Universal viewfinder on Digilux 2?

[dpitt]

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Hi all,

 

In order to compensate for the lack of optical viewfinder on the Digilux 2, I was wondering if an old universal viewfinder could be used.

This would mean of course that you set the view finder to the 35 mm equivalent of the position of the zoom, and use the zoom as if it was a fixed lens with this setup.

 

There is a IIIF for sale with a Leitz 35 - 135 mm nr. 81374 external viewfinder which looks like it could work to me.

 

Did someone try this maybe?

[elgenper]

A complication is the difference in aspect ratio between the finder and the sensor. The 24x36 format that the finder is made for is more rectangular than the full D 2 image. So, either you see more than you get in the short ends of the picture, or you get more than you see in the long edges - or even a little of both.

 

If one can live with that, there´s no reason to believe it wouldn´t work. But there would be no AF confirmation, nor any indication of where the AF area is.

 

The VIOOH finder you describe is not very rare, so you may be able to find it cheaper without the III f ´add-on´. Also, there´s a Russian made alternative that is quite decent; it looks funny, with a revolving disc of ´mini-lenses´ instead of being continously variable like the Leica.

[wda]

Dirk, the main drawback with an external multi-finder is remembering to synchronize both variable finder and the zoom setting on the lens. It works rather better with a single focal length lens camera, such as the IIIF or any range-finder camera.

 

I think it is worth persevering with the EVF on the D2. It can work well provided you accept its limited resolution.

[dpitt]

Per,

 

Thx for confirming. I think i can live with the different aspect ratio.

My main concern is that the flash socket is not directly above the lens on the D2. This will probably add some parallax issues. Or can you adjust for that in the viewfinder?

I was actually considering the IIIF as well because it came with some lenses which would work fine on my M2

 

 

David,

In general situations the resolution of the EVF suits me fine. In fact, I love the fact that you can add a histogram and a sort of preview of the photo taken. For me the biggest handicap is the time lag in the EVF. When shooting fast moving objects like children, I often pre-focus manually, set the zoom to something like 35 or 50 mm and try to aim with both eyes open. It still is difficult to capture the right moment, even when there is very little shutter lag with the D2.

With my M2 my timing seems to be a lot better.

 

Maybe the viewfinder will not help me much, that remains to be seen. Just wondering if the view area would be roughly usefull to compose.

[elgenper]

Per,

 

Thx for confirming. I think i can live with the different aspect ratio.

My main concern is that the flash socket is not directly above the lens on the D2. This will probably add some parallax issues. Or can you adjust for that in the viewfinder?

I was actually considering the IIIF as well because it came with some lenses which would work fine on my M2

....

 

Well, the small horizontal parallax is probably negligible compared to the errors in aspect ratio; in any case you wouldn´t use this in the ´macro´ range. Vertical parallax can be manually adjusted for on the foot of the VIOOH; it´s a nuisance to remember to reset for each shot, so except for 135 mm, most users just leave it alone.

 

As for the III f gear, certainly the deal can be attractive if you actually WANT it (I know, I used to collect LTM Leicas years ago....). In that case, why not go ahead and try it?

[cbretteville]

I guess it depends on your shooting style and habits. I used a 28mm finder on my D2 for a while. I was willing it to work for me, but it didn't. When I knocked it off the shoe while out walking and it broke, I didn't replace it.

Carl

[stuny]

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I bought a used 35-90 Leica finder for my D2 and found that I never use it.