M6 .72 or .85 with 75mm lens

[gn.dim]

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I will be soon purchasing an M6 and planning to shoot with a 75mm lens. Any suggestion with the .72 or .85?

 

Thank you!!

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[keith_lee]

Using a 75mm lens with an M6 0.85 finder will magnify the rangefinder patch such that you can potentially achieve better focus. One thing to consider is what other wider angle lens you might be using on this body. A 35mm lens for example, may still allow the framelines to be visible, whereas a 28mm lens may not show the entire scene to your satisfaction. It's best if you can look through both the 0.72 and 0.85 finders to see which one works best for you. I have both types of M6s and always prefer to use the 0.85 body with a 75mm lens.

[gn.dim]

3 minutes ago, keith_lee said:

Using a 75mm lens with an M6 0.85 finder will magnify the rangefinder patch such that you can potentially achieve better focus. One thing to consider is what other wider angle lens you might be using on this body. A 35mm lens for example, may still allow the framelines to be visible, whereas a 28mm lens may not show the entire scene to your satisfaction. It's best if you can look through both the 0.72 and 0.85 finders to see which one works best for you. I have both types of M6s and always prefer to use the 0.85 body with a 75mm lens.

I don't see myself shooting at wide angle lenses, but THANK YOU SO MUCH for this info. It makes more sense and made it easier for making my decision! 
 

 

have a great day!

[Jeff S]

Also, if you wear glasses, even less will be visible at once when using wider lenses, perhaps even a 35.  I do, and preferred the flexibility of the .72 finder when I had my film Ms.  I second the recommendation to try both; vision and viewing comfort are often personal matters, not just based on specifications.

Jeff

[a.noctilux]

As 75mm user since decades on M, I have some infos.

1 - depending on the 75mm lens, with Summilux-M (my first 75mm), .72 finder is best for less finder blockage with hood

with Apo-Summicron or Summarit-M 2.5 each finder is fine but see points 2/3

 

2 - my M6 0.85 can flare a lot in focussing patch when contre-jour lighting or light spot from front

I had 0.85 MP which was much better for finder flare control than M6

3 - of course, when in most use 0.85 finder is much more comfortable for framing at middle distance

4 - if I can have choice, MP 0.85 would be my choice again for 75mm use

now that second hand M6 prices rise up( more difficult to find M6 classic 0.85 only 3 000 made )

[gn.dim]

1 hour ago, Jeff S said:

Also, if you wear glasses, even less will be visible at once when using wider lenses, perhaps even a 35.  I do, and preferred the flexibility of the .72 finder when I had my film Ms.  I second the recommendation to try both; vision and viewing comfort are often personal matters, not just based on specifications.

Jeff

Thank you for this response! I do not wear glasses (cross fingers lol) and i’d do my best to try both mag whenever possible. 

[gn.dim]

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12 minutes ago, a.noctilux said:

As 75mm user since decades on M, I have some infos.

1 - depending on the 75mm lens, with Summilux-M (my first 75mm), .72 finder is best for less finder blockage with hood

with Apo-Summicron or Summarit-M 2.5 each finder is fine but see points 2/3

 

2 - my M6 0.85 can flare a lot in focussing patch when contre-jour lighting or light spot from front

I had 0.85 MP which was much better for finder flare control than M6

3 - of course, when in most use 0.85 finder is much more comfortable for framing at middle distance

4 - if I can have choice, MP 0.85 would be my choice again for 75mm use

now that second hand M6 prices rise up( more difficult to find M6 classic 0.85 only 3 000 made )

I really wanted to stick with 75mm lens with M6, so this information is really very helpful. I appreciate the help and guidance!  🙏🏻

[panosl1]

Another option is to use the 0.72 with an 1.25x eyepiece magnifier which  will give slightly higher magnification. Are you really confident that you will never want to use lenses wider than 50mm?

[jaapv]

In my experience there is no valid reason to have extra magnification for a 75 mm lens, given an even moderate focusing technique.

