Bresson Viewfinder Magnifier

[lenspeeper]

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This magnifier is priced on the MGR site at HK$699 ( USD$89) and on Ebay it is priced @ USD $45 to $55. Has anyone used one on their Leica M and what is your experience? I already know it is useful on on lenses longer than 50mm, but what about the quality? Are there any qualitative differences between the ones selling on EBay and the ones selling @ the MGR site? Also, for a user who does not wear eyeglasses, is the Type Y or the Type J better?

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Edited June 3, 2019 by lenspeeper
typo

[Peter Kilmister]

It is a variable dioptre which you can use as it is, or to help you to determine the exact dioptre to order from Leica. This all is based on the viewfinder being fixed for a viewing length of 2 meters. I can see fairly well at 2 meters but not well enough. For reading I need +3 spectacle lenses. For my rangefinder I need a +1.5 dioptre.

Eyesight is a very personal thing. Some are myopic. I am long sighted and can see the moon without assistance. Seeing the horizon is a doddle but reading a newspaper means getting out the reading glasses.Luckily both my eyes are equally bad at short distances and equally good after 5 meters. I can live with that.

[lenspeeper]

2 hours ago, Peter Kilmister said:

It is a variable dioptre which you can use as it is, or to help you to determine the exact dioptre to order from Leica. This all is based on the viewfinder being fixed for a viewing length of 2 meters. I can see fairly well at 2 meters but not well enough. For reading I need +3 spectacle lenses. For my rangefinder I need a +1.5 dioptre.

Eyesight is a very personal thing. Some are myopic. I am long sighted and can see the moon without assistance. Seeing the horizon is a doddle but reading a newspaper means getting out the reading glasses.Luckily both my eyes are equally bad at short distances and equally good after 5 meters. I can live with that.

So, with your vision which appears similar to mine after getting post-cataract lens implants (20-20 but needing reading glasses), which Bresson did you get; type Y or type J?

[ckuwajima]

I have a M-Y. Image quality suffers at higher magnifications  

Zoom movement is wobbly, but it may be just my specimen, bought used  

 

[lenspeeper]

5 hours ago, ckuwajima said:

I have a M-Y. Image quality suffers at higher magnifications  

Zoom movement is wobbly, but it may be just my specimen, bought used  

 

Thanks for the response. I still need to know which version, Y & J,  is for normal vision aka 20/20 and which one is for eyeglass wearers.

I also would like to know if there are any qualitative differences between the one sold by Ebay and the one sold by MGR Productions. 

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Edited June 4, 2019 by lenspeeper

[darylgo]

For the money it's a good deal, anything else is better.  I had the version that was diopter adjustment and not magnifier as it was purported, so it was confusing to adjust the magnification with severe blur resulting, at my age unable to accommodate.  I never used it.  

[Peter Kilmister]

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I had one for a short while but can't remember the spec. It helped the dioptre choice but that's it.

[ckuwajima]

18 hours ago, lenspeeper said:

Thanks for the response. I still need to know which version, Y & J,  is for normal vision aka 20/20 and which one is for eyeglass wearers.

I also would like to know if there are any qualitative differences between the one sold by Ebay and the one sold by MGR Productions. 

To my slightly far sighted eyes, the M-Y is out of focus at most of its shorter ranges.

I don't think it is a good product as a magnifier at all. It is more like a variable diopter correction tool.

[pptmstr]

I don't see any actual reply to OP question: "for a user who does not wear eyeglasses, is the Type Y or the Type J better?"

Does anyone know the difference between the 2? I have searched high and low and couldn't find anything. The only info is from ebay sellers, so I don't know how accurate this is (I also don't know what it means).

For all it's worth, I plan to use this for easier focusing at 50/0.95 & 75/1.25.

Thanks in advance.

Edited September 9, 2020 by pptmstr

[jaapv]

I would say the description is crystal-clear. Normal eyesight can use either.

[jaapv]

On 6/3/2019 at 11:45 PM, lenspeeper said:

This magnifier is priced on the MGR site at HK$699 ( USD$89) and on Ebay it is priced @ USD $45 to $55. Has anyone used one on their Leica M and what is your experience? I already know it is useful on on lenses longer than 50mm, but what about the quality? Are there any qualitative differences between the ones selling on EBay and the ones selling @ the MGR site? Also, for a user who does not wear eyeglasses, is the Type Y or the Type J better?

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Have you got a specific reason to want to use it?

[lenspeeper]

 

30 minutes ago, jaapv said:

Have you got a specific reason to want to use it?

It is amazing that I am getting responses now for a post I made back in 6/2019. Anyway, I got my answers then and made my purchase. It is an excellent accessory for the VF/RF on the M240. In answer to jaapv, I need the extra magnification because my right eye has a macular pucker (non-serious and non-progressive) which can give me a split image of vertical lines. In short, when I focus to bring the RF lines together, I still see a split line unless I really concentrate. The magnifier helps me to make a more accurate focus. More recently, I decided to give up the fight by buying a Leica SL 601. Sure it is a little heavier and larger, but what a beauty! Oh yeah, in anticipation of further questions like " since you had a clip on EVF, why didn't you use it?...", I did on occasion. The EVF on the SL601 is far superior compared to the M240 clip on EVF.

