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Hey guys,

Just a quick question about the Zeiss 25/28mm external finder. I use a 28mm lens on my M2 and M4 bodies and I'm looking for a good external viewfinder. Have tried a few different ones, including the metal Voigtlander ones, Canon ones and Leica Slooz, but not the Zeiss. At the moment I'm trying to decide between the Slooz and the Zeiss. My concern with the Slooz is that it's hard to find one without haze. I would prefer to get a new Zeiss one, however my concern here is that the 25mm and 28mm lines are fairly close to one another, and it might be distracting in practice to line up for the 28 instead of the 25? I shoot street, so I need to compose things pretty quickly. 

Does anyone have any experience using the Zeiss 25/28 finder for 28mm usage? Is it easy enough to decipher between the framelines? Are they close enough that I could use the outer 25mm lines and still get my framing pretty close? I often find that my 28mm shots are slightly wider than I intended, so perhaps using the 25mm lines might actually result in framing that I want?

Anyway, please let me know your experiences.

Thanks in advance!!

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3 hours ago, Leicalott said:

Hey guys,

Just a quick question about the Zeiss 25/28mm external finder. I use a 28mm lens on my M2 and M4 bodies and I'm looking for a good external viewfinder. Have tried a few different ones, including the metal Voigtlander ones, Canon ones and Leica Slooz, but not the Zeiss. At the moment I'm trying to decide between the Slooz and the Zeiss. My concern with the Slooz is that it's hard to find one without haze. I would prefer to get a new Zeiss one, however my concern here is that the 25mm and 28mm lines are fairly close to one another, and it might be distracting in practice to line up for the 28 instead of the 25? I shoot street, so I need to compose things pretty quickly. 

Does anyone have any experience using the Zeiss 25/28 finder for 28mm usage? Is it easy enough to decipher between the framelines? Are they close enough that I could use the outer 25mm lines and still get my framing pretty close? I often find that my 28mm shots are slightly wider than I intended, so perhaps using the 25mm lines might actually result in framing that I want?

Anyway, please let me know your experiences.

Thanks in advance!!

If you want a really great 28mm finder, take a look at the Nikon DF-CP1 finder. It's pricey and not that easy to find now, but it is light weight, bright and has great eye relief. It was originally sold with the Nikon Coolpix A camera but works just as well for framing with a Leica M.

-Thomas

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Zeiss viewfinder is so bright and enjoyable to use.  The bright and clear viewfinder of my M3 is like a view into a darkened room in comparison.  I haven't used it for 28mm but I don't find the 28mm framelines distracting when using it with my zm25 lens.

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I was in the same boat a couple of weeks ago. The Zeiss seemed like the best option. However after reading far too much about it you will see that for it to be somewhat accurate for framing it needs to be modified. Like this:

https://www.instagram.com/p/Bv4B_Z3giQX/?igsh=MXR4ZW9xdmc5NnBqYQ==

 

therefore I chose a Leica finder. It isn’t as pretty as the Zeiss but definitely more useful.

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vor 19 Stunden schrieb zwicko:

Is the Leica finder off-axis? I use the Zeiss one regularly (as well as finders from other brands) and found their position on the hotshoe never to be a problem. 

Yes

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Don’t worry about haze in a finder or damage. You are only looking through it not taking pictures through it.

You can find damaged finders on e Bay quite cheap.

One of the most useful 28mm finders I have is an old Canon one.

This is a Leitz 21mm finder.

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Edited by Pyrogallol
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On 1/17/2024 at 3:24 PM, trisberg said:

If you want a really great 28mm finder, take a look at the Nikon DF-CP1 finder. It's pricey and not that easy to find now, but it is light weight, bright and has great eye relief. It was originally sold with the Nikon Coolpix A camera but works just as well for framing with a Leica M.

-Thomas

totally agree - I use one with my screwmounts & 28mm Nikkor LTM

just checked some prices online - Wow!!! gone through the roof - I paid only a fraction of the listed costs when I purchased it new a couple of years ago

Edited by romualdo
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