Which viewfinder do you use for 18mm?

[jlam]

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What's your experience with it?

 

I'm considering various options including the ridiculously expensive Leica 18mm, the quite expensive Zeiss 18mm, and the inexpensive CV 15mm or 21mm which I heard is slightly wider than 21mm.

 

Joseph

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[lars_bergquist]

18mm. What else? My 18mm lens is the Zeiss Distagon, and the 18mm finder goes with it. Yes, it is expensive, but not absurdly expensive, and it is very very good.

 

The old man from the Age of Frame Finders

[Guest Jockele]

15mm !!!!

[James Mitchell]

I use the Voigtlander 12D (the one for the RD-1). It is 18mm and it works very well. Much cheaper than the others.

[Ario Arioldi]

I use the Voigtlander 12D (the one for the RD-1). It is 18mm and it works very well. Much cheaper than the others.

Same here.

Cheers,

Ario

[C_R]

what about the new CV 15-35 VF ?

 

Voigt 15-35 VF

[neuron18]

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What's your experience with it?

 

I'm considering various options including the ridiculously expensive Leica 18mm, the quite expensive Zeiss 18mm, and the inexpensive CV 15mm or 21mm which I heard is slightly wider than 21mm.

 

Joseph

 

I am using the Zeiss 18mm viewfinder with my Leica 18mm f3.8. I find the viewfinder very bright and contrasty. It is quite expensive but still about half the price of the Leica 18mm viewfinder. I understand that the Leica 18mm viewfinder has framelines for 24mm, and some might find it distracting.

[adan]

On the M8, with the 18, I just used my Leica 21mm finder (old plastic $250 version). It has enough "safety crop" built into it that it was a perfect match for "24mm" at longer distances, and only required a little care with the top of the frame at 0.7 meters.

 

This makes me think the 15mm Cosina finder would work about the same - but otherwise, the 12D finder others have mentioned would be a good choice, too.

[lars_bergquist]

I note that some posters here seem to regard cheapness the most important feature of an accessory finder. May I gently remind you, gentlemen, that no finder is even cheaper than a Cosina finder?

 

Even cheaper, of course, is no lens. Not to speak of no Leica.

 

The old man from the Age of the SLR

[michael_b_elmer]

Leica's 18 mm finder - what else?

[jagsiva]

I just went through this. I have the Leica 18mm SE and looked into the Zeiss. The Zeiss is tight on the framing. The Leica 18 was more accurate. I ended up with the Leica. It also appears a little smaller, and has 24mm framelines if I ever choose to use it.