[gn.dim]

2 hours ago, panosl1 said:

Another option is to use the 0.72 with an 1.25x eyepiece magnifier which  will give slightly higher magnification. Are you really confident that you will never want to use lenses wider than 50mm?

Thank you for your recommendation. With all respect to other photographers who uses 35mm or wider it isnt my style of shooting photos 

[Jeff S]

Have you used an M before?  I like the 75mm focal length, but never liked the 75mm frame lines.  Hope you have a much better experience, no matter your VF choice.

Jeff
 

 

[gn.dim]

1 minute ago, Jeff S said:

Have you used an M before?  I like the 75mm focal length, but never liked the 75mm frame lines.  Hope you have a much better experience, no matter your VF choice.

Jeff
 

 

Thank you so much!

[jaapv]

37 minutes ago, Jeff S said:

Have you used an M before?  I like the 75mm focal length, but never liked the 75mm frame lines.  Hope you have a much better experience, no matter your VF choice.

Jeff
 

 

Not a focal length I tend to use often either.

[Rob L]

There are two .85 M6 TTLs on Fred Miranda right now. One has the MP finder upgrade and is priced at $2495. The other one is over $3000! I have a .85 M6 classic in mint condition. Came to me unused. I had an MP finder upgrade installed and a full CLA by DAG a while back. Highly recommended. Looking through the .85 35 mm frame lines is very similar to the .72 of my M10 at 28mm. I can see all four sides at the same time without having to make any special effort, but I don't wear glasses. I think a little extra magnification is nice because typically you would be a bit farther from the subject with a 75 than you would with a wide angle.

[Jeff S]

1 hour ago, jaapv said:

Not a focal length I tend to use often either.

I tend to stick to 28/35/50 on an M, and eventually end up selling any 75 or 90 I try.  But I did buy the SL75 to use on my SL2....terrific lens.

Jeff

[farnz]

2 hours ago, Rob L said:

There are two .85 M6 TTLs on Fred Miranda right now. One has the MP finder upgrade and is priced at $2495.

@gn.dim, I believe that the MP finder were modified with a small capacitor to prevent flaring in the rangefinder patch mentioned by A.Noctilux in post #5.  

Another simple fix to reduce the flare is to use the "Shade" from Leicagoodies.

Pete.

[Rob L]

This upgrade includes installing the Leica MP anti-flare kit, which is a condenser lens in the mask, and changing the front windows to Leica MP coated windows. The conventional upgrade, which is only to upgrade the finder with Leica MP anti-flare kit into the mask, but not changing out the viewfinder windows, is not as effective. The Leica MP finder not only put a condenser lens into the mask, but also the viewfinder windows were coated. The new coated windows made the finder brighter and more clear.

Edited August 4, 2020 by Rob L

[farnz]

36 minutes ago, Rob L said:

which is a condenser lens in the mask

My electrical engineering background showing through - I've often heard it referred to a "condenser" before so my mind translated it to an electrical capacitor, which used to be called a condenser in the old days.  Never occurred that it might be a condenser lens.  Sheesh.

Pete.

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[Mark T]

For what it's worth, I much prefer using a 0.85 finder with the 75mm Summicron. It makes for notably more relaxed viewing. Theoretically I guess it might make for more accurate focusing too but for me, it is all about the view. In fact I almost sold the Summicron before I tried it on the 0.85 finder. I'm very happy with this combination.

[Jon Warwick]

Currently I use only a 75mm lens on my M7 (0.72).
 

The framelines for the 75mm lens are pretty small on the 0.72, and it’s easy for my eyes to easily be fooled into following the more obvious (ie, fuller and more dominant) lines of the outer 50mm framelines.

I have an earliest version of the M7 that comes with the annoying flare, so am considering upgrading to a flare free MP finder and also get the 0.85 version at the same time given it sounds like this could suit me better with a 75mm lens.

For those with the 0.85 version, are the framelines with a 50mm lens also still comfortably visible? ....thinking I might add a 50mm lens (but never go wider than that).