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I use a +1.5 Diopter, usually without glasses, but I sometimes need to use glasses as well when close focussing as I have long and short sight now and use varifocal lenses.

I'm tempted to try the Light Lens Lab variable diopter eye piece, but from what I've read it magnifies so much that it can only be used on > 50mm lenses. I guess this is the issue that prevents Leica providing their own version of a variable diopter.

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7 hours ago, charlesphoto99 said:

As a glasses wearer, I'll say this worked well in the film days, but is a pain in the digital, unless one doesn't 'chimp' the back screen. Also depends on how bad one's eyes are (my script is pretty mild, mostly close up and very far, with a bit of astigmatism - I wear progressives). 

Walterleica  makes astigmatism correction lenses. Chimping can wait. Not for nothing does Leica make models without LCD. A creative solution would be to use a Walter eyepiece and a progressive or reading strength monocle in the left eye   

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4 hours ago, erl said:

A detailed explanation of that would interest me, if I could follow it.

I never figured this one out. It had to do with the different light paths in the viewfinder and rangefinder and different virtual distancesI I was told but that was as far as I got. It is not as if Leica is against a in- camera diopter adjustment, after all the Barnacks  had their infinity adjustment lever.  I think the infinity symbol there is the key - it adjusts the focal plane  and with it magnification of the telescope, not the correction of the eye strength in the first place. That works in a split viewfinder, not in a combined one. 

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vor 12 Stunden schrieb charlesphoto99:

Have you considered an optical viewfinder for the hot shoe? Might have similar but somewhat less issues with one of those (ftr I'm also an eyeglass wearer). For the wide lengths, I've always gone more by feel, so to speak, with the M. Obviously, Leica will have to change the viewfinder port on the M to be like the Q/SL/CL, otherwise everyone will still have the same issue seeing the edges even with an EVF. 

Yes, I have a 21mm OVF which works nicely. But I didn't use it since I got my M10 with the electronic Visoflex. Which also works perfectly for me. For both applies: Focusing with the RF and then composing with the other VF ist a bit awkward. I also often just use the Visoflex with the lenses which are further from 35mm. But as the Visoflex is an add-on, you have to remove it before you can put the camera in the bag and the battery capacity of my M10 isn't the greatest to start with, its a bit of a trade-off. I also often focus with the RF and quickly reframe with the back screen.

If Leica just made an M12 with a add-on Visoflex, but even better integrated, that probably would work for me too. It could have a mounting separate from the hot shoe - perhaps just above the RF? - which is very sturdy, so you can leave it on when putting the camera into the bag and would be improved in resolution, that could be it. Do some more work on the software, like a magnified focus patch in the middle of the image.

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vor 12 Stunden schrieb jaapv:

What about adapting the diopter?

Which diopter? Besides that I wouldn't be too keen to remove my glasses for taking photos, I would need a custom made lens which corrects shortsightedness and possibly astigmatism.

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vor 11 Stunden schrieb archive_all:

Have you considered contact lenses? I wear glasses too but usually install contact lenses for times I plan to bring any camera with me.

Yes, contact lenses are great for this - actually one of the biggest reasons to have them was to be able to use binoculars/cameras. However, the last time I tried them I ran into problems wearing them. In the meantime another complication arrived, that I became far-sighted. So with contact lenses I could use the viewfinder, but not operate the camera 😛

The one saving grace with my messed up eyes is, that if I just look over the rim of my glasses, I can perfectly read on distances of about 20-30cm. Which is ideal for operating the back side screen of my camera.

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Leica offers diopter screw-in correction lenses in various basic strengths; best chosen by trial and error and Walterleica makes special diopter screw-in correction lenses with automatic astigmatism compensation. Send him your prescription and he makes them individually. He also offers contrast- increasing coatings which I can recommend. I have a blank one with gold coating which I really like. 

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vor 3 Minuten schrieb jaapv:

Leica offers diopter screw-in correction lenses in various strengths  and Walterleica makes special diopter screw-in correction lenses with automatic astigmatism compensation. 

I fear, not for me. But the next time I am at the Leica store I will ask whether I can try one out. But I don't think they are strong enough.

