dante Posted September 6, 2021 Share #1 Posted September 6, 2021 Advertisement (gone after registration) Yesterday I received a secondhand 12008 finder (21mm plastic) from a reputable Leica dealer. I noticed some dust inside - and also noticed that the housing was slightly separated (you could see the tiniest sliver of the side of an optical element. I separated it slightly more with my thumbnail, blew the dust out of it with canned air, and pressed the two halves back together - and they are now holding tight. Are these finders just held together with a friction fit? I'm guessing someone cleaned this item at some point and did not completely close the case. Thanks! Dante Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Advertisement Posted September 6, 2021 Posted September 6, 2021 Hi dante, Take a look here Leica 12008, 12012 finders (21mm) - construction?. I'm sure you'll find what you were looking for!
250swb Posted September 6, 2021 Share #2 Posted September 6, 2021 They aren't very well made but after cleaning it out and snapping it shut it may never happen again. Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
dante Posted September 6, 2021 Author Share #3 Posted September 6, 2021 By way of further comment, the front element was glued, so by "separated it slightly," I mean a fraction of a mm left and right. Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
dante Posted September 6, 2021 Author Share #4 Posted September 6, 2021 32 minutes ago, 250swb said: They aren't very well made but after cleaning it out and snapping it shut it may never happen again. I imagine it won't, especially after reading that the front element is glued all around. It was just weird. And I agree, they are absurdly built for the price (though I got one for not much more than a 21mm CV version). Dante Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gadfly21 Posted September 6, 2021 Share #5 Posted September 6, 2021 I believe they are just glued together, so opening one up might weaken it unless you re-glue it. I've heard stories of a hard knock separating the finder from its foot. Not fun. The optics are good though. Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted September 6, 2021 Share #6 Posted September 6, 2021 9 hours ago, dante said: Yesterday I received a secondhand 12008 finder (21mm plastic) from a reputable Leica dealer. I noticed some dust inside - and also noticed that the housing was slightly separated (you could see the tiniest sliver of the side of an optical element. I separated it slightly more with my thumbnail, blew the dust out of it with canned air, and pressed the two halves back together - and they are now holding tight. Are these finders just held together with a friction fit? I'm guessing someone cleaned this item at some point and did not completely close the case. Thanks! Dante Marco cavina loves the 21mm elmarit-m but he is very critical of this viewfinder,he basically says that although its expensive it is poor quality both in build and optics. Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
plaidshirts Posted September 7, 2021 Share #7 Posted September 7, 2021 Advertisement (gone after registration) I had a plastic 24mm version (12019) but when a metal one (12026) appeared for only a little bit more I jumped at the chance. Having also tried Voigtlander and Zeiss finders, a plastic Leica VF would be my last choice. Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
dante Posted September 7, 2021 Author Share #8 Posted September 7, 2021 13 hours ago, steve 1959 said: Marco cavina loves the 21mm elmarit-m but he is very critical of this viewfinder,he basically says that although its expensive it is poor quality both in build and optics. That's been the assessment of 100% of people who have used it... and the metal predecessor was pretty bad too. The real point of this finder is that it is small. Its mustache distortion also makes it easier to align the camera parallel with the subject. I am waiting on a Zeiss 21mm finder, but the current leader in terms of usability is the Konica VL-3, from the 21-35 Hexanon. It's like a 21mm CV on steroids, offset, with 21mm and 35mm framelines. The problem is that said finder is irreplaceable if lost or damaged. Dante Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted September 8, 2021 Share #9 Posted September 8, 2021 1 hour ago, dante said: That's been the assessment of 100% of people who have used it... and the metal predecessor was pretty bad too. The real point of this finder is that it is small. Its mustache distortion also makes it easier to align the camera parallel with the subject. I am waiting on a Zeiss 21mm finder, but the current leader in terms of usability is the Konica VL-3, from the 21-35 Hexanon. It's like a 21mm CV on steroids, offset, with 21mm and 35mm framelines. The problem is that said finder is irreplaceable if lost or damaged. Dante One thing that irritates me with leica is that they make beautiful but expensive cameras and lenses but also crappy olympus copy EVF's and plastic viewfinders and just plain ordinary batteries but charge the customer very high price for both the quality products and the total crap or ordinary ones! Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Danner Posted September 8, 2021 Share #10 Posted September 8, 2021 11 hours ago, steve 1959 said: One thing that irritates me with leica is that they make beautiful but expensive cameras and lenses but also crappy olympus copy EVF's and plastic viewfinders and just plain ordinary batteries but charge the customer very high price for both the quality products and the total crap or ordinary ones! Yes, but they have the "Leica" logotype, that adds 200%. LOLOL... Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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