Using the SL diopter on the M-10

[Guest NEIL-D-WILLIAMS]

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Question

When out shooting with my walkabout glasses on and using my SL, my diopter reading is ~+0.3. With my glasses off its a little over 1.0. Do you guys think it is possible to use that information for deciding what diopter I need for my new M-10 surmising that when I shoot the M-10 I will be doing it with my specks on as I like to see what I am doing

Comments

 

Neil

[jaapv]

In short - no. Focusing on two patches, one at 2 m and one at anything between 1m and infinity is a totally different proposition from focusing on an image on a screen that is at one fixed distance.

Just visit your local leica shop and try them out.

 

M10 FAQ:

 

http://www.l-camera-forum.com/topic/270234-focus-technique-diopters-and-magnifiers/?p=3230601

 

 

The first thing to do is to ascertain that you can see the rangefinder patch properly. A correct match between the rangefinder and your eye is even more important than it is using an SLR.
Leica sells corrective diopter lenses. Determining which one you need - if any- can be done by going to your optician and holding his try-out lenses between your eye and the viewfinder. The one that allows you to see the rangefinder patch and framelines sharply is the correct one. Order the nearest value from Leica. In a pinch you can use over-the-counter reading glasses for this test. If your eyes need special corrections, you can use your spectacles, provided you can see clearly at 2 meters distance ( the virtual distance of the rangefinder patch). Note that the background will be at background distance,so your eye should ideally be able to accommodate over the distance differential. However, there is some tolerance here.

Note that the -0.5 diopter value that is built into the viewfinder is there for this reason. For an ideal eye it compensates for the virtual distance of framelines and focus patch @ 2 m.

It is possible to calculate the diopter value, but that should be left to an expert.