slacker Posted October 3, 2011 Share #1 Posted October 3, 2011 Advertisement (gone after registration) hello, i have the 24/1.4 lens. i love this lens because its nice and sharp at f/1.4 and has great bokeh. what i don't like is that it raises the 35mm frame lens, blocks off one quarter the viewfinder with the hood on and seems to sit "neither here nor there" in leica's line up of lenses. in retrospect, i should have gone for a 21 and 28 separately - wider in one lens, one stop slower with the advantage of being able to use the m9 viewfinder to frame. as i have not acquired the 24mm external viewfinder yet, and was thinking of eventually getting the 21/3.4 asph down the road, if it ever comes out in here in Singapore. is it possible, for the lack of a dumb question to use either the zeiss 21mm external finder or the latest leica 21mm finder to frame and shoot for the 24? i am leaning towards the zeiss because it is cheaper and reviews have indicated it as a large bright and clear finder, regarding the leica has a little bit less so. or would the zeiss framing be wholly inaccurate and unsuitable for doing so? there is a leitz 24mm finder available on ebay at the moment, and whilst tempted to leap to get it, i just don't feel comfortable plonking down the same amount of cash for a used plastic leitz finder, when I could be getting a brand new all metal zeiss 21 finder. i read on photo.net that the zeiss 21 is suited just nicely to frame for the 24... and that the zeiss 25/28 finder really is just suited for framing the 28. please let me know your thoughts, so far this forum has been incredibly helpful, something i did not expect to experience since switching 3 months ago... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Advertisement Posted October 3, 2011 Posted October 3, 2011 Hi slacker, Take a look here external finder + a rant. I'm sure you'll find what you were looking for!
lars_bergquist Posted October 3, 2011 Share #2 Posted October 3, 2011 RF finder frames, in the camera or in an auxiliary finder, are not that exact; but the idea that just any accessory finder will do for framing, is wrong. The finder field is quite different in a 21mm and a 24mm finder. There's no escape from the fact that if you need a finder at all, you need one with at least an approximately correct indication of the field of view. So yes, yo need a 24mm finder for your 24mm lens. And a 21mm one for your 21mm optic. Sorry about that. That said, there are of course less expensive alternatives to the current Leica finders. Cosina/Voigtländer e.g. More expensive, but also extremely well made, are the Zeiss finders. I am using one for my 18mm distagon, and it is both mechanically and optically excellent. The price is about half that of the Leica finders. The Zeiss finders are larger, however. The choice is yours. The old man from the Age of the Brilliant Finder Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
jaapv Posted October 3, 2011 Share #3 Posted October 3, 2011 There was an affordable 24 Leica finder in Buy and Sell here. So don't despair when confronted with unrealistic prices on e-bay. Unfortunately as I am off into the far blue yonder today I pulled the ad just now... I may put it up in November again. I have found that the Zeiss (28/25, which I own as well and is the reason for offering the Leica for sale) finder actually shows quite a bit narrower field of view than the lens. In other words it has inaccurate framelines for the 24. It is nice and bright though. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
cbretteville Posted October 3, 2011 Share #4 Posted October 3, 2011 A range finder is inacurate it its framing. External finders too. With the modern Leica finders I feel I'm looking through a keyhole. They are not worth the money, neither new or 2nd hand. I much preferr the Zeiss finders an have the 18, 21 and 25/28 finders. Even if the 25 is a little tight - which I find preferable to one too wide. To me the alternative to the Zeiss is the Voigtländer 25 finder. Lower build quality, a little less bright then the Zeiss, but also cheaper. Carl Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
jaapv Posted October 3, 2011 Share #5 Posted October 3, 2011 I agree. I have th CV too. It distorts, but is bright and fairly accurate. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rick Posted October 3, 2011 Share #6 Posted October 3, 2011 If, you are considering a 21 and 28 then you might want to look at Leica's excellent Universal Wide-Angle Viewfinder. I really like this little gem. It has adjustable frame lines for 16-18-21-24-28. No matter what focal length lens you finally decide is right for your style, you'll have it covered and you won't have to buy multiple finders. Also, the UWAF has a distance adjustment dial in order to correct for parallax. The optics are superb with one aspheric lens and one with achromatic correction. You get a big easy to view image. The antireflective coatings and the fact that this thing never flares when I use it, makes it really bright. I find that the framing is very accurate with Leica lenses. It has a spirit level and you can put a diopter correction in the eyepiece. I'm not sure if most Leica users really appreciate what a great optic Leica has designed, until they use it. And, it has this funky look when it is on the M that I really like. I don't think it gets any goofier looking than this thing on the Leica M with a big WA lens. Perfect. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
