696 and it looks like it has a 24mm frameline in it. It is plastic and shaped like the new metal one. It is also expensive around $350 I think. Panasonic has a D-Lux 4 equivalent and sells an aluminum 24mm finder for it with 24mm framelines. Model number is Panasonic DMW-VF1 and the street cost is ~$150. Worth looking into, it is metal... Pic below.

 

[sepiareverb]

Thanks again Peter. The Panasonic VF looks promising! I'd looked at the Leica D-Lux4 one but it seemed just like the discontinued one, just smaller. I guess this is going to be one of those things to save for a trip to Montreal or NYC...

 

[sepiareverb]

Well to update: I got the Leica 18 finder and am loving it. Lots of space around the 24 framelines, and it seems quite accurate. I have a pretty good test of this to run tonight.

I'll try and get some comparision pics up soon.

 

[peter_n]

And a further update: I managed to source a 24mm Panasonic DMW-VF1 finder and it is very sturdy, all metal, and a heck of a lot cheaper than the Leica VF. So now I have two all-metal viewfinders and a CV backup.