New member, new Leica owner and a magnifier question :)

[ocean7]

Hello everyone,

I have been reading your posts and viewing your pictures for a long time but I never posted before (or so). First of all I must be grateful to RFF and all the members here for their expertise and great sense of humour! This is really a cool forum that's packed with tons of useful information.

I used to shoot film long ago and for the last years I have been a DSLR shooter but I was dreaming of a Leica M since I was 15, so about 20 years later I finally decided to purchase a used M6. It arrived yesterday woohoo! That's quite a change from my daily habits but I am sure it's going to be a great experience.

I'll have questions for you if you don't mind.

The first thing is that I wear glasses and my M6 is a classic .72 so I have to press my glasses quite hard to the viewfinder to be able to "guess" the 35mm framelines.

I read that a .085x magnifier from HKSupplies could help me see better. What do you think? My only lens so far is a 35mm but I plan to add a 50mm soon and nothing else.

Here is a link to the thing :
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=200137646655

Thanks a lot in advance for your input and all the best!

Philippe (a belgian guy in Canada so my excuses for the poor English)

 

[Magus]

Post deleted by posters request

 

[ocean7]

Thanks a lot for the explanation and the welcome Magus. I just received my .72 M6 so I'd rather avoid sending it back to the seller. I believe the .58 M6 is only available as TTL so that would also be more expensive?

The product I am linking to is an "inverted" magnifier, sort of. It's a 0.85x magnification so it should make the viewfinder appear wider and help with the 35mm framelines shouldn't it??

 

[markinlondon]

The optics on that demagnifier (sorry) are said to be not that good but it should shrink the 35 frame down to about the size of the 50. You might even get to see the 28 frame. I tend to frame quite loosely with a 35 and so don't mind that I can't quite see all of the finder frame with my glasses on.

 

[Magus]

Post deleted by posters request

 

[BillBingham2]

For the price it's worth a try. I do not need glasses for cameras yet, but this might be the answer. Check to see what their return policy is.

Congrats on joining the club!

You might look into a 75 rather than a 50. I started with a 21/35/90 combo and loved it. 90 is too much of a jump for some folks from 35 and a 75 is a great middle ground.

Welcome.

B2 (;->

 

[SolaresLarrave]

Philippe, I too wear glasses and my cameras are both 0.72. After a while you get used to thinking of the viewfinder as your frameline for the 35mm field of view.

I believe that the more attachments you add to the camera, the less practical it becomes, but then, that's me. Enjoy your camera and lens! 🙂

 

[J J Kapsberger]

How am I--an M7 0.72 user with strong glasses (-8.5 in the right eye)--easily able to see the 35mm brightline indicator? I can even see the 28mm indicator with only a bit of careful eye positioning (perhaps I'm some sort of freak). What do you suppose prevents you from seeing the 35mm brightlines which I can see?

 

[ocean7]

Thanks a lot everyone for the good advice. I am not going to send my M6 back for a .58 finder, however I can still give a try to the device in question or I can just learn to use the camera as-is...

JJ I don't know. It's all a question of eyerelief I guess. Maybe my nose is longer than yours and my glasses are further from my eyes 🙂 Note that if I take a great care in positioning my eye I can see the framelines... but they are really at the very egde if the viewfinder. If I remore my glasses not problem but that's a hassle.

 

[alexz]

I also have 0.72 M6 and acquired the set of 0.85 and 1.25 magnifiers from HK. The x1.25 helps considerably with my 90mm Elmarit allowing easier and precise focusing.
I'm also eyeglasses wearer so I intedned x0.85 to allow usability of 28mm frames for my future 28mm lens. Even though I do not own yet 28mm lens, I figured the x0.85 magnifier does its job fine brining 28mm farmes to their visibility even with my my obstacles.

 

[rpsawin]

While I don't wear glasses I have a problem focusing with one of my cameras. My optician said she could easily make me a diopter for the camera. Maybe this would be an option for you as well.

Best regards,

Bob

 

[payasam]

Agree with Francisco that simple is better. You could always do what I did before cataract surgery: focus with glasses on, remove glasses to frame picture. Agree with B2 that a 75 would be a good companion lens to a 35.

 

[Magus]

Post deleted by posters request

 

[PATB]

My VF is 0.72, I wear glasses, and left-eyed shooter to boot! I use a CV 35mm from time to time and although I can't see all the edges of the 35mm frameline, I kind of know where they are. You will get used to it. Why don't you try a couple of rolls of film and see if it makes a difference to you in actual shooting situations? It doesn't to me, although it bothers me when just looking through the VF not taking pictures.

(BTW, my primary lens is a 50mm, which I find perfect with 0.72 and wearing glasses. )