Jump to content

24 MM lens on the M9


rcoles

Recommended Posts

I am new to Leica, so please excuse this very basic question.

Is it necessary to have a 24 mm viewfinder to use a 24 mm lens on the M9?

Thanks

rcoles

 

Given that a Leica viewfinder costs £300+ I would say put that towards the better 24mm lens, ie the Elmarit f2.8 unless you can manage with f3.8 (Elmar). Frame/focus the pic through the camera viewfinder and if the resulting image is a little bit larger, so what? Close work with the 24mm can give exaggerated perspectives. However, the colour rendition and resolution of the Elmarit is stellar.

Link to post
Share on other sites

Advertisement (gone after registration)

I don't think you need an external viewfinder with a 24mm on the M9- except for perhaps lots of serious architectural or similar . Chimping will allow you to figure out where the 24 framelines could or should be- which is pretty close to the edge on the finder. And by the way, I wear glasses (with progressive lenses).

 

The only 24mm I have used is the lux. It has its quirks but the images are stellar and worth the expense if one can afford it..

 

Good luck.

Link to post
Share on other sites

I am new to Leica, so please excuse this very basic question.

Is it necessary to have a 24 mm viewfinder to use a 24 mm lens on the M9?

Thanks

rcoles

 

I use a 24mm on an M9. You can guess at the 244mm FOV from the 28mm frame (itself had to see with spectacles) but I find a viewfinder very very useful.

 

- Vikas

Link to post
Share on other sites

The Cosina/Voigtlander 25 finder is not very expensive and works well for me. I have looked through the Leica one and it is very well made, however I in my opinion the Zeiss 25/28 one is optically better (clearer/less distortion). That one is still not cheap, but its less than the Leica one. Both of those are metal construction. Personally I think that the (plastic) CV one is the best buy.

Link to post
Share on other sites

I have the zeiss biagon 25 and when doing street work will use the viewfinder. I also have the 24mm finder that I bought for my dlux-4 (half the price and brighter than the lecia) and I may leave that on the shoe and use it when I have more time in composing a shot

Link to post
Share on other sites

what does 'chimp' mean? .

 

Allow me. - When you examine the screen a lot and make a noise like;......''ooh, oh, ooh, ah, ah, ah ah, ooooh, oooooh oo.....etc." Like a chimp. There may also be other, more furtive examples for that noise occurring in the wild which are unrelated to photography.

 

............... Chris

Link to post
Share on other sites

Allow me. - When you examine the screen a lot and make a noise like;......''ooh, oh, ooh, ah, ah, ah ah, ooooh, oooooh oo.....etc." Like a chimp. There may also be other, more furtive examples for that noise occurring in the wild which are unrelated to photography.

 

............... Chris

 

I obviously over-thought this. :o As I had determined that it stood for "Can't Help It, Must Peek" :D

Link to post
Share on other sites

I don't think you need an external viewfinder with a 24mm on the M9- except for perhaps lots of serious architectural or similar . Chimping will allow you to figure out where the 24 framelines could or should be- which is pretty close to the edge on the finder. And by the way, I wear glasses (with progressive lenses).

 

The only 24mm I have used is the lux. It has its quirks but the images are stellar and worth the expense if one can afford it..

 

Good luck.

 

Don't mean to hijack thread but what are the quirks of the lens?

Link to post
Share on other sites

The only 24 lux quirk that really bugs me is the lens hood does not like to stay screwed on tightly. I recently was told to use some black gaffers tape to hold it onto the lens tightly and this solved the problem. But the tape makes me even more resolved to not take the UV/IR filter off if I do not need to when going from M8 to M9. However, the M8 is not getting much use at the moment. The M9 really is that good and the 24 lux goes into that Leica lens category of "extra special" which makes it worth the expense.

Link to post
Share on other sites

Yes, you'll need it. Largest frame on the M9 is 28 vs the 24 on the M8.

Anyway you can roughly figure out the horizontal angle by doing this: extend one arm forwards, close one fist, bend the arm at roughly 90° and keep the forearm parallel to your eyes. The distance from elbow to knuckles is roughly the field covered by the 24, depending from one's anatomy. I have longer than average arms, therefore for me this is more like the field of a 21, but for someone else it could not suffice and might be necessary extend the fingers.

You chimp a bit to find it more accurately.

 

Ciao

Bruno

Link to post
Share on other sites

I just finished a few days shooting family holiday photos with the M9 plus 24 lux. I previously thought that perhaps the 24 lux was too wide for an M9. I now believe the latitude provided by great M9 files allows for lots of cropping while maintaining IQ with a 24mm lens. And the versatility provided by the f1.4 is really cool as well.

 

As an aside, the M8 is a great camera but the M9 files really are that much better once one gets used to the camera.

Link to post
Share on other sites

You don't need any damn finder for a 24mm. You don't need any damn rangefinder either. Not for any lens. I close both my eyes tight and aim in the general direction by hearing. There's always something in the picture. And it can all be fixed in Lightroom, or Photoshop, or whatever. And who cares? ;-)

 

The old man from the Age Before Finders

Link to post
Share on other sites

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
×
×
  • Create New...