jrc Posted January 26, 2007 Share #1 Â Posted January 26, 2007 Advertisement (gone after registration) Just got a 135 APO for the M8, with an external hot shoe-mounted viewfinder which is made for the FF Ms. Somebody here has suggested that that with the M8, you can estimate that the FOV is about 2x focusing patch; and if you're taking more than one shot, check yourself on the LCD. I'm doing that, but it's a rough measure one way, and you give up spontaneity the other. Â I'm wondering if it would be possible to buy some of the protective film (like the stuff that you use to cover the LCD) and use a craft knife or something and cut a mask that would stick to the surface of the external viewfinder, and that would give you something close to the actual FOV. Is there something about the optics of an external viewfinder that would keep that from working? Â JC Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Advertisement Posted January 26, 2007 Posted January 26, 2007 Hi jrc, Take a look here Mask for APO 135 viewfinder?. I'm sure you'll find what you were looking for!
jank Posted January 26, 2007 Share #2 Â Posted January 26, 2007 I hope, someday Leica will introduce goggles with 2x magnification for this lens , then one could use 90mm frame for 135 mm lenses ( 135x1.35=182mm). 135 with goggles works really nice on M5. Jan Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
doubice Posted January 26, 2007 Share #3 Â Posted January 26, 2007 Hello John, Â I was grappling with the same issue when Leica announced the M8 and advised that only the 'goggled' 2.8/135 was compatible. I have the 4/135mm Tele Elmar, which is a fantastic lens, weighing practically nothing. Â I did buy the 2.8/135mm lens however, and that is what I plan to use with the M8 when I get one. As to your finder issue - there used to be zoom finder availble, made by a German company called TEWE. This finder was adjustable from 35mm to 180mm and would probably suit your purpose. For size - it is slightly smaller than the curent Leica 21-24-28 Universal Finder and relatively well made, with parallax compensation built into its foot. Â The only problem will be finding one. They do appear on eBay from time to time and I have seen them go for between US$50.00 to US$100.00. At this time, it is the only 180mm finder that I can think of as being somewhat available. I own one and if I find the 2.8/135mm Elmarit too heavy during use, I will definitely use it with the smaller 4/135mm Tele-Elmar. Â Actually, before posting this I ran a search on eBay and found one of the TEWE finders here: eBay: TEWE UNIV FINDER (item 7613267384 end time Feb-18-07 05:57:25 PST) Â At US$185.00 this one is quite expensive and I would probably wait if and when a cheaper one comes along. Another option come to think of it, would be an older Carl Zeiss / Zeiss Ikon finder made for for the original Zeiss Ikon Contax. These were multi-finders and some included the 180mm view. Probably even less common than the TEWE and when found, expensive. Â Good luck, Â Jan (the other one) Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
thpeters Posted January 26, 2007 Share #4 Â Posted January 26, 2007 Hello Jan Dvorak, Â The same seller offered A Leica summilux 1.4/50 mm "BOX" Â An empty box for $ 150.-- US, who is willing to pay so much for that, very funny I think. Â Theo Peters Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
doubice Posted January 26, 2007 Share #5  Posted January 26, 2007 Theo,  Yes, his pricing seems to be rather high and that is an understatement......  John,  Here is some more info on the finder: Griffin Byteworks: Tewe 35-200mm Viewfinder  All the best,  Jan Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
luigi bertolotti Posted January 26, 2007 Share #6  Posted January 26, 2007 Hello John, I was grappling with the same issue when Leica announced the M8 and advised that only the 'goggled' 2.8/135 was compatible. I have the 4/135mm Tele Elmar, which is a fantastic lens, weighing practically nothing.  I did buy the 2.8/135mm lens however, and that is what I plan to use with the M8 when I get one. As to your finder issue - there used to be zoom finder availble, made by a German company called TEWE. This finder was adjustable from 35mm to 180mm and would probably suit your purpose. For size - it is slightly smaller than the curent Leica 21-24-28 Universal Finder and relatively well made, with parallax compensation built into its foot.  The only problem will be finding one. They do appear on eBay from time to time and I have seen them go for between US$50.00 to US$100.00. At this time, it is the only 180mm finder that I can think of as being somewhat available. I own one and if I find the 2.8/135mm Elmarit too heavy during use, I will definitely use it with the smaller 4/135mm Tele-Elmar.  Actually, before posting this I ran a search on eBay and found one of the TEWE finders here: eBay: TEWE UNIV FINDER (item 7613267384 end time Feb-18-07 05:57:25 PST)  At US$185.00 this one is quite expensive and I would probably wait if and when a cheaper one comes along. Another option come to think of it, would be an older Carl Zeiss / Zeiss Ikon finder made for for the original Zeiss Ikon Contax. These were multi-finders and some included the 180mm view. Probably even less common than the TEWE and when found, expensive.  Good luck,  Jan (the other one)  Well, for the 180 problem or, better to say, for the 135=180 on M8, why not to find a 200 viewfinder from Leitz: they are not so rare to find somewhere: I have one and use it with 90 Tele Elmarit ("nano" chrome: wonderful lens!) with a 2x converter made in Italy, Kenko-based; funny! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
