Zeiss Ikon 21mm finder (...not for an M9!!!)

[craygc]

After a few days of searching on line, I cant seem to find anything about the finder for the Zeiss 21mm beyond that its bright! What I would like to know is whether its like the CV 21mm with brightlines and visible space outside or black out from the frame out.

If its like the CV with visible space outside, how visible are the lines under different lighting conditions - the CV ones have a tendency to disappear.

I accept that all these finders have degrees of barrel distortion; how bad is it with the Zeiss?

...and while Im here, a chalk and cheese comparison but how would it compare against the Leitz SBKOO?

 

[FrozenInTime]

The Zeiss finders are as good as it gets: bright, sharp and very low distortion.
Yes there are bright line frames and you can view beyond the lines.

A lot of money, but go for it you won't regret it


Here's the snap through the Zeiss 18mm finder taken with a folded optics digicam DMC-FT1. The eyepoint of the OVF cuts off the area seen by the digicam, but the true extent is equal to white edge of this jpg. The Chromatic aberration seen on the frame lines is what's seen in real life and not added by the digicam.
Prior to the 18mm, I had the Zeiss 21 and OVF : the OVF quality is equal.

 

[Roger Hicks]

Dear Craig,

Less distortion than any other 21 finder I have used, good line visibility, and infinitely superior to the old metal Leica 21 finder: I have that, and CV, and Kobalux/Pasinon, and used to have the Soviet 2cm. I would recommend the Zeiss unreservedly.

Cheers,

R.

 

[Olsen]

I have had the 25/28 finder for my 25 mm 2,8 Biogon which I have sold - to finance my M9, eventually. The Zeiss finders is a far cry from the Voigländers. The Zeiss finders show no distortion at all, - just as the lens. But I have no direct experience with how much field of view you will see outside the 21 mm frame on Zeiss's 21/25 finder. On mind it did show a little on the outside of the 25 mm frame.

 

[jonmanjiro]

I have a CV 21mm finder and a Zeiss 21mm finder. They show approximately the same amount outside the frame lines. The CV finder shows some distortion, the Zeiss a little. The Zeiss has a solid metal base, and seems marginally brighter and clearer than the CV finder. The CV 21mm finder is great, but the Zeiss 21mm finder is the best there is IMO.

 

[akalai]

Craig,

This thread might also be of interest;

"New Leica Viewfinders Anyone?"
http://www.rangefinderforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=76501

..scroll down a little as there are some pics that help to illustrate the physical differences of the Zeiss, C/V and new Leica viewfinders.

 

[craygc]

Thanks a lot to everyone and effort you have all gone to respond. Result is that I have just ordered the Zeiss 21 finder... 😀

 

[craygc]

Well, the Zeiss 21mm finder arrived today ...it certainly is better than any other I've seen or used. Some barrel distortion is certainly still there but the biggest (and most surprising) issue is that the view through the finder is sharper with my reading glasses than with my (very good) long distance vision...

 

[f16sunshine]

I have the contax g21 finder. Love the crosshairs. It is a bit darker than the cv and later zm21 finder. I'll take that. The quallity and build are fantastic.

 

[craygc]

I have the contax g21 finder. Love the crosshairs. It is a bit darker than the cv and later zm21 finder. I'll take that. The quallity and build are fantastic.

Hi Andy,

I have the Contax G2 21mm finder as well and I wanted to get away from it for 2 main reasons. i) the darkness you mention - its a lot darker than the Zeiss, and 2) the barrel distortion along the dark edges is severe and makes framing at the edges a task.

 

[jonmanjiro]

Well, the Zeiss 21mm finder arrived today ...it certainly is better than any other I've seen or used. Some barrel distortion is certainly still there but the biggest (and most surprising) issue is that the view through the finder is sharper with my reading glasses than with my (very good) long distance vision...

Craig, I finally got a chance to have a closer look at my 21mm finder this afternoon. As you mentioned, there is some barrel distortion (I'd not paid any attention to it until now) but minor for this type of finder. I also checked the view when looking at close objects and my standard infinity target (antenna of a building about 1km away).The view is super sharp at any distance. Not sure what could be wrong with your finder, but it doesn't sound right to me.

 

[dsymes]

Craig, I finally got a chance to have a closer look at my 21mm finder this afternoon. As you mentioned, there is some barrel distortion (I'd not paid any attention to it until now) but minor for this type of finder. I also checked the view when looking at close objects and my standard infinity target (antenna of a building about 1km away).The view is super sharp at any distance. Not sure what could be wrong with your finder, but it doesn't sound right to me.

I suspect that the problem isn't that the finder is focused on a closer distance - it is that the eyepiece of the finder does not focus properly on the image created by the lenses in the front of the finder. Looking through such a finder is like being farsighted, which requires positive correction to see even distant objects sharply. My Contax II behaves similarly and requires that I wear my +1.25 diopter computer glasses to see the image and rangefinder spot clearly. All my other Contax, Nikon, and Voigtlander rangefinder cameras are very sharp to look through with distance lenses, as they should be.

Douglas

 

[sepiareverb]

Not a ton of space around the framelines as I remember in the ZM 21. I've said it before and I'll say it again, the Frankenfinder is the best on the aux finders.