DES Posted June 3, 2013 Share #1 Posted June 3, 2013 Advertisement (gone after registration) Here is the thing, I have a viso III and although I have other lenses, namely the beast...560 mm and 400mm telyts, that i use with it I find that I am able to focus them both better than the 200 mm telyt that I have!, has anyone else found this hard to use or is it just me? Obviously the 400 & 560 I use on a tripod, and I don't have to with the 200 it is not so much the results that I get, more that I have difficulty in seeing if the image is in focus or not with the 200, whereas is easy with the larger lenses in comparison. If I had a split screen on the viso would this be better? and did they even make one or can I get one? Does anyone know, I would love to use it more. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Advertisement Posted June 3, 2013 Posted June 3, 2013 Hi DES, Take a look here The Visoflex III. I'm sure you'll find what you were looking for!
jc_braconi Posted June 3, 2013 Share #2 Posted June 3, 2013 400 & 560 5.6 or 6.8 ? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
DES Posted June 3, 2013 Author Share #3 Posted June 3, 2013 400 & 560 5.6 or 6.8 ? Both 5.6 ....but also the slide focus 400 6.8! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
k-hawinkler Posted June 3, 2013 Share #4 Posted June 3, 2013 (edited) Could you please post 100% crops showing the effect you describe? Also, do you have other cameras and adapters that you could use with those Telyts? Thanks. Edited June 3, 2013 by k-hawinkler Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
luigi bertolotti Posted June 3, 2013 Share #5 Posted June 3, 2013 (edited) Is it a problem of EASE OF FOCUSING with the 200 or that, with the 200 you have focus correct through the Viso and then the picture is not well focused ? I have both the 200s (4,5 and 4) and have never found difficult to focus (wide open - the f presetting feature of the f4 is useful)... not different from the 400/560, and of course with easier handling... I suppose you use a regular OUBIO ring to attach your 200 to the Viso III... Edited June 3, 2013 by luigi bertolotti Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
DES Posted June 3, 2013 Author Share #6 Posted June 3, 2013 Luigi & k-h Sorry, I obviously have not described things well enough.......the problem is not that I think it is in focus and the results prove otherwise, rather that I am never sure if I have the focus spot on or not, I keep moving the barrel backwards and forwards aimlessly. I do not have this problem with any other lens. So I thought a split screen might help if possible! What do you think? Yes I use the OUBIO Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
luigi bertolotti Posted June 3, 2013 Share #7 Posted June 3, 2013 Advertisement (gone after registration) Ok... that is strange, being the same Viso that works fine for you with the long ones... the split screen can be of help... but only when you have some straight line in the picture: just a trivial question.... is it a Telyt 200 f4, and, in case, do you focus wide open ? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
k-hawinkler Posted June 3, 2013 Share #8 Posted June 3, 2013 Luigi & k-h Sorry, I obviously have not described things well enough.......the problem is not that I think it is in focus and the results prove otherwise, rather that I am never sure if I have the focus spot on or not, I keep moving the barrel backwards and forwards aimlessly. I do not have this problem with any other lens. So I thought a split screen might help if possible!What do you think? Yes I use the OUBIO You may find this interesting reading: http://www.l-camera-forum.com/leica-forum/leica-m9-forum/109765-5-japanese-split-prism-focusing-bright.html http://www.l-camera-forum.com/leica-forum/leica-m9-forum/124030-leica-m9-visioflex-iii-experiences.html I use the original Leitz matte glass screen and focus wide open. It's sometimes a little tough to tell whether one has achieved best focus, even for the longer lenses on the M9 + Visoflex. So, for hummingbirds and such I use a Sony NEX-7 with adapter instead of M9 + Visoflex. Then using magnification is a very accurate way to focus. Of course, one could also mount the NEX-7 + adapter behind the Visoflex and compare the focusing achieved with either method. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael Geschlecht Posted June 4, 2013 Share #9 Posted June 4, 2013 (edited) Hello DES, Do you have the same problem focussing with the 200mm Telyt when it is on the SAME tripod the 400mm & 560mm lenses use? Or is your problem only there (or significantly greater) when you are using the lens hand held? Also: Are you focussing on different types of subjects with the 200mm Telyt? Such as still subjects with the longer lenses & moving subjects with the 200mm Telyt. Are you stopping down after focussing with the 200mm Telyt? Even if it is the earlier F4.5 version. Best Regards, Michael Edited June 4, 2013 by Michael Geschlecht Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
DES Posted June 4, 2013 Author Share #10 Posted June 4, 2013 Luigi .... Yes it is the f4.0 200 mm. and I focus wide open then stop down, the problem is more apparent when I use the narrower depth of field at f4 and it is this that I love. K-h...thank you for all that info, I will try to get a screen from ebay I see one or two old cameras going for a song and even spare parts.... so might be lucky! The NEX-7 looks interesting I will check that out too...Thank you. Michael... I will have to try it on the tripod, I have never done this because I haven't felt the need to, but I a sure it should be easier, if not as convenient. Thanks for your help, I have plenty of things to try now. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
spydrxx Posted June 4, 2013 Share #11 Posted June 4, 2013 I've been using a split screen with a small microprism surround for some time now with my Visoflex 2. Although I really like plain matte screens, with failing eyesight the split image makes focusing a breeze. Its installation required some experimentation and shimmimg to achieve the results I had come to expect from the old Leica matte one. Sorry, I can't remember exactly where I found it, but I do remember it was on Ebay, I think from Hong Kong. I has previously used Rick Oleson's replacement screens in my TLRs with great success, but he doesn't make one for the Visoflex. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
