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Bresson Magnifier


carlos.paula

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Friends, recently I purchased a product name Bresson 1.1 - 1.6X Magnifier for using in Leicas M8 and M9 and so on. 

I found it in eBay and it promisses a magnification and a diopter adjustment in Leica viewfinders, allowing glasses users to have a more comfortable viewing.

So, anyone here have experiences using this device? 

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I dislike magnifiers in general. They will reduce contrast and will magnify existing problems along with the view. Better to solve any problems that might exist IMO.

As it is the existing viewfinder does not need such aids. Only a 135 might have a theoretical need. Reason Leica supply one. For the rest a waste of money IMO.

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I agree with Jaap. I tried using a Megapearls adjustable diopter 1.35x magnifier but soon regulated it to the miscellaneous pocket of my bag. At first I really liked the M3 like view when using 50 and 90 lenses but I got tired of the diopter changing all of the time. An O-ring  cured that but, after eye surgery, the view through the magnifier looked dull and hazy.

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I dislike magnifiers in general. They will reduce contrast and will magnify existing problems along with the view. Better to solve any problems that might exist IMO.

As it is the existing viewfinder does not need such aids. Only a 135 might have a theoretical need. Reason Leica supply one. For the rest a waste of money IMO.

 

I have a 1.4 and 1.25 magnifier.  I keep them clean (vital for maintaining clarity and contrast), and I use them for all lenses from 50mm up.

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Friends, recently I purchased a product name Bresson 1.1 - 1.6X Magnifier for using in Leicas M8 and M9 and so on. 

I found it in eBay and it promisses a magnification and a diopter adjustment in Leica viewfinders, allowing glasses users to have a more comfortable viewing.

So, anyone here have experiences using this device? 

 

You purchased it, do you have an opinion about it? Is it better for glasses wearers?

 

Steve

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I have had  the leica 1.25 magnifier for several years and I find I use it for lenses 50mm and above.  If I am changing lenses quickly I don't bother to us it, but if I expect to use say my 90mm for portraits I do use it. Ieave it in the small leica supplied leather 'box' attached to the neck strap.  It is not used often but very helpful when i have the time to fit it.  

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Well, this Bresson magnifier is well made, good construction, well finished. I have -6.5 in my right eye and, of course, I need to use my glasses when shooting with my M8 and any other camera at all. In my Nikon D90 I purchased a fixed correction lens of -6.0 and it work very fine. It is thin enough, and without glasses I have a superb focus and viewing of the overall screen. But this device for Leica promisses a magnify factor fo 1,1 to 1,6X. My intention was use it with no wearing glasses. This device has a focus ring and without my glasses the focus ring reaches the limit of adjust and the focus is near the correct. So, I presume that it can correct focus until -5.0 diopter. By the way, I think that it does not magnify nothing; it only adjust focus.  

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I also find them unnecessry.  What I dislike most is the decreased field of view, which is one of the main reasons I use a rangefinder.

 

That's a rather fundamental reason for not using them. I can't imagine a magnifier not narrowing the field of view as it is, a magnifier ...

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Well, this Bresson magnifier is well made, good construction, well finished. I have -6.5 in my right eye and, of course, I need to use my glasses when shooting with my M8 and any other camera at all. In my Nikon D90 I purchased a fixed correction lens of -6.0 and it work very fine. It is thin enough, and without glasses I have a superb focus and viewing of the overall screen. But this device for Leica promisses a magnify factor fo 1,1 to 1,6X. My intention was use it with no wearing glasses. This device has a focus ring and without my glasses the focus ring reaches the limit of adjust and the focus is near the correct. So, I presume that it can correct focus until -5.0 diopter. By the way, I think that it does not magnify nothing; it only adjust focus.  

So why don’t you get any (used) Leica diopter correction lens and have a good optician replace the glass by one of the correct strength? You will need an optician who can grind 10 mm diameter lenses. That will be far more effective.

 

If you cannot find such an optician I am sure  http://walterleica.com/eyepiece.html  can help you out.

 

Btw, the Bresson magnifiers offered on eBay are for Leica R and not for Leica M as far as I could see.

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The difficulty for glasses wearers with these dioptre and magnification devices isn't seeing the focusing patch, it's having to take your glasses off each time you want to take a photograph. Spontaneity and swift reactions go out the window as you plead 'please wait until I've taken my glasses off and put them away', it just doesn't work 99% of the time. And for people like myself who keep their glasses on the magnifier (such as the plain old Leica version, I have a 1.4) holds the camera well away from your face, acting as a pivot point on your glasses and it's not nearly as secure and stable as being able to brace the camera against your face when using a long lens. So while I'm always interested in new ideas on the subject this seems to combine all the worst aspects into one device whichever way it is configured.

 

Steve

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Yes, I had a period like that, luckily my eyes improved  (with some surgical help ;)) to being able to read the small lettering on the camera again lately. The only solution that worked for me was a diopter and spectacle chain.

Using an EVF when wearing sunglasses creates a similar dilemma.

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I have a couple of the Leica mags, never cared for them.  What they add in magnification they subtract in loss of brightness and contrast so it's basically a wash. 

 

Diopters don't work well for me either.  If I take my glasses off to shoot, I can't see anything except thru the finder.  Not in the distance, not the camera controls.  So it's a constant on-and-off with the glasses.  Much easier to keep my glasses on.  No problem at all with my Canon's because they're high enough eyepoint.  The Leica is borderline, but I got those thin lenses and small, flexible frames that compress close enough to my eye I can see just about as much frame lines as without glasses. 

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  • 5 months later...

Now that I have received my copy of this VF magnifier, I can testify that:

1) It does magnifies. 

2) It provides diopter adjustments.

 

However, the magnification rate is not adjustable. It's fixed, and through the rubber eye shield the 50mm frameline looks like the 35mm lines in size now, i.e. if you are not wearing glasses. With glasses on, the 50mm frameline is just beyond what you can see with ease.

 

The diopter adjustment works, but frankly I'd just turn it all the way down to make its profile smaller.

 

There is no severe loss of contrast or anything...at least not now when it's pretty clean.

 

The rotatable part is fairly---not extremely---easy to move, which means you might accidentally rotate it and upset the diopter correction you set it to, which is why I tend to just leave it at one end.

 

That's about it. Will report back after a while's use if I find any other issues.  

Edited by Rus
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I wear glasses (varifocals) when I shoot so I use the Match Technical Eclypse Eye cup to protect my glasses and a 0.85 de-magnifier to provide a wider field of view since the glasses and eye cup push my eye back from the rangefinder/viewfinder pupil.  It works for me.

 

Pete.

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I bought the Bresson magnifier 2 weeks ago and find it very useful.

My sight is bad (I wear spectacles). Recently, focussing my Ms became more a miss than a hit. The magnifier solved this problem, however at a cost: the narrow field of view. But my pictures are on focus again, which is a fair trade, according me.

Regards
Marc

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This issue is very frustrating to me and my aging eyes.  I've tried everything - just got in the new (and fairly useless) Chinese zoom diopter - a curiosity at best.

 

For critical images @ f:2.8 or faster, 75mm+, I've settled on bracket focusing*.  Shooting many versions, then simply picking the best one in PS Bridge or Lightroom.  Interestingly, I often get best results uncomfortably using my non-dominant eye, giving it a few moments to concentrate.

 

My default print size is 17x22, larger for exhibition - focus matters

 

*slight shifts of focus in or out with lens or more practically, the body.

 

Good luck all!

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