Homemade Fix for Rangefinder Patch Flare

[Martin B]

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Many of you might have also experienced the rangefinder patch flare when focusing with the viewfinder especially under sunny and bright outside conditions. This is a known issue on Leica M cameras after the M4 series. There are several ways for homemade solutions, but they all darken the viewfinder frame lines quite a bit. I found a good way to avoid this flare and keeping the frame lines well visible and only slightly darkened. I cut a piece of polarized foil from movie 3D glasses in the size of the frame illumination window of the camera. Simply taping it on both sides holds the foil well in place and makes it removable without traces on the window itself. I tested it with several M lenses outside in the sun - no more reflection/flaring occurred, focusing works perfectly. Just wanted to share this here because others might find this simple patch useful, too.

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Edited April 30, 2016 by Martin B

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[pico]

Did you orient the polarization so it was aligned to the RF prism?

Edited April 30, 2016 by pico

[sc_rufctr]

Brilliant solution! 

[jaapv]

This : http://www.leicagoodies.com/shade.html is the same thing, only a bit better and looks nicer. At the price, hardly worth the DIY.

[Martin B]

This : http://www.leicagoodies.com/shade.html is the same thing, only a bit better and looks nicer. At the price, hardly worth the DIY.

 

This commercial one is self-adhesive and sticks on the window - something I didn't like since I wanted the option to have it removable at any time. And hey, with shipping and everything....I can buy a few film rolls instead for this money spent since my fix cost me nothing

[rpavich]

This commercial one is self-adhesive and sticks on the window - something I didn't like since I wanted the option to have it removable at any time. And hey, with shipping and everything....I can buy a few film rolls instead for this money spent since my fix cost me nothing

AND it falls off and you lose it. Had one...didn't stick with it.

[pico]

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I have one on my .58 M7 and it does work, has not fallen off in six years of use. Just be sure you clean the window properly before installing it.

[250swb]

I had one from Leicagoodies once, forgot to take it off when I sold the camera, but it appeared to work very well and didn't fall off. I say 'appeared to work' because if flare is only a very occasional thing, and slightly moving your eye in the viewfinder or slightly moving the camera (as you can anyway with 'focus and compose') can often mitigate any flare I'm not sure how often the filter effect kicked in. I wasn't all that bothered about getting a replacement but I did try an ND filter cut from a Lee book of filter swatches (usually very cheap on Ebay) and this had the same effect, but it did need taping on.

 

 

Steve

[Martin B]

I had one from Leicagoodies once, forgot to take it off when I sold the camera, but it appeared to work very well and didn't fall off. I say 'appeared to work' because if flare is only a very occasional thing, and slightly moving your eye in the viewfinder or slightly moving the camera (as you can anyway with 'focus and compose') can often mitigate any flare I'm not sure how often the filter effect kicked in. I wasn't all that bothered about getting a replacement but I did try an ND filter cut from a Lee book of filter swatches (usually very cheap on Ebay) and this had the same effect, but it did need taping on.

 

 

Steve

 

Thanks for sharing this info! The flaring happened on my M6 quite often recently especially under bright outside conditions. The rangefinder patch turned reddish in the viewfinder, focusing by overlaying the two images does no longer work at this point. I had to rotate the camera or to change the focus position to re-activate (changing the eye position did not help at all from my experience). Reading that the hardware fix for this issue costs around $280 (this price I found online in a post a few years back, might be even more expensive now), I was not willing to pay for. Good thing is that my solution described here works well so far, so all is fine now!

[Wayne]

AND it falls off and you lose it. Had one...didn't stick with it.

Ditto.

[Gregm61]

Sent my M6 to Youxin Ye and had him install the MP Finder in my M6, including the anti-flare kit with the “missing” condenser lens, completely eliminating the issue. Worth the price.

Edited January 3, 2018 by Gregm61