jc_braconi Posted June 4, 2013 Share #12 Posted June 4, 2013 I think that you have the same problem as using a reflex camera with a 21mm is not easy to be sure about the exact focusing than using a 50mm. The tolerance in focusing is inherent of the focal lenght of the lens. The split image is as introducing a range finder in the viewfinder. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
luigi bertolotti Posted June 5, 2013 Share #13 Posted June 5, 2013 I seem to have read, time ago, in the forum, that the screens for Leica R8/R9 (and surely there is one with split-image facility) are easy to mount on Viso III.... If I remember correctly, I read it in relation with the fact that they were made also in versions for the cropped DMR sensor, so they are a good solution for Viso on M8. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
zeitz Posted June 6, 2013 Share #14 Posted June 6, 2013 I too am a proponent of split image screens for SLRs. Some people hate them. I find them the most accurate for focus. Maybe it is what you got used to first. My first SLR was a Canon FX. I then traded to a Nikon F with an A screen. The A screen is a split image screen. To this day I normally focus Leica Ms using the split image technique rather than the coincidence technique. There is one huge problem with split image screens in SLRs. The wedge angles are set for normal focal lengths and ~ f3.5 max apertures. When slow telephoto lenses are used, the wedges black out and can't be used. SLR manufactures have their own opinions about what the screens should be, and each SLR with interchangeable screens has their own set. Nikon did not offer all the combinations, but Nikon did offer the most combinations. The Nikon A screen is for general photography. The Nikon R screen is much like the A, but it is for telephoto lenses with ~ f5.6 max apertures. It also has a grid etched on the face. I too am interested in putting a split image screen in a Visoflex, particularly the Nikon R screen in a Visoflex III. So I ran this experiment using a Nikon F3 with High Eye Point finder: - A screen - 200mm f4.0 Telyt works OK; 400mm f6.8 Telyt is unusable; 560mm f5.6 Telyt is passable with patience - R screen - 200mm f4.0 Tely works superbly; 400mm f6.8 is OK with patience to get you eye centered correctly in the finder; 560mm f5.6 is really nice, taking care to center your eye. The Nikon screens are too big for a Visoflex, so some filing would be required after the Nikon condenser is removed and discarded, by cutting the clear tape holding them together. The biggest problem is that the screen is about 0.1mm too thick. So some edge filing on the back face would be required, without access to a precision milling machine. The other option is just to put it in thick after filing the edges to the Visoflex screen shape. Focusing is done on the surface toward the mirror. The Brightscreen screens for Visoflex are also too thick. I hope this helps. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
luigi bertolotti Posted June 6, 2013 Share #15 Posted June 6, 2013 I seem to have read, time ago, in the forum, that the screens for Leica R8/R9 (and surely there is one with split-image facility) are easy to mount on Viso III.... If I remember correctly, I read it in relation with the fact that they were made also in versions for the cropped DMR sensor, so they are a good solution for Viso on M8. ... I did found that old thread about R8/9 screens on Visoflex... http://www.l-camera-forum.com/leica-forum/leica-m8-forum/82014-visoflex-owners-grab-your-chance.html (mostly related to the M8 cropping, as I did remember...) 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
zeitz Posted June 6, 2013 Share #16 Posted June 6, 2013 Can any R8/R9 owner in the Forum tell us if the Universal Screen 14343 works with the 560 Telyts (5.6 and 6.8)? Or do the split image wedges black out? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
luigi bertolotti Posted June 6, 2013 Share #17 Posted June 6, 2013 I have not any experience with R8/R9, but I think that 5,6 and moreover 6,8 are risky with a split image... I remember well that in my old Contarex, which had such a kind of screen, the central split image area was rather dark with the 250 f4... in certain light conditions one of the two halves was simply black... can be that a much more modern one is better, but Contarex was a very refined biuld in all the details, and its instruction manual advised to use other kind of screens (they were interchangable) for long focals. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
jc_braconi Posted June 6, 2013 Share #18 Posted June 6, 2013 Can any R8/R9 owner in the Forum tell us if the Universal Screen 14343 works with the 560 Telyts (5.6 and 6.8)? Or do the split image wedges black out? Sorry I have both R8 & R9 but always used the grit screen with Telyts 560 and I am far from my stuff in this moment to try with the split image screen. Luigi it is my Dobbiaco week ... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
zeitz Posted June 7, 2013 Share #19 Posted June 7, 2013 Luigi, the wedge angles on each model of split image screen are different. The wedge angle determines which focal length and apeture will work. That is why I am asking specifically about the Leica 14343 screen. The Nikon A screen is not usable. The Nikon R screen is great with the 560 f5.6 Telyt. But Nikon screens are hard to fit to a Visoflex. I will wait patiently until JC returns to his equipment trove. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
jaapv Posted June 10, 2013 Share #20 Posted June 10, 2013 (edited) Can any R8/R9 owner in the Forum tell us if the Universal Screen 14343 works with the 560 Telyts (5.6 and 6.8)? Or do the split image wedges black out? They black out, unless you position your eye extremely carefully. I ground the tab off an R screen to use for my Visoflex for that reason (the corners must be trimmed too and the shims must be adjusted). I also tried the Brightscreen replacement but found that it vignetted heavily. Imo the very best screen for the Visoflex is the original one, but it must be cleaned both inside and out. The grime of ages usually impairs the viewing experience. I use the full matte screen on my R8/9 for long focal lengths too. Edited June 10, 2013 by jaapv Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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