R-D1 finders?

[ambientmick]

I'm seriously considering an R-D1 and have a question. Having used an M6 for a few days I really want a rangefinder but don't want to go back to film and can't afford an M8, so the R-D1 is the obvious choice. The problem is the crop factor. 42mm is just not wide enough for a lot of what I want to do. My question is; what is the procedure for using the add-on finders? I've never used one. The M6 I borrowed didn't have one. I assume that focus has to be done in the internal vf and that the external finder is used to check framing? Seems a little cumbersome. What's your experience with this and are the voigtlander R-D1 specific finders the best choice?

Thanks a lot for reading my first post here and for sharing your expertise.

 

[rogue_designer]

with most wide angles and finders, I find myself more scale focussing, and covering the wiggle room with depth of field - so I don't need the internal RF, and can just use the viewfinder.

That said, using the two in conjuction, like anything else, becomes pretty second nature after a bit of practice. I don't find it exceedingly cumbersome.

As far as I know - the CV viewfinders are the best to use, since they already factor in the crop factor pretty precisely. But you can always use a "nearest neighbor" style and get the approximate finders for the lengths you want to use. (ie. a 21mm or 24mm finder for the 15mm wide - is pretty close to the 22.5mm effective fov.)

 

[ambientmick]

with most wide angles and finders, I find myself more scale focussing, and covering the wiggle room with depth of field - so I don't need the internal RF, and can just use the viewfinder.

That said, using the two in conjuction, like anything else, becomes pretty second nature after a bit of practice. I don't find it exceedingly cumbersome.

As far as I know - the CV viewfinders are the best to use, since they already factor in the crop factor pretty precisely. But you can always use a "nearest neighbor" style and get the approximate finders for the lengths you want to use. (ie. a 21mm or 24mm finder for the 15mm wide - is pretty close to the 22.5mm effective fov.)

Thanks for the reply. Sounds like I could get used to it.
What is scale focussing? Sorry if this is a dumb question but I am pretty new to rangefinders.

 

[Didier]

..I assume that focus has to be done in the internal vf and that the external finder is used to check framing?...

Yep that's it. Me too, I prefer internal finders, but use the 15mm lens (with 15D finder) and 21mm lens (with 28mm finder) often. Worklflow is admittedly slower. I did landscapes with the 21 on the Epson yesterday and did not mind the slowness of using 2 finders to shoot. Often you make several photos from the same position so refocusing isn't necessary. The 15 is anyway scale focused so the internal viewer is not used at all.

Personally I would have preferred a more magnified viewfinder for that camera, like on the R2a. The problem is the short baselength of the Epson and the Bessas - they need the 1:1 magnification otherwise focusing lenses wide open gets even more critical.

Didier

 

[Didier]

What is scale focussing?

Some lenses, like the 12mm, 15mm and 25mm from Voigtlander, are not rangefinder coupled. You guess the distance and use the scale on the focusing barrel. Not an issue with those superwide lenses and their deep DOF.
D.

 

[ambientmick]

Some lenses, like the 12mm, 15mm and 25mm from Voigtlander, are not rangefinder coupled. You guess the distance and use the scale on the focusing barrel. Not an issue with those superwide lenses and their deep DOF.
D.

Thanks for the very helpful replies. I have done scale focussing before back when I had a Nikon FM2 but I just hadn't heard the term before. I will find a superwide I like and matching finder and get used to it - no problem. I should probably start a new thread but do you have a quick suggestion for a lens with an equivalent fov of between around 24 to 28mm. Not too expensive but sharp. I've heard the voigtlander 15mm has really bad vignetting? What about the 12mm?

 

[Didier]

I should probably start a new thread but do you have a quick suggestion for a lens with an equivalent fov of between around 24 to 28mm. Not too expensive but sharp. I've heard the voigtlander 15mm has really bad vignetting? What about the 12mm?

Both do vignet but it's acceptable. The 12mm makes a 18mm FOV, the 15mm a 22.5mm FOV. I'd recommend the 15 because it's cheaper, much more compact and more versatile. The 12 is said to be less flare safe than the 15. The 12 is a beast to master (ok, the 15, too). If you don't level the camera well you'll have strongly converging lines in architectural locations. When shooting people, I take care to have them in the middle, or on the middle vertical or middle horizontal axe, but not in the corners - the distortion is very strong there.

There was a 18mm (rf coupled) announced by Voigtlander but not released yet. Same with the more costly 18mm Zeiss Ikon. There's a sought after Canon 19mm in 39mm screw mount (a mint one w/ fnder+ leathercase was sold for $1300 recently), as well as the 20mm Russar, both collectable lenses as well as good shooters.

Didier

 

[ambientmick]

Both do vignet but it's acceptable. The 12mm makes a 18mm FOV, the 15mm a 22.5mm FOV. I'd recommend the 15 because it's cheaper, much more compact and more versatile. The 12 is said to be less flare safe than the 15. The 12 is a beast to master (ok, the 15, too). If you don't level the camera well you'll have strongly converging lines in architectural locations. When shooting people, I take care to have them in the middle, or on the middle vertical or middle horizontal axe, but not in the corners - the distortion is very strong there.

There was a 18mm (rf coupled) announced by Voigtlander but not released yet. Same with the more costly 18mm Zeiss Ikon. There's a sought after Canon 19mm in 39mm screw mount (a mint one w/ fnder+ leathercase was sold for $1300 recently), as well as the 20mm Russar, both collectable lenses as well as good shooters.

Didier

Thanks. Definitely food for thought. The 18mm Voigtlander sounds particularly interesting.

 

[Terao]

The 12 (or rather 18) is in my opinion far better than the 15 on the R-D1. Its depth of field is so gigantic that you really don't need to bother with focussing - use hyperfocal, or most of the time set it to infinity given what you'll be using it for. There are tons of examples in my Flickr gallery - its my most-used lens...
Its even more fun on a film body 🙂

 

[anglophone1]

I have 12,15,21,28,35,50,90 voigt lenses, originally used with R2 and T.
Having used the RD 1 for over a year now most used lenses are 21mm and 28mm [31.5 and 42mm equivalents] with 21D finder and internal.
Next most used 15mm [22.5 equiv] with std. 21mm finder, followed by 12mm [18mm equiv] with 12mm D finder.
Very occasionally the 50mm [75mm]
Can't remember the last time I used the 35mm and 90mm.......................
Very very occasionally still use the 12mm on film to get a real 12mm FOV.
My 2Ecs worth.
Clive