Tilted M8 viewfinder?

[jevidon]

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I just came home with a 28mm Elmarit M and when I pointed the camera towards the window in my office which has shutters, I noticed for the first time that the image in the viewfinder tilts ( is slightly rotated) slightly to the left (ccw) when compared to the open eye view of the window shutters. I had never noticed this before and it was only apparent because the shutters form a grid pattern of sorts.

 

I sent it in less than a year ago for viewfinder frame update, shutter update and sapphire screen.

 

Any comments? Has anyone else experienced this?

 

And please don't suggest that I am tilted because I already know that.

[ho_co]

Not denying your experience, but if you haven't noticed it previously on your images, I'd say it can't be much of a problem.

 

To me the M finder frames always look cockeyed, but the image comes out fine. Maybe it's from my astigmatism, or from the fact that they're seated at 45 degrees to the viewfinder optics.

 

Remember, since the M finder mechanism is pretty complex optically and mechanically, your eye has to be at the right place to see the frames, the focusing patch and the digital readout properly.

 

There was a thread a couple years ago on a similar topic where people made several suggestions toward checking the problem: http://www.l-camera-forum.com/leica-forum/leica-m8-forum/32304-tilted-horizon-means-tilted-rangefinder.html.

 

 

If you're not familiar with how the framelines are mounted, this Mark Norton thread may be of interest as well: http://www.l-camera-forum.com/leica-forum/leica-m8-forum/67857-anatomy-leica-m8-framelines.html.

 

 

Good luck checking it out, and keep us posted!

[jevidon]

Thanks for referring me to that old thread on tilting. However, what I have is an optical tilt without regard to the frame lines. In other words, the image in the viewfinder is canted counter clockwise with respect to the actual object when viewed with my other eye. Your comment regarding the complexity of the view/rangefinder system probably accounts for my experience, but it is disconcerting. Especially since I've never noticed it before.

[ho_co]

I don't blame you for your concern. We finally have a way to quickly check our experiences against others', and there's no reason not to compare notes.

 

I think the effect will turn out not to be important to picture-taking, but I don't want to short-circuit others' ideas. I just wanted to list a couple of references that I thought might be helpful.

 

Since I'm left-eyed, I don't get to look at the image with both eyes. Instead, I get the benefit of a nose-grease-covered LCD screen. That's also a problem that's been mentioned several times on the forum.

[jaapv]

Howard is right - it might be due to an unnoticed slight astigmatism in one of your eyes. If you have no trouble with it I would ignore it.

[jevidon]

"...nose-grease-covered LCD screen..."

 

Me too. I am now trying to use my right eye to avoid nose grease, but I have been putting up with it for years. I generally carry a soft eyeglass cloth with me to wipe down the screen.

 

As to astigmatism, I have had it since childhood along with myopia. I just didn't realize that it might be the cause of the viewfinder anomaly. It really hasn't interfered with my picture taking. I just brought it up on the forum when I first noticed it in case it might be something that required maintenance or repair. The only problem I can think of is that if I pay attention to the image instead of the base of the viewfinder window for reference, I might start getting more frequent tilted horizons in my photos.

 

Many thanks for your input. I have learned something, not only in the probably cause but also a lot about Leica rangefinder/viewfinder construction.

[ho_co]

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... I have learned something ...

Now don't blame me for that!

 

I'm also myopic and astigmatic, but it's just a guess. I've got no idea why the finder seems tilted to me as well.

 

The great thing about Leica is that there's always something new to discover--the funny numbers at the infinity end of the distance scale on the longer lenses, how tiny those metal foils are that project the finder frames, the fact that different models of dual-range Summicron had different goggles, etc, etc. It's a really amazing box of discoveries. If they keep it up another 50 years, we'll probably have a chance to get it all figured out.

[Guest mc_k]

Long shot ... but regarding the window shutters, in the viewfinder it's easy to see a convergence effect when you're not square to the shutters--which would make you think there is something off. I would play around with a piece of paper taped to the wall. There was another thread about this not too long ago where the poster thought his framelines were tilted.

[Guest Ming Rider]

I had a similar problem with the M8 I bought before the one I have now.

 

I noticed quite quickly that the framelines were rotated to the left quite a bit. I tested it by taking a shot of a fence. I aligned the top frameline exactly with the top fence rail, then checked the photo. Indeed, the levels were way out.

 

Needless to say, I sent the camera back to the seller (ebay) and had a fantastic time (!) explaining to the guy what I meant by `rotated framelines`. I eventually got my money back through paypal.

 

So yes, it `may not` be your eyesight mate.