Diopter Compatibility

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Does anyone know if the current diopters that fit the M6 will work on the M2/3? TIA, Bud

-- Bud (budcook@attglobal.net), July 28, 2001

Answers

They will work on the M2 and M4s but not on the M3. The M3 is a different size.

Cheers,

-- John Collier (jbcollier@powersurfr.com), July 28, 2001.


That's strange. Mine fits (late SS).

-- Bill Mitchell (bmitch@home.com), July 28, 2001.

I've heard it both ways so I asked the question. My M3 is 1129nnn.

I sent a note to Leica in NJ but haven't got an answer.

-- Bud (budcook@attglobal.net), July 28, 2001.


Hey I could be wrong, just ask my spousal unit!

Pause with rustling pages....

I just looked it up in my Leica Catalog 36 and no need to talk to my wife. I am wrong! The diopters work in any M camera.

Sorry for the confusion

-- John Collier (jbcollier@powersurfr.com), July 28, 2001.


Thanks guys!

-- Bud (budcook@attglobal.net), July 28, 2001.


While I'm on a roll, let me ask another question. I'm far sighted and only wear glasses when reading.

I was thinking of getting a +1 diopter for my M3. Does this make any sense?

TIA, Bud

-- Bud (budcook@attglobal.net), July 28, 2001.


I think that may not work. I think the M finders are "collimated to infinity" so that the subject looks sharp, and the projected bright- line frames and rangefinder patch look sharp, with the eye corrected to infinity.

After I wrote that, I just tried looking through my M6 using the bifocal part of my glasses, which gives me about a +2.5 diopter closeup correction. I found I could see to focus pretty well. It didn't look too bad. But it wasn't as good as with the true correction for my vision, through the main part of the lenses.

So I think that the use of a positive lens may not be needed, since you can see fine at infinity. When I was a technician in the Air Force (35 years ago), we said that our gunsightsights were collimated to infinity. This means that the crosshairs reticle and other display data were set up so that the pilot didn't have to shift focus away from the target to see the display info. I think the Leica works like that, also. The bright-line frames and other stuff look sharp when you are looking out at the subject, at subject distance. So you are not really looking "into" the camera to see them at close range. You see them as if they were at a distance.

Hope I got it right.

-- Bob Fleischman (RFXMAIL@prodigy.net), July 28, 2001.


Thanks Bob, it makes sense. Bud

-- Bud (budcook@attglobal.net), July 28, 2001.

After wading through the LUG archives including posts by Richard Clompus (the resident OD), it appears that Leica SLR viewfinders have the equivalent of -1 diopter and the M6 is either -.5 or 0.

Correction for farsightedness requires plus diopters and the opposite for nearsightedness.

It seems that the viewfinders (at least of the SLR's) are viewed at the equivalent of one meter. If this is so, then farsighted people can and do benefit from correction lenses.

Examples on the LUG for M6's range from +.5 to +1 for far sighted people.

Astigmatism requires special correction lenses but adding to the power of diopters used to correct spherical errors can help with minor astigmatism.

The best solution would be to find a dealer who will let you select the right diopter for your situation. You can also enlist the help of your optometrist or OD.

-- Bud (budcook@attglobal.net), July 29, 2001.


So, are the M finders also adjusted to a one meter viewing distance? If it is, that might explain why my M6 finder looked not much worse with my bifocals than with my distance lens. If it takes a +1 adjustment to correct a presbyopic eye to one meter, and if my bifocal correction is +2.5, then without the bifocals I'm off by - 1.0, and with them I'm off by +1.5. Not much different, just almost equally off in either direction from correct.

So maybe that's the answer.

-- Bob Fleischman (RFXMAIL@prodigy.net), July 29, 2001.



Bob, I don't know at what distance the RF patch and frames appear in the viewfinder but I would guess it's not Infinity. I'm going to dig through my old Leica books and see if I can learn more.

As I said previously, I'm far sighted so I want to find a way to test various diopter powers to see if it will help me focus in poor light. I'd guess that a +.5 or +1 would help.

-- Bud (budcook@attglobal.net), July 29, 2001.


Re: My original question about which diopters work with the M2/M3....

The diopter #14-351 will work on all M cameras. Dave Elwell, Parts & Service Leica Camera Inc 156 Ludlow Ave Northvale, NJ 07647

-- Bud (budcook@attglobal.net), July 31, 2001.


Actually, the #14-351 is for the +1 diopter. Any 1435n should work.

-- Bud (budcook@attglobal.net), July 31, 2001.

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