Using Leica M10 only with Visoflex

[LBJ2]

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Why not? Your money your time. There are some downsides as some have already listed but there is one BIG upside and that is you feel you'll get the shot with the Visoflex. At the end after all of this money, time and effort it's all about getting the shot isn't it then. So go for it, as they say, there is absolutely no harm and GPS can be a treat and carry a few extra batteries.

[LBJ2]

On 7/20/2018 at 2:18 PM, sdw said:

This whole thread summarizes very well my issues with the M10 + Visoflex 020: the damn EVF is just terrible. It's great optically, has a nice high resolution, and the feature-set is brilliant, but:

 

 - long blackouts 

 - punch-zoom-in-to-focus still has a frame rate of ~5-10 FPS and is basically unusable, even years in 

 - the GPS takes literal minutes to get a lock 

 - it's massive 

 

Why couldn't they just get this right? It feels like a sloppy afterthought, and the SL shows Leica can do it well. Frustrating. 

 

We do see things very differently. Nothing wrong with that!

I was pleasantly surprised the Visoflex 020 is as good as it is. I really like the GPS service too. Works very well in my corner of the world. I see the current Visoflex a compromise to the M10 concept. And IMO does the job.  

Could it have been better in all the things you listed? of course! More money, a heap more money would probably get us something massive in comparison and much more power hungry. In fact, from what I read, there was thought for such a massive device that you might have preferred, ultimately dismissed in keeping with the M10 concept. Maybe next time around with the next M "Frankenfinder 2.O " 

"Clearly, a decision was made to use the existing Visoflex 020 on the M10 that was used on the T and the X113. What was the main reasoning behind using this finder rather than develop a brand new one?

Stefan: The point is, we said okay, what should the resolution be? What shall be new on this finder? What can we improve? And then we found out that maybe there’s not that much to improve, because for an auxiliary finder the magnification in the current Visoflex is very high and the panel is absolutely state of the art, even if it’s now from 2014. So, we decided to keep it and to be honest there’s a bit of R&D money saved by not developing one from scratch. A lot, actually. So, this made the most sense for us.

The EVF in the SL is still best in class. Did you consider adapting this finder into an external unit?

Jesko: But this would have been huge to put in an accessory.

Stefan: Look at the size of the eyecup of the SL. The panel itself is a huge thing, especially compared to what we have in the Visoflex, and already that is not such a small finder.

I see. It’s not just the raised section on top of the SL. It actually extends further down below the eye cup. So, really, such a finder might be the size of, let’s say, a Zacuto motion picture finder. They’re big OLED panels with massive eye cups and metal fins to dissipate heat.  

Stefan: It’d look really strange.

Jesko: I don’t know what’d they’d be called since the “Frankenfinder” already is a Frankenfinder. Maybe that’d be even more. *laughs*

Stefan: Frankenfinder 2.O *laughs*" "

https://www.reddotforum.com/content/2017/02/the-leica-m10-a-discussion-with-stefan-daniel-and-jesko-von-oeynhausen/

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

[Peter Zapp]

Recently I was tempted. A Sony A7 demo body with full warranty for the price of the Visoflex 020. But the menu is awful, even if you don't use most of it when adapting manual lenses. The A7's flimsy body and switches don't match well with a Leica R lens.

If you normally prefer rangefinder, the Visoflex comes handy for the occasional use of extreme wideangle, tele or macro lenses. Carry the visoflex and an adapter rather than an additional body. The M10 even has profiles for the most popular Leica R lenses. In use, the blackout is similar to the traditional Visoflex III from the 1970s. But lifeview delivers a bright image even with stopped-down lens. Indeed, the asking price is steep for what you get. Use a display loupe instead (Hoodman, or Chinese clone).

[jaapv]

The  difference to the Visoflex3, however, is that with the 020 the lag occurs mainly after the shot and with the mechanical 3 before the shot - leading to missed moments and lens droop on the Visoflex3.

[tobey bilek]

Use the new SL2 made to work with wide lenses as well as longer ones.  

[Macberg]

Am 26.7.2018 um 17:28 schrieb trequartista:

Wow, the Visoflex is not that bad at all. But I will mostly shoot with the Rangefinder. What really shocked me was the fact that it is not possible to deactivate the zoom while focusing! That is horrible! The refresh rate sucks and the zoom is just too much. I would prefer to have focus peaking without zoom. WHY LEICA, WHY? 😞

Have you figured it out now? You can also just use the thumb wheel (after turning the focus-ring on the lens/being in magnification-mode) to adjust the magnifaction factor to x1 (which is what you were looking for, right?).

Edited November 2, 2020 by Macberg

[paulmarksanders]

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Forgive the following long-winded post, but my point is that the M is what it is:  the M. Why try to make it something that it is not?  There are dozens and dozens of other fine cameras depending on one's true needs.  The Visoflex,  for me, is not of interest.

My first very special camera was an M2 which I started using circa 1969.  I was fortunate to then attend an excellent art school and later open my studio.  I used all kinds of cameras from 8x10 and smaller but alas, the M was not the proper tool for any of my kind of commercial work so I sold everything rather than have the gear collect dust: M2, M4, 35mm Summicron, 50mm Summilux,  50mm Noc f1, 90mm Summicron.  I am now retired, photograph to please myself, and recently found myself longing to once again have that "Leica M Experience" so I purchased an M10  with which I use a vintage Canadian copy of the 35mm Summilux. After one week, I have come to absolutely love this camera and truly feel as if I've "come home."  Fortunately I can still focus the RF even with my aged eye.   And of course, zone focusing works great, too.  

Edited October 24, 2020 by paulmarksanders