MP viewfinder magnification change

[Stealth3kpl]

Advertisement (gone after registration)

I'm about to send my MP off for a service at Solmes. I have two MPs now, both 0.72-3. I'm considering having the MP to be serviced converted to 0.58-4 in order to run a 28 on it occasionally (mainly a 35mm) when paired with a 50mm on the other MP. Is this a good idea. Will its value be reduced (i.e is the 0.50-4 viewfinder less desirable)? The service itself will be free but I'll need to pay for the change to the viewfinder.

Pete

[Advertisement]

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

[wattsy]

Difficult to say whether it will reduce the resale desirability of the camera (obviously someone looking for a 0.58x MP will find it more desirable than a bog standard one) but that to me would be a minor consideration. The bigger question is whether you will like having a pair of MPs tuned differently in this way? My first Leica was a 0.58x M6TTL and I used it very happily with 35mm and 50mm lenses and (later) alongside other 0.72x film bodies but I think now, if I was using a pair of MPs in tandem, I'd like them to have the same VF magnification. That's probably not entirely logical (after all, the 35mm frames are very nicely proportioned in the 0.58x VF) but I think I'd like a matched pair of cameras to offer the same view of the world.

 

Incidentally, have Leica quoted you for the VF change? I believe that changing the magnification on an existing camera is vastly more expensive than the differential cost shown in the à la carte calculator – something like £800.

[Stealth3kpl]

Thanks for your reply Ian. I think I agree with you. After reading your thoughts, I think I would also prefer the viewfinders to be to same magnification. I really like the 0.72 for 35, and I think I'd miss it.

I recently changed the viewfinder in my MP from standard to 0.72-3 and was charged £540 which included some other minor work and service.

Pete

[250swb]

I have tried working with two cameras that have different magnifications (.58 and .72) as well, and it was a nightmare. So I sold the one with the .58 finder even though I wear glasses, the wider view just didn't suit me. It is hard to put into words but often I'd not see what I expected to see and would have to momentarily re-adjust/re-compose what should have been an instinctive moment of lifting the camera and pressing the shutter. But using the camera's separately it was all OK, much like finding you only use one lens all day long, you are instantly seeing potential photographs in the same way the camera presents the image.

 

Steve

[Keith (M)]

I have tried working with two cameras that have different magnifications (.58 and .72) as well, and it was a nightmare. So I sold the one with the .58 finder even though I wear glasses, the wider view just didn't suit me. It is hard to put into words but often I'd not see what I expected to see and would have to momentarily re-adjust/re-compose what should have been an instinctive moment of lifting the camera and pressing the shutter. But using the camera's separately it was all OK, much like finding you only use one lens all day long, you are instantly seeing potential photographs in the same way the camera presents the image.

 

Steve

 

As a glasses wearer and a frequent user of 35 and 28mm focal length, when I decided to add an MP ALC to my M7, I did opt for the 0.58 VF. Much easier to use the 35 and 28mm, generally for city and landscapes whilst the M7 is used with 50mm for 'street' or 75 & 90 for other subjects. Would not generally use the two side by side but on the other hand whichever I am using may well be accompanied by a M240 (or even a Rolleicord!) and I have not noticed any mental/visual framing hiccups when switching between viewfinder magnifications.

[stephen.w]

I've been looking for a body with a 0.58x finder to go along with my standard 0.72x M6.

 

A lot of the time, I find the 28mm framelines on the M6 frustratingly far apart, with my eye swimming around the finder. My preference was for a M7, and I had one lined up that had the upgraded MP finder, but someone else got there before me. But, after reading about Keith's M7 woes in another other thread, I'm no longer so sure.

 

Now I think I'll look for a M6 TTL or MP; or maybe I should just get a CLE

[Stealth3kpl]

Advertisement (gone after registration)

I recently changed the viewfinder in my MP from standard to 0.72-3 and was charged £540 which included some other minor work and service.

Pete

 

That price included a CLA and replacing the covering with vulcanite-like covering, so the viewfinder mod should be much less.

Pete

[wattsy]

That price included a CLA and replacing the covering with vulcanite-like covering, so the viewfinder mod should be much less.

Pete

 

Pete, changing the VF magnification involves replacing the entire finder optics and is much more expensive than modifying the frame-line mask. Although the à la carte price is something like £130 to choose a different magnification finder, Leica charges a great deal more to swap the finder on an existing camera.

[Keith (M)]

My preference was for a M7, and I had one lined up that had the upgraded MP finder, but someone else got there before me. But, after reading about Keith's M7 woes in another other thread, I'm no longer so sure.

 

Now I think I'll look for a M6 TTL or MP; or maybe I should just get a CLE

 

I would not let my particular M7's track record and Solms's faulty repair work put you off buying one. If such problems were anything other than very rare, this forum would be full of complaints! I just seem to have been sold a lemon/Friday afternoon job.

[Stealth3kpl]

Pete, changing the VF magnification involves replacing the entire finder optics and is much more expensive than modifying the frame-line mask. Although the à la carte price is something like £130 to choose a different magnification finder, Leica charges a great deal more to swap the finder on an existing camera.

 

I think I'm still jet-lagged

Pete