I appreciate the responses to my previous question. If forum members will permit me one more. My vision is not what it used to be (whose is?), therefore, I have some difficulty getting a sharp focus in the rangefinder field of my M6 TTL, when not using glasses. I would prefer not to use glasses, if possible. Are the correction lenses referred to in the manual the answer to my problem? If so, what is the procedure for determining the correct strength, and where can I procure the lens? Always grateful for your help.

-- Max Wall (mtwall@earthlink.net), March 20, 2002

Answers

Max: Correction lenses for cameras, known as diopters, come in diopter strengths from something like +3 to -3. Your optometrist can help you select the correct one for your shooting eye. I tried on once on a Nikon and didn't like it. I could focus fine, but then had to keep taking my glasses off and putting them back on after the shot to look for a new subject. I seem to get along better with the lower mag viewfinder of the M2 with glasses, but do OK with the .72 mag Leicas as well. Never tried a .85, but heard they were not eye glass friendly.

-- Ben Hughes (ben@hughesbros.com), March 20, 2002.

the barnack cameras had diopter adjustment built into the camera. why was this feature dropped post iiiG (well not really post since the iiig intro postdated the m3 intro, but you get the idea)? was it just expense or did nobody care about the feature. i like it.

-- roger michel (michel@tcn.org), March 20, 2002.

Max, your success in the effort to work without your glasses when using the viewfinder will depend on how much nearsightedness or farsightedness you need to correct at distance in your current prescription (and it needs to be current) and may be limited by your requirement for correction of astigmatism, if you have any. Your ophthalmologist or optometrist can give you some guidance as far as telling you what your prescription is. There is no simple solution for correction of astigmatism at the viewfinder, unfortunately. That would require a custom-made eyepiece lens that would have to be positioned in a specific axis of orientation in use and would need to be rotatable 90 degrees for camera use in vertical framing. If you do not have astigmatism, or only very little, and your correction isn't too strong, you can probably do fine with the Leica diopters. with only the spherical lenses Leica makes,

-- Chris Henry (henryjc@concentric.net), March 20, 2002.

Don't forget the option of wearing contact lenses. That way you don't have to worry about a rotatable eyepiece for verticals.

-- Bob Fleischman (RFXMAIL@prodigy.net), March 20, 2002.