StephenPatterson Posted October 3, 2011 Share #7 Posted October 3, 2011 Advertisement (gone after registration) My favorite is the Leica 21mm brightline finder, and here's why: 1. It's extremely well made, with bright crisp optics and illuminated frame. 2. It has the frameline for 21mm, but also corner hash marks for the 28mm (the M8 equivalent). Because of this it is easy to use this finder on the M9 for the 21, 24 (just split the difference between frames) and 28mm. 3. It comes with a nice leather case (unlike the Zeiss which has no case). It's expensive, but you will only buy it once. I had previously purchased the Zeiss 21 VF, and it is bright and well made, but I just preferred the Leica. I agree with Rick that the Frankenfinder (Leica UWAF) is an amazing tool, and works very well with lots of flexibility. The reason I did not purchase it was due to the fact that the field of view is fixed at 16mm, with changeable frame lines for 16-18-21-24-28, getting smaller and smaller in the image. This is a VERY wide angle view of the world, and you may or may not like it. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rick Posted October 4, 2011 Share #8 Posted October 4, 2011 The reason I did not purchase it was due to the fact that the field of view is fixed at 16mm, with changeable frame lines for 16-18-21-24-28, getting smaller and smaller in the image. This is a VERY wide angle view of the world, and you may or may not like it. This is a very good point. The UWAF is much better optimized for the ultra wide lenses (16-21). I hadn't thought about the fact that it is not optimal for 24 and 28 because, the image size is so small for these focals. I really only use it for the WATE. I also used it on the M8, where I used the 21-24-28 frame lines and didn't think about the non-optimum use of the whole finder field of view at the time, but it wasn't optimum - just never thought about it. I actually wouldn't suggest it unless you had the UW lenses. Then it makes more sense if you want just one finder in your bag, as long as you realize that it is somewhat compromised for 21-28. seafurydiver, you make a diplomatic and a better point about the UWAF and pairing it with the 21-28 lenses. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
StephenPatterson Posted October 4, 2011 Share #9 Posted October 4, 2011 Rick I 100% agree with you that when using the WATE, or any combination of ultra wide lenses, the Leica UWAF is the best way to go. The quality of this finder is amazing, and for those that use this impressive piece of kit the term "Frankenfinder" is a term of endearment. Stephen Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rick Posted October 4, 2011 Share #10 Posted October 4, 2011 Stephen, of course, nothing beats the hot shoe clip-on Leica M10EVF. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
rob139 Posted October 4, 2011 Share #11 Posted October 4, 2011 There is, as an alternative also a 21-24-28 viewfinder, which I like. And it's not very expensive secondhand. Leica seems to have stopped producing them? They are not listed on the site anymore. 21-24-38VF Best, Rob Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
StephenPatterson Posted October 4, 2011 Share #12 Posted October 4, 2011 Stephen, of course, nothing beats the hot shoe clip-on Leica M10EVF. Yes, that is the best of the bunch. I love the way it streams a real time image via blutooth to my iPhone, allowing remote viewing and shutter actuation while providing GPS info for the EXIF data. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
peter_n Posted October 5, 2011 Share #13 Posted October 5, 2011 ... there is a leitz 24mm finder available on ebay at the moment...Don't buy the Leica finder. I have three 24/25 finders including the $760 all metal 24 Leica VF and it's absolutely not worth the money. Amazing the way Leica can design and build an absolutely brilliant 24mm lens then produce a really crap VF to go with it. The plastic CV 25 I have is better than the Leica, but the one I actually use is the all metal Panasonic DMW-VF1 which was built for the Lumix. It's optically the best VF of the three and the cheapest at $138. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
tobey bilek Posted October 5, 2011 Share #14 Posted October 5, 2011 Second the M10 EVF. It will be sharp and clear unlike the other brands and you will be able to autofocus all your lenses. I can hardly wait. Buy a 24/25 CV for now. They are workable. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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