new 21/24/28 viewfinder made in Japan

greenspun.com : LUSENET : Leica Photography : One Thread

is the new viewfinder made in Japan. The dealer said it is made by same company making contax.

-- Rupert (msiah@hotmail.com), July 26, 2001

Answers

Does Leica intend to produce Tri-Elmar 21/24/28 (like the current Tri- Elmar 28/35/50) for this new viewfinder? Any further information?

-- W. Andrew (andrew_photo@sinaman.com), July 26, 2001.

I wish I could find it, there is a thread on Photo.net. The gist was yes, the new finder is made in Japan. It's supposed to be a fine piece of gear, metal. Some people here think the plastics are better because, if stressed, they'll break before they harm your hot- shoe/top-plate.

If you get it, let us know how you like it, ey?

Cheers,

-- Jeff Stuart (jstuart1@tampabay.rr.com), July 26, 2001.


I haven't heard even a rumour of plans for a 21/24/28 lens. Seems to me that even at f/4.0 it would be quite a bear of a lens.

-- Paul Chefurka (paul_chefurka@pmc-sierra.com), July 26, 2001.

Yeah, except it would cover a range of three lenses that I've already decided I only need one of, and would overlap the tri-Elmar. How about (attempting to span the same range as the TE without overlap) a 12-18-24? :-)

-- Michael Darnton (mdarnton@hotmail.com), July 26, 2001.

There's "pushing the envelope", then there's "going over the edge".

-- Ken Shipman (kennyshipman@aol.com), July 26, 2001.


15-19-24?

-- Michael Darnton (mdarnton@hotmail.com), July 26, 2001.

I hate to say it. But if you are looking for lenses like 21-28 or 17- 24 you should probably not be in the RF game. That's really more SLR territory. I like RF's because they are small. The previous poster is right, even at f/4 the lenses you are talking would be far bigger than I'd want to carry.

-- Josh Root (rootj@att.net), July 27, 2001.

:-) :-) :-)

-- Michael Darnton (mdarnton@hotmail.com), July 27, 2001.

Some 12 hours ago (I'm writing at 2 a.m. so pardon the groggy prose) I got it. The 2l/24/28 finder. It was hard to find it. No other camera shop in Kansai (Kobe, Osaka) had it except Lemon camera in Osaka and they were hard to find, being inside this huge building. I got mine in black. Sales tax included I paid 41,000 yen--which I guess comes to about US$325 at the current exchange rate. I happened to have my CL along with me for the first time in a long time and so attached the finder to it. I was also carrying my M-6 as well with 21mm finder. My lenses were 2 Leicas (50 and 35) and my new Voigtlander 28 and 21. This was a good combo--allowing me to switich lens back and forth between the CL and M-6. The finder is very light for a varifocal finder. It secures nicely to the hot shoe via a scew down clamp. And it is nicely balanced. Why did it take Leica so long to come up with this idea. Strange to say, I felt as if this was really a Voigtlander idea--but this time it was Leitz that won the innovation game. The finder is a bit on the squinty side; it is not as elegant as the single focal length finders Leica and Cosina make. But what it does in terms of letting you change wide angle lenses rapidly is fantastic. A on top of that it is niffy mechanically. This finder will not fall off. I used it all afternoon with the CL, street shooting. Back home I tried it on my finderless Bessa T and that camera went through a serious transformation. Now it makes it possible in the practical sense to change lenses rapidly. In terms of just feeling good, being able to frame, this finder and the T are made for each other--yes, that's right, they fit each other to a T.

I tried it on top of my M-3 and M-4. Now I feel like taking those guys out again into the field. Another camera this finder meshed with nicely was my Canon 7s. All other finders block the top deck light meter. This one is up high enough for you to see the meter, though you need to squint around a little bit.

Leica has a booklet with useful instructions. One of the things it addresses is shooting with and without glasses. I would imagine that with glasses this finder is a bit hard to use.

I am truly in love with this finder. Is it really made in Japan. Over the barrel it says: "Leica Camera Germany." But that alone means nothing.

I am sort of wishing that the finder included a 35mm. But that might well have been impossible.

-- Alex Shishin (shishin@pp.iij4u.or.jp), July 27, 2001.


Moderation questions? read the FAQ