doubice Posted January 27, 2007 Share #7 Â Posted January 27, 2007 Advertisement (gone after registration) Well, for the 180 problem or, better to say, for the 135=180 on M8, why not to find a 200 viewfinder from Leitz: they are not so rare to find somewhere: I have one and use it with 90 Tele Elmarit ("nano" chrome: wonderful lens!) with a 2x converter made in Italy, Kenko-based; funny! Â That would be just about impossible... The only 200mm finder that Leitz ever made was one code named SFTOO, it was quite a monster and would only fit into the side accessory shoe of the Visoflex I. Not only is this finder is about 10 - 15cm long, but is impossible to attach to anything else but the Visoflex I or a special extension tube!! Â Jan Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
doubice Posted January 27, 2007 Share #8 Â Posted January 27, 2007 Actually, there is another zoom finder which used to be made by Komura, for their 2x Extender. Its range goes up to 270mm and was only available along with the teleconverter. Â Jan Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
jaapv Posted January 27, 2007 Share #9 Â Posted January 27, 2007 I hope, someday Leica will introduce goggles with 2x magnification for this lens , then one could use 90mm frame for 135 mm lenses ( 135x1.35=182mm).135 with goggles works really nice on M5. Jan It might be something Tom Abrahamson would cobble up- he has produced 21/3.4 goggled lenses in the past...It should be possible, given a creative mechanical genius, to use the 2.8/135 goggles. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Woody Campbell Posted January 27, 2007 Share #10  Posted January 27, 2007 That would be just about impossible... The only 200mm finder that Leitz ever made was one code named SFTOO, it was quite a monster and would only fit into the side accessory shoe of the Visoflex I. Not only is this finder is about 10 - 15cm long, but is impossible to attach to anything else but the Visoflex I or a special extension tube!! Jan  I've got a SFTOO which I'm in the process of adapting for the M8 for use with a 135. I'll post a photo of it when I'm done. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
jrc Posted January 27, 2007 Author Share #11 Â Posted January 27, 2007 I want to thank Jan for his suggestion about the Tewe 35-200 finder; there was one up on *bay and I won it tonight for $74.87, including shipping. Worth that much just to try it out... Â JC Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
doubice Posted January 27, 2007 Share #12 Â Posted January 27, 2007 Congratulations John! I did not think you'd find one at a rasonable price so quickly. Â Glad to have added my 2 cents. Â All the best, Â Jan Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Woody Campbell Posted January 27, 2007 Share #13  Posted January 27, 2007 That would be just about impossible... The only 200mm finder that Leitz ever made was one code named SFTOO, it was quite a monster and would only fit into the side accessory shoe of the Visoflex I. Not only is this finder is about 10 - 15cm long, but is impossible to attach to anything else but the Visoflex I or a special extension tube!! Jan  The SFTOO is a sports-type finder, Its frame line is more or less correct for a 135 on an M8 - the outside of the frame line works at infinity and the inside at 20' or so.  The problem is as Jan points out - it has an odd foot that doesn't fit a hotshoe. So I canabalized a hotshoe from another long disused piece of gear and epoxied it onto the SFTOO. It looks like this:  [ATTACH]23314[/ATTACH]  The SFTOO is big, but it's very light and can be tucked into an odd corner of the my bag.  It looks like this on the M8:  [ATTACH]23315[/ATTACH]  The SFTOO just clears the side of my head when I look through the main veiwfinder to focus - I offset it to the right as far as I could when I glued it to the hotshoe.  I'm using it with a 135 tele-elmarit, which I like very well. The parallax correction is right on. Here's a sample (uncropped) image:  [ATTACH]23316[/ATTACH]  I'll be using this as a walking around combination this week - we'll see how it works in practice. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
doubice Posted January 27, 2007 Share #14 Â Posted January 27, 2007 Woody, Â Quite a job! I think you'll find that the combination will be quite difficult to hand-hold though. I like to press the camera to my face for added stability and with this combination it will be a little difficult. Â If you could concoct an adapter where the SFTOO's occular would sit closer to the back of the camera, you'd have a better hand-holdable system. I sketched one that I would try to make, but am having a hell of a time to figure out how to attach it to this post..... Â Will keep trying. Â Jan Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
doubice Posted January 27, 2007 Share #15 Â Posted January 27, 2007 Successfully uploaded! Â For materials, I would start with an aluminium profile thick enough to prevent flexing. The SFTOO female shoe can either be machined from aluminium or removed from an old Visoflex I; you already have the standard shoe. Â Good luck, Â Jan Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
luigi bertolotti Posted January 28, 2007 Share #16  Posted January 28, 2007 Woody, Quite a job! I think you'll find that the combination will be quite difficult to hand-hold though. I like to press the camera to my face for added stability and with this combination it will be a little difficult.  If you could concoct an adapter where the SFTOO's occular would sit closer to the back of the camera, you'd have a better hand-holdable system. I sketched one that I would try to make, but am having a hell of a time to figure out how to attach it to this post.....  Will keep trying.  Jan  Woah! this is almost exactly the device I hand-made when took my italian 2x converter 7 years ago or so! I made use of a support a little shorter than the SFTOO and with a little lowering step at half the length...so I have a little more of parallax correction...anyway, not a big problem using a 200 viewfinder with a 90x2 lens. Maybe some day I will send a pict of it Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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