 

[jaapv]

Yes, that is a good reason.
One point of my query is that all too often users will attempt to compensate a lack of technique by getting a magnifier - obviously, ultimately that will turn out  to be a waste of effort and money. 
If the cause of focusing trouble is, for instance, astigmatism, the use of a magnifier will worsen the  problem.
Hence. my question.

[pptmstr]

thanks for the responses guys.

@jaapv  I plan to use this for easier focusing at 50/0.95 & 75/1.25 on an M-P (M240). I have normal eyesight (well, I am 39 and slowly getting worse :P) but i find myself having trouble focusing my fast lenses with the little patch. I shoot several other systems, including a Sony a7r3 and man, what a delight to zoom in and check your focus with that one, high percentage of keepers. I do have the M240 electronic viewfinder as well, but I am enjoying the optical viewfinder experience. So my purpose would be solely for more accuracy when focusing 50+mm lenses at <f1.4. I love to engage people on the street and take their portraits so I have to be quite quick and I often only get a few snaps with them before I feel rude and let them go. It's hard when I get to either chimp on the results or load them in C1 at home and see that my focus is either on the ear or the shoulder, boo

Stuff like this:

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Simply register for free here – We are always happy to welcome new members!

What would your recommendation be?

Leica 1.4x seems lovely but it's kinda expensive. The other viewfinder magnifiers I googled don't seem to be made / sold anymore, except for maybe the MS Optics ones (1.15, 1.35, 1.8), but the price seems to get closer to the Leica 1.4 so I think I'd rather get the Leica between the 2.

Anyway, what a great community here, these are my first posts here. I joined as I fell in love with Leica and I now love shooting my M-P (typ240) and M4-P. Cheers.

[jaapv]

I have owned / used / sold / lost just about any magnifier on the market over the years, and - disclosure- never really liked using them, but the only ones that were optically any good were the Leica ones.

[Jeff S]

On 9/9/2020 at 9:35 PM, pptmstr said:

thanks for the responses guys.

@jaapv  I plan to use this for easier focusing at 50/0.95 & 75/1.25 on an M-P (M240). I have normal eyesight (well, I am 39 and slowly getting worse :P) but i find myself having trouble focusing my fast lenses with the little patch. I shoot several other systems, including a Sony a7r3 and man, what a delight to zoom in and check your focus with that one, high percentage of keepers. I do have the M240 electronic viewfinder as well, but I am enjoying the optical viewfinder experience. So my purpose would be solely for more accuracy when focusing 50+mm lenses at <f1.4. I love to engage people on the street and take their portraits so I have to be quite quick and I often only get a few snaps with them before I feel rude and let them go. It's hard when I get to either chimp on the results or load them in C1 at home and see that my focus is either on the ear or the shoulder, boo

Stuff like this:

Welcome, dear visitor! As registered member you'd see an image here…

Simply register for free here – We are always happy to welcome new members!

What would your recommendation be?

Leica 1.4x seems lovely but it's kinda expensive. The other viewfinder magnifiers I googled don't seem to be made / sold anymore, except for maybe the MS Optics ones (1.15, 1.35, 1.8), but the price seems to get closer to the Leica 1.4 so I think I'd rather get the Leica between the 2.

Anyway, what a great community here, these are my first posts here. I joined as I fell in love with Leica and I now love shooting my M-P (typ240) and M4-P. Cheers.

You say that you have ‘normal’ eyesight.  But we each have different viewing experiences and comfort levels, let alone specific measurements.  I trust that you have no astigmatism, as that really screws up RF focusing.  But don’t rule out a small diopter adjustment.  I use a +.5 diopter, in addition to my glasses, to optimize viewing. But I’m near twice your age.  The point though, as Jaap mentions, is that magnifiers will magnify everything, including any vision issues.  Otherwise, the best thing to do is experiment with different magnifiers (a good dealer will let you try and return) and see (literally) what works best for you.   My Leica 1.25 magnifier has been sitting in a drawer for 10 years, as I didn’t like the reduction in contrast and found better viewing without it (but I don’t use any lenses faster than f1.4).  
 

Jeff

 

 

[pptmstr]

Thank you for your replies, much appreciated. 

[ironringer]

On 9/9/2020 at 7:52 PM, lenspeeper said:

 

It is amazing that I am getting responses now for a post I made back in 6/2019. Anyway, I got my answers then and made my purchase. It is an excellent accessory for the VF/RF on the M240. ...

Lenspeeper in California, what type of Bresson variable magnifier did you buy,

- type J (for more normal and slightly myopic eyesight), or

- type Y (for longsighted eyesight, typical for older people)?

And what experience can you report, for vignetting, flare, distorted view, etc.?