Does the Voigtlander 75mm external viewfinder useful?

[elvispreasley]

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Helo to everybody! Please, share your experience of using this external viewfinder (Voigtlander Viewfinder for 75mm (Black) 45DA414A B&H Photo Video). Just receive it today with Color Heliar 75mm f2.5 and never catch right view field. When I'm cropping using 75mm frame of that Voigtlander, during the shooting - the final picture is pretty different from that I saw in viewfinder frame. Probably I'm doing something wrong, who knows? I'm gonna be more, that appreciated for a useful tip.

[elvispreasley]

During the day I made some test shots in my apartment and found that an original 75mm frame in M8 viewfinder is also giving the same effect: the picture, that you're trying to crop, during the shot, according to your 75 frame and final picture, that you can see on your LCD after shot - is two different pictures. looks like a 75mm frame on M8 is a very tricky frame, so I just need to get use to it.

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[earleygallery]

Hi,

 

Curious as to why you would buy an external viewfinder for a 75mm lens when your camera has a built in viewfinder with parallax correction?

 

Of course your M8 viewfinder will also be corrected for the crop sensor, whereas your external viewfinder is 'full frame'.

[elvispreasley]

Hi,

 

Curious as to why you would buy an external viewfinder for a 75mm lens when your camera has a built in viewfinder with parallax correction?

 

Of course your M8 viewfinder will also be corrected for the crop sensor, whereas your external viewfinder is 'full frame'.

 

The thing is: I didn't buy an external viewfinder separate - it was added in store, like a free gift, where I bought a Color Heliar 75. Actually I thought, that the frames on M8 are marked according to the crop sensor...if they are mach a FF - everything is clear now. thank you for an answer!

[Dougg]

Hi Elvis -- The M8 viewfinder frames show about what you will get with the matching lens... Put on a 75mm lens, then use the camera's 75mm framelines and you'll be fine.

 

Your external 75mm viewfinder will match what you would get with a 75mm lens on a film M camera or M9, ME, MM, etc. On your M8, to see the right framing you'd want a 100mm viewfinder because the sensor is smaller. But in any case, most of those cameras already have 75mm framelines so you don't need the external one. Since your lens is screw-mount, you'll need an adapter to fit it to your M8; of the three varieties choose the 50/75mm adapter which will bring up the 50mm and 75mm framelines as a pair. Just use the inner set, the 75mm ones, and you will get about what you see.

 

If you can exchange the free 75mm viewfinder for something else at the store, that would be good... Or sell it to someone with an M2, M3, M4, or other camera without built-in 75mm framelines. Good luck!

Edited December 13, 2012 by Dougg

[elvispreasley]

Hi Elvis -- The M8 viewfinder frames show about what you will get with the matching lens... Put on a 75mm lens, then use the camera's 75mm framelines and you'll be fine.

 

Your external 75mm viewfinder will match what you would get with a 75mm lens on a film M camera or M9, ME, MM, etc. On your M8, to see the right framing you'd want a 100mm viewfinder because the sensor is smaller. But in any case, most of those cameras already have 75mm framelines so you don't need the external one. Since your lens is screw-mount, you'll need an adapter to fit it to your M8; of the three varieties choose the 50/75mm adapter which will bring up the 50mm and 75mm framelines as a pair. Just use the inner set, the 75mm ones, and you will get about what you see.

 

If you can exchange the free 75mm viewfinder for something else at the store, that would be good... Or sell it to someone with an M2, M3, M4, or other camera without built-in 75mm framelines. Good luck!

 

Thank you Dougg for the answer! The adaptor from screw mount to Leica-M was added to the Color Heliar by the store as well, so I don't have any problem with using it on M8. Inner 50-75 frames is switched on as well, but (as I mentioned) an image, what I see in this frames still doesn't match the final picture. I guess James was right about the frames and a crop factor, cause (for example) when I'm using my another lens - Elmarit 28 asph, the image what I see in 28 frames is not mach the final picture, but if I'm switching manually for 24 frames - everything working perfectly (99%). Also I found that for Color Heliar 75mm, better use 50mm frame (around 80% closer to final picture) - it's matching final result much more then 75mm. A bit strange, but it's true.

[Dougg]

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...Also I found that for Color Heliar 75mm, better use 50mm frame (around 80% closer to final picture) - it's matching final result much more then 75mm. A bit strange, but it's true.

Yes... This is why I used the word "about" for "what you see is maybe what you get". Since the viewfinder framelines do not change size as you focus near to far or vice versa, the lines are a guide only and accurate for only one focus distance.

 

For the original M8, I believe the frames were set to be accurate at the often-closest focus distance of 0.7m (someone please correct me if I'm a little off here). Then when focusing on objects farther away, the frames get progressively more conservative, showing less than you'll actually get in the pic. Same with the M8.2 (and the upgrade for M8 finder) except the accurate frames are set to 2m which many users consider more generally useful. But then at closer focus you get LESS than the frames show, which could be dismaying. And again at longer distances you get more than the frames show, but the error is less with the M8.2

 

It's all a compromise, and as you have found, you need to get to know your framelines!

[tobey bilek]

For precise image framing, you need more than a slr, you need one with 100% viewfinder coverage . Nikon D3 or D4 come to mind. A D700 is not 100%.

 

Your lens increases focal length as all prime lenses do as you extend the barrel to focus closer. The frame lines are set to minimum focus image area.

For further distance work, more will be recorded than the frame lines show. Crop very tightly.