Leica Plastic 21mm View-Finder Question

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Hello

My plastic Leica 21mm view-finder has a series of hash marks across the top of the lens at the back of the finder. Ostensibly, these would be for vertical parallax correction, correct? But when I put my eye to the finder, I can't see the hash marks--what good is that? What am I doing wrong? TIA.

-- Richard Fulco (calcinc@mn.rr.com), March 27, 2002

Answers

Richard,

Try moving your eye around behind the finder, seems to work to guestimate. I have what you have, but I also got a diff. finder (Kobalux), it's better but BIGGER. The front element is 39mm! sort of like a lens on top of the camera, don't use it much, lucky it was cheap.

The 21 is WIDE, so parallax correction is not an important issue - e.g. with a tele framing is MUCH more important.

Shop for others, sell the Leica one, and buy more film.

-- chris chen (chrischen@msn.com), March 27, 2002.


Hi Richard! I find the framelines and hash marks so close to the top of the frame so as to be almost useless on the 21 finder. Frankly, they are not much better on the 24 finder OR the VC 21 finder either. But as suggested, it does help to move your eye around a bit to make them pop.

Cheers,

-- Jack Flesher (jbflesher@msn.com), March 27, 2002.


My good ol' metal 21 VF (for the current ASPH) looks the same (when I peer through it). Yes, the hashing is for parallax compensation. For mine, its use is for being within 2 meters. I'm not sure whether your plastic one is for exactly the same distance or not. It likely is.

-- Michael Kastner (kastner@zedat.fu-berlin.de), March 28, 2002.

I've been using the Contax G 21mm finder for several years, I like it the best of all. Got mine direct from Contax parts dept for $165 at that time.

-- Jay (infinitydt@aol.com), March 28, 2002.

Haaah! Actually my first piece of Leica equipment was the 21 finder I bought to use on the G2 instead of the Contax finder, which I found too bulky - I guess the glass is always greener.... (no typo)

I can't effectively see the dashed line either, but it's only for CLOSEUP parallax correction - and I've never cut off any heads (that I didn't intend to) yet...

-- Andy Piper (apidens@denver.infi.net), March 30, 2002.



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