frame preview lever

[newtoleica]

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Never use the frame preview lever. I know what angle of view a 24 35 50 and 75 mm lens will cover.

they can leave it off for all I care.

[250swb]

I've had one or more of every Leica M made, and apart from making sure it works (you know how it is with a new camera), I've never, ever used the frame preview lever on any of them in real life photograph making.

 

Its always struck me as a halfway house to taking an actual decision about which lens to use. You either know your focal lengths, or waste time testing to see if your brain and eye agrees with the camera. And given the approximate nature of the framelines its better to choose the actual coverage of a lens from experience and intuition, not whats shown by pressing the lever. So Leica can get rid of that facility as soon as they like.

 

Steve

[SJP]

used it once when I first opened the box, never since then.

[Michael Geschlecht]

Hello Howard,

 

Hello india42,

 

Welcome india42.

 

Howard,

 

I find I use my frame finder to key other frames virtually every time I use the camera. Regardless of lens.

 

They put frame finders on cameras for the same reason there are different flavors of ice cream. Some people like peach, some like blueberry and others like none @ all.

 

W/ a frame finder on the camera you have the option to use it or not. Without it you do not.

 

People who have a negative attitude toward M frame lines have probably not used a later M3.

 

Please remember the placement, area covered or not and so forth of current M frames is primarily determined by political not optical or mechanical considerations.

 

One of the reasons the M4 was developed to replace both the M2 & M3 was the rangefinder in later M3s (there was more than 1 M3 rangefinder over the years) cost at least 50% more to produce than that of the M2.

 

The M2 viewfinder w/ 135mm frame added was pretty much the basis of the M4 which also had a quick load system and canted rewind crank.

 

A lot of design decisions were tempered by the existence of a second system based on a SLR.

 

Subsequently various considerations some neither optical nor mechanical have directed the evoloution of the viewing system into what it is today.

 

india42,

 

Hello again.

 

You might be interested to learn that during the 1960's and perhaps later Leitz offered the option of adding selector levers to earlier M3s w/o.

 

Just as they would make your M1 into a M2.

 

Best Regards All,

 

Michael

[marknorton]

I can only think they omitted it because they were up against a tight parts budget and just had to lose a couple of springs and a few bits of metal. After all, they were building this camera down to a price...

[UliWer]

If you want the Titanium look, there seems to be only one lens. I don't think this camera is going to be anyone's working tool.

 

There have been titanium versions of the 50lux pre asph. and the 90-cron AA before as well as for the former 35-lux. I agree with your assumption about the new titanium camera.

 

I use the frame lever seldom but I do somtimes when I want to get an idea about the scene with 90mm when I have another lens mounted.

[rob_w]

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Never use the frame preview lever. I know what angle of view a 24 35 50 and 75 mm lens will cover.

they can leave it off for all I care.

 

+1 Never use it.

 

What I most want is to have just ONE frame displayed in the VF. I find the dual frames more distracting than any amount of other clutter. If electronic framelines make this possible, then bring them on!

[gib_robinson]

The preview lever is a feature that has sold very many lenses for Leica. It still does.

 

And even if the outside lever is removed, the inside coupling does still serve a purpose in identifying the lens mounted, even with the six-bit coding. And then there's the framelines, of course.

 

Since some bright person got the idea of adding the lever to the M3 in 1955, it has not been absent from any M produced in series except the M1--MD technical cameras; and the MD models lacked even finders, in any case. Mental inertia is not why it is still there.

 

The old man from 1954

 

I'm with Lars on this one. When I started using an M, the framelines were crucial. I no longer use them regularly, but I would miss them. And I assume it would be a very big loss for those just starting with an M who may come from zoom lenses and have very little experience internalizing fix-focal-length frames.

 

--Gib

[markgay]

The only time I use the frame preview lever is when I get confused by two sets of framelines and I want to check.

 

And that only happens when I'm using both my .85 M7 and the new low-mag finders.

 

It would be so much better, in my opinion, to have purely electronic framelines which would allow just one at a time.

 

Of course, with the M90 you still have dual framelines.

 

Mark

 

M9Ti, geddit :-)

[Shootist]

Clearly the M9T is aimed at collectors, NOT users, so most of these cameras, only 500, will be bought and put in a display or on a closet shelf without ever leaving the box.

So whether it has or doesn't have a frame lever or neck strap lugs doesn't matter.

 

In any case I won't be getting one.

[tim_n]

It looks like in the current (concept?) version of the M9ti, the frame lines are still produced in the classic way, with the same path of mechanical windows to create the frames. The red LED is only replacing the natural light source that illuminates the frames. It is not organized to produce selectively the frame shapes themselves. The frames are still visible for double focal lengths just as in the M9 and others. I too would prefer just seeing the single frame that corresponds to the lens in use, as in the M2, but I do not think this has changed in the M9ti.

[Shootist]

It looks like in the current (concept?) version of the M9ti, the frame lines are still produced in the classic way, with the same path of mechanical windows to create the frames. The red LED is only replacing the natural light source that illuminates the frames. It is not organized to produce selectively the frame shapes themselves. The frames are still visible for double focal lengths just as in the M9 and others. I too would prefer just seeing the single frame that corresponds to the lens in use, as in the M2, but I do not think this has changed in the M9ti.

 

The M3 also displayed only one set of alternative frame lines at a time. The 50mm line being fixed and always displayed. That is because there were only 3 different frame lines. Once they offered more then 3 frame lines they had to double them up.

[earleygallery]

Has anybody got an image of the M9Ti with a black lens on it, please. Just want to make sure the aesthetics are right before she plonks my money down.

 

+1

 

Also can I see a gold Summicron on it please?

 

I don't think I've ever used the frame lever on my M2, other than once to check it worked. I'm more interested in a camera having a flash/accessory shoe and a PC socket, things Leica obviously think are defunkt now.