24 Lux External VF

[davek]

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I recently purchased a M9 and 24 Lux still waiting for a 50 Lux or 35 Cron to complement it.

I did not purchase an external finder with the lens but feel I still need one I would appreciate any thoughts or comments between the Bright Line finder for the 24mm vs the Universal Finder if you had to choose one to use on a daily or regular basis.

 

Price difference is less than $100, 24mm is smaller but the Universal has a bubble level which i would like to have also it can be used for other lenses if/when I took the plunge.

I would love to get my hands on a WATE one day!

[jaapv]

If you want to save some money (though if you just dropped 13.000 Euro another 100 or so are neither here nor there...) the DLux4 viewfinder is quite nice, albeit a bit smallish, and there is nothing wrong with the CV 25 mm finder, apart from some distortion, which is not relevant in a finder.

[NYCEnglish]

I have both a 24 and the WATE, along with the 24 Brightline finder and the Universal finder. Personally I would buy the 24 Brighline for the 24 and teh Universal finder only when I use the WATE. The Universal is pretty big and bulky, which is ok when using the WATE, but I'd rather use the 24mm Brightline any day of the week.

[vanhulsenbeek]

I prefer the small, though dear, 18mm Leica Brightline finder with the WATE.

Works OK and is considerably less bulky than the Frankenfinder.

[ho_co]

I like the Universal Finder, both in use and in appearance. However, its plastic foot tends to back out of the accessory shoe (yes, even when I tighten the lockdown nut), and I've dropped it more than once.

 

When I'm only using a single lens, I normally use the brightline finder designed for that lens. It's more compact and calls less attention to the camera.

 

I save the Universal Finder for when I plan to be switching lenses.

 

But then, I accumulated the individual finders gradually through the years. The Universal Finder might be the way to go if you think you may ever want another, wider lens.

[Artichoke]

that preceded the present model

it is very well built, the optics bright & minimally distorting

frames the 24 Lux perfectly

these can be had for much less $$$ than the present model, if you can find one

[innerimager]

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I know you didn't ask...but...one of the great pleasures I find with using the 21 lux is peering through a Zeiss 21mm VF. It is the brightest and clearest VF I've ever used. If I ever got a 24 lux, I'd get the Zeiss 24/25 VF. These optics add to the superb user experience of the leica body and lenses, and are well worth the expense, not only for the aesthetics, but the brightness really does help in the very low light settings that the 1.4 wide lenses are often used.

[Guest Essemmlee]

Should you feel the need for a christmas purchase I have a Leica 21-24-28 external viewfinder for sale in the classified section.

[brill64]

i have a wate (and we are talking about the 16-18-21 here?) which i use a lot but rarely ever carry or use the finder, which is brilliant but just too big sometimes to pack or impractical to mount. the bubble level inside is especially useful but i would rather carry a small, pocketable green bubble level than the frankenfinder. I've found after having it (the wate) for two years, i've never required the level of accuracy (it certainly delivers) due to the ultra-wide angles. as for the 24 summilux, my dream lens, i thought the m9 had framelines for that? if not you could certainly use the perimeter of the m9's viewfinder as a rough guide, after all you have to focus with the rangefinder anyway (the whole point of an f1.4 lens is that you use it at f1.4) to use it accurately 80% of the time and you can always use the monitor to check your framing accuracy. with practice, i've found that it becomes instinctive

[lars_bergquist]

The M9 finder does barely show the 28mm frame – and that only if you are not wearing specs. I would not dream of using a 24 without an accessory finder. I am using a late plastic Leica 24mm finder with my ZM 25mm Biogon. How else do you level the camera? A bubble level, in my experience, is too fiddly, too slow and above all too imprecise to be considered.

 

Lucem externam dona eis, Domine.

 

The old man from the Age of the SBLOO

[Washington]

Give consideration to the external finders found here as

I use many of these and am very happy with all of them:

 

 

Voigtlander Viewfinders & Accessories

Voigtlander Bessa RF Accessories

[Per P.]

The M9 finder does barely show the 28mm frame – and that only if you are not wearing specs. I would not dream of using a 24 without an accessory finder. I am using a late plastic Leica 24mm finder with my ZM 25mm Biogon. How else do you level the camera? A bubble level, in my experience, is too fiddly, too slow and above all too imprecise to be considered.

 

Lucem externam dona eis, Domine.

