I have the zoom finder which I am using for my M24, I have been trying to establish how well it creates the right 'frame', as some of my shots seem framed a little 'different' from what I had in mind! If I compare the 28 on the finder and through the M6 0.72 they seem quite different on the vertical crop? I appreciaite that this will become more relevant at short distances, but it seems to be the case at distance also. Additionally if you look through the zoom you can shift your eye to view quite considerably different framing. Any user/pilot error suggestions gratefully recieved. I looked through the 24 fixed finder and preferred the view through the zoom, but did not make this consideration when buying....

-- Richard (richard@designblue.co.uk), August 18, 2001

Answers

That's interesting--the wider Voigtlander finders are notoriously bad in aspect ratio, also--the 24mm finder is much too tall, the 15 finder is too narrow. It's especially irritating on the 24, because the finder includes a lot of stuff at the top that doesn't appear on the film.

-- Michael Darnton (mdarnton@hotmail.com), August 18, 2001.

Your best tactic with a viewfinder is to "program" your brain to know what will appear on film vs what you see in the finder. You can do that one of two ways: by shooting film of scenes at varying distances, placing objects at the edges of the frame, and comparing them after processing; or by mounting the same focal lengths on a Nikon F-series or Canon EOS1-series or Contax RTSIII (which all have 100% finder coverage)and comparing the framing. Once you do this, you can use tricks like mentally multiplying the thickness of the framelines, or even using another set of framelines. It sounds a lot more complicated than it is. With a little experience (I mean *consciously* making an effort to understand the framelines)it becomes quick and deadly accurate.

-- Jay (infinitydt@aol.com), August 18, 2001.

The Imarect finder (or the earlier Universal finder, used by HC-B) shows 100% of the image at distances over 10 feel and under 10 feet. Finding a 28mm adapter is daunting.

-- Bill Mitchell (bmitch@home.com), August 18, 2001.

Learn your viewfinder and your lens. After a while, you use the VF only as a guide to where to point the lens ... your mind will "see" the actual frame coverage.

Godfrey

-- Godfrey (ramarren@bayarea.net), August 18, 2001.

Separate viewfinder framing is by definition inaccurate, whatever the brand, whatever the model. A hit or miss business forcing you to recrop at printing/scanning stage. That is if you have not scalped your subjects at shooting stage....

You will learn to reduce damage, but you will never be sure enough. Only way out, is frame larger (much larger at times) and crop later. Very frustrating when you shoot slides of course!

Strange to read all those endless arguments about "needing" perfect 100% vision with SLRs and then reading recommendations to "frame with the mind" on RFs. Who needs parallax corrected integrated viewfinders if "framing with the mind" is an option?

I am not that competent, my mind is not that developped, and I humbly suggest to those of us as mentally challenged as myself, and who do not like to crop their negs/slides, to avoid separate viewfinder systems at all costs. Anything under 28mm ought to be attached to a SLR.

-- Alan ball (alan.ball@yucom.be), August 22, 2001.