Leica M8 framelines... QUESTIONS

[Augost]

Advertisement (gone after registration)

Ok, so I understand the crop factor on an M8 is 1.33, so a 35mm becomes a 46mm and a 50mm becomes a 53mm but do 35mm lenses not bring up the 35mm frame lines on the M8??

 

I would like to buy an M8 and use a 35mm lens on it, making it a 46mm and I would like the camera to show me the 50mm framelines when the 35mm lens is attached.

Is this possible? How does this work?

 

Also, does the smaller sensor mean that less light hits the sensor which means a 35mm f/1.4 lens maybe becomes a f/2 lens????

 

I would love to understand how the 50mm framelines can be brought up when using a 35mm lens.

 

Thank yuo for your help (:

[doolittle]

Ok, so I understand the crop factor on an M8 is 1.33, so a 35mm becomes a 46mm and a 50mm becomes a 53mm but do 35mm lenses not bring up the 35mm frame lines on the M8??

 

I would like to buy an M8 and use a 35mm lens on it, making it a 46mm and I would like the camera to show me the 50mm framelines when the 35mm lens is attached.

Is this possible? How does this work?

 

Also, does the smaller sensor mean that less light hits the sensor which means a 35mm f/1.4 lens maybe becomes a f/2 lens????

 

I would love to understand how the 50mm framelines can be brought up when using a 35mm lens.

 

Thank yuo for your help (:

 

 

The framelines have been adjusted to suit the smaller sensor simply by shrinking them.

 

So when you attach a 50mm lens, the 50mm frame lines are still brought up. The size of the box is just a bit tighter than the one on a M9 or M6 etc. Just like in other Leica's the frame lines are brought up in pairs (50/75 , 28/90 and breaking from tradition 24/35 ).

 

When you attach a 35mm lens you get the 24/35 framelines. The only difference is the 35mm frameline takes in less of the scene in the viewfinder than it would on an M9,M6 etc as covers a smaller area to reflect the smaller sensor.

 

For you second question on less light hitting the sensor: I hadn't thought about this, but on reflection, the same amount of light would still be hitting the sensor, just the light that would have hit the larger sensor isn't being used. If you took an M9 image and cropped the image to the same size as the M8 sensor, you would end up with the same picture and same brightness. Depth of field would remain the same too.

Of course if you move the camera position to frame the same image as the M9, you would have to move backwards, thus changing the perspective and depth of field.

 

Putting it in less technically, and more from an M8 users point of view:

 

50mm on the M8 can feel a bit tight.

35mm gives you a loose 50mm lens experience, maybe a bit more than you expected.

40mm is meant to be the sweet spot if you want the traditional 50mm experience.

I personally find the 24/35 frames distracting (they just look cluttered to my eye!), and usually end up using a 28mm on my M8 (which gives a 35mm experience). Where as on my MP I prefer a 50mm lens.

[Advertisement]

The Leica Q3 is available for pre-order at B&H Photo Video and Adorama

[Jeff S]

...and a 50mm becomes a 53mm ...

 

Well, actually a field of view near 67mm. So your 50 will bring up the the 50 frame lines, already cropped (as doolittle notes), which will mean that your view will be slightly wider than using a 75mm lens on a (full frame) 35mm camera.

 

You don't have to worry about anything...what you see is what you get*, and the light is a non-issue. You'll just be taking pics with the middle "sweet spot" of every lens used.

 

*[On the M8, the frame lines are optimized for 1m, while an M8.2 (or upgraded M8) will have frame lines optimized for 2m. Without getting too technical, the 2m frame lines will be more accurate, i.e., show you what will appear in your pic, when your subject is farther away than with the 1m frame lines. But don't expect 'perfect' framing with a RF.]

 

Jeff

[Jeff S]

*[On the M8, the frame lines are optimized for 1m...

 

I should have written .7m; it's the M9 frame lines that are optimized for 1m. The rest stands, meaning that the M8 frame lines are more accurate at very close distances, while the 2m frame lines (M8.2 or upgraded M8) are more accurate for objects farther away.

 

One gets used to whatever the frame lines show, but I offer this just as a discussion point, separate from the FOV question you raised.

 

Jeff

[Jeff S]

One additional point regarding your questions....the M8 has a frame preview lever so that you can bring any of the 3 frame line pairs, anytime you wish, without regard to what lens is or isn't on the camera. This allows you to compare fields of view, which aids in determining whether another lens might suit.

 

Jeff