M8 diopters and focus

[xrogers]

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Hi all,

 

1. If you're having trouble getting accurate focus on your M, consider a diopter.

 

2. If you already use a diopter on one M, it may not be the ideal diopter for another.

 

Now, if you care, are the reasons for these statements...

 

After great difficulty getting accurate focus with a 90 Summicron (and some difficulty with a 90 Elmarit) I got my eyes checked, and found that although I don't need glasses yet, my sight wasn't perfect (slight astigmatism, doc suggested trying a -0.75 correction for a diopter). So I ordered -0.5 and -1.0 diopters, figuring that I'd return one and get another of the correction that worked best for me (or return both if neither helped).

 

The -0.5 worked like a charm on the M7, fine detail in the focus patch is now far more visible, and even slight misfocus is obvious. I tried a simple test with my 90 TE (my 90AA is off getting coded), and found that without a diopter I could rotate the focus ring at least 5 degrees, and it all looked in focus. With the -0.5, maybe one degree---correct focus was far, far, far more obvious (no kidding, a full three fars better).

 

Then my M8 came back from Solms (it was in for the early camera update), and surprise---the -1.0 was obviously the best for it, improved just like the M7 with the -0.5. I no longer waffle or hunt for ideal focus, it just snaps to one setting. The 90TE focus is consistent and dead on, and I'm really looking forward to the AA coming back for the final test.

 

The level of improvement in both cameras is more than I expected, much better for me than using the magnifier. I'm very happy with the diopters. And in spite of my plan, I ended up not needing to return anything!

 

Until later,

 

Clyde Rogers

[Shootist]

Never used a M7 but I had a time getting the right + diopter for my M8.

All this could be because of the different magnifiers of the rangefinder and that because of the different magnifiers the image in the viewfinder is actually at a different fixed distance.

For the M8 the image displayed in the viewfinder is at a 2 meter distance, roughly 7 feet.

Not sure what it is for the M7. Because of the viewfinder image distance I did NOT need the same + diopter that I use to see a PC screen or to read a book. I needed one with less + amount then the + 1.5 and + 1.75 I use for PC and book reading. I settled on a +1 and it is working just fine.