 

The old man from the Age of the SBLOO

 

I use the Voigtlaender viewfinders both for 21mm and 25mm lenses and would not be without them. But I must say that I find levelling very difficult. It usually makes me laugh when I see the photo in Lightroom and the no-crop brigade would certainly not be pleased to see how much I end up cropping away to level the horizon

[tom0511]

I also use the DLux4 viewfinder -works quite well and in case you own a x1 you can also use it as a 35mm viewfinder (it has 24 and 35mm frame lines).

[henning]

Since I use wideangles a lot, I've accumulated a number of finders. About the only one discussed that I don't have (and don't want) is the 21-24-28 turret finder.

 

The nicest view is through the Zeiss 25/28 finder, which is the brightest and clearest. Unfortunately, it is also noticeably bigger than the Leica or CV finders and has sharp corners at the front which are particularly adept at hooking on things. Since I've spent considerably more on replacement 21mm finders over the years that I used the 21 SA than I did on the lens, I'm wary of finders that snag on things and might drop onto hard surfaces.

 

The CV finders are good value, have rounded corners, are plastic (so the contents doesn't shatter as readily when dropped) and are reasonably good to look through. Unfortunately I've had some that had seriously rotated framelines, and the 25mm one that I have shows very nearly the same area as my old metal 28mm Leitz finder, the latter being quite accurate for 28mm.

 

The old metal as well as the new metal finders from Leica are reasonably compact, but the old ones slide out of some shoes too easily and the new finders are too expensive. I'll pay a lot of money for lenses, but I'm more reluctant to pay huge sums for finders when there are noticeably less expensive options available. The plastic Leica finders are my preferred finders, as they are available used, have a (slightly) locking foot and in any case, don't come out as easily as the metal finders, are reasonably accurate, are quite low profile and especially, are plastic housed so when you drop them (not if !!!) the optics don't get smashed as easily. If you are super careful you might not ever drop them, but if you are working fast, have them for 40 years and use multiple cameras the odds are not with you.

 

My WATE came with the multi-finder, and I like it well enough in use, but it is rather large and ugly. For a 24 there is a lot of real estate surrounding the lines, and it would not be my first choice. Similarly, the CV 15-35 zoom finder is rather bulky and no more attractive, but the view does zoom. You don't have the advantage of the field outside the framelines, though and it doesn't have a bubble level.

 

Henning

[davek]

Thanks everyone for the feedback I have decided to go for the DLux4 finder at this time purely based on cost and the fact I may or may not use the external finder at all times once I have it for reference purposes for framing. Also, and my 35 F2 Summacron just arrived at the dealer today pick them both up tomorrow.

 

Dave

[FrozenInTime]

With the M9 you've got one an advantage over me:

 

With the 21mm Summilux and a M6, I found it exceptionally difficult to estimate the parallax when using the lens really up close ( trying to exploit differential focus ).

 

You can always fire of a test frame and chimp on the LCD - so the small finder does seem like the sensible choice.

 

For my M6 I picked up an ex-demo Frankenfinder, and it made an amazing difference to my framing accuracy.

 

The bubble is very useful on the horizontals, but there is no vertical bubble

Another feature of the Frankenfinder is that the frame lines are bent in accordance with the barrel distortion of the viewfinder optics : it's therefore possible to align the distorted curve of a building accurately with the distorted curve of the viewfinder.

Why did no one else think of this it's such an obvious thing to do.

[ndjambrose]

I would appreciate any thoughts or comments between the Bright Line finder for the 24mm vs the Universal Finder if you had to choose one to use on a daily or regular basis.

 

Neither of the above.

 

In my opinion the best viewfinders by far are the Zeiss models. I use ZM21 and ZM25 finders with my lenses. I've tried just about all the finders from Leica, Voigtlaender and Zeiss and found the Zeiss design offered the highest levels of clarity, build quality and comfort.

[vanhulsenbeek]

You will have to do a try-out. The Zeiss finders are great, but just did not work for my eyesight. Now I have a Leica Brightline (new, metal) and it is fine.

[farnz]

Another vote for the Zeiss viewfinder. At a Leica Akademie meeting in Zingst in April I had the opportunity to compare the Leica 24 mm vf for the 24 Summilux with my Zeiss 25/28 and the difference was astonishing.

 

Several seasoned Leica users and forum members who also attended the meeting had borrowed 24 Summiluxes from the Akademie and all were also astonished at the increased clarity and absence of distortion in the Zeiss vf compared to the Leica version.

 

Pete.

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Hallo,

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