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2 minutes ago, -ph- said:

I fear, not for me. But the next time I am at the Leica store I will ask whether I can try one out. But I don't think they are strong enough.

Yeah I’m -6 prescription, there’s nothing even close I could find. 

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15 minutes ago, -ph- said:

I fear, not for me. But the next time I am at the Leica store I will ask whether I can try one out. But I don't think they are strong enough.

You could experiment with free trial diopters at your local optician. Then, after determining strength, either buy from Leica if produced, or contact Walter Leica if not for possible custom piece.

https://walterleica.com

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Regarding the RF vs EVF debate, I use both and make use of the strengths of both. People say that it is hard to focus with EVF e.g. on wideangle lenses and/or stopped down. But a lot of my photographs are of scenery ( I wouldn't glorify them with the term landscape photography). With RF I would often stop down and focus at infinity but with EVF and contrast detect you can get a sense of what maximises the contrast across the frame, finding the sweet spot by pulling in somewhat from infinity.

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41 minutes ago, Jeff S said:

You could experiment with free trial diopters at your local optician. Then, after determining strength, either buy from Leica if produced, or contact Walter Leica if not for possible custom piece.

https://walterleica.com

I can thoroughly recommend Walterleica. I have a gold coated blank one for contrast and it is beautifully made. The OP only has to send his prescription to Walter and he will make an individual custom one,  astigmatism compensated too. 
Leica has only a limited simple ones and quite a few shops do not stock them for trial.

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14 minutes ago, sinjun said:

With RF I would often stop down and focus at infinity but with EVF and contrast detect you can get a sense of what maximises the contrast across the frame, finding the sweet spot by pulling in somewhat from infinity.

Absolutely. These different finder systems offer differing strong points and weak points. The key is matching the finder system you use to your requirements, general or immediate. 

Only the Fujifilm X-Pro system offered a means to make such a selection, built into the camera itself, shot by shot. 

With the digital Ms we get the EVF in an auxiliary finder clamped into the accessory shoe. This is a valid and time-honored approach by Leica. One could fill a substantial chapter in a book with all the solutions that Leica has come up with to fulfill various finder requirements. Taken together, they are a testament to the soundness of the original design and the flexibility it enables. 

jaapv's recollection that the issue with a variable diopter for the M finder is complicated by the multiple virtual distances inherent in the multiple light paths within the one-window finder rings true to me. I'm no optical engineer, but I'll bet it would require, at the very least, additional lenses in those light paths to bring the apparent distances into conformity, and then a variable lens arrangement at the tail end as well. 

Plus, I'm guessing the virtual or apparent distance of the moving portion of the rangefinder patch itself changes as you focus. Not by much maybe, but enough, as you go from infinity to closest distance, to complicate matters further. 

In the X-Pro finder this was not an issue, because there is no rangefinder. Except for the window finder itself, the extra elements are all projections, presumably at fixed apparent distances. 

If you mostly want an optical finder but occasionally need an EVF, the current M solution works well. 

If you prefer an EVF, at least most of the time, an EVF-based body might be something you'll want.

But, again, it's a lot simpler to clamp an EVF onto a rangefinder body than it would be to clamp a rangefinder (let alone a coupled rangefinder) onto an EVF body.... 

 

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1 hour ago, -ph- said:

[...] Do some more work on the software, like a magnified focus patch in the middle of the image [...]

The M11 can do this already with focus magnification. The size of the patch can be adjusted easily... oops! i said easily sorry 😉 with the thumbwheel and the patch itself can pop up automatically when turning the focus ring. Did i say easy again? Stronger than me sorry 😁

 

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6 hours ago, jaapv said:

A creative solution would be to use a Walter eyepiece and a progressive or reading strength monocle in the left eye   

If it gets that complicated, try a simple solution and just use a different camera 🙂

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vor 7 Minuten schrieb lct:

The M11 can do this already with focus magnification. The size of the patch can be adjusted easily... oops! i said easily sorry 😉 with the thumbwheel and the patch itself can pop up automatically when turning the focus ring. Did i say easy again? Stronger than me sorry 😁

 

Ah, that is good to know :) I never tried this with the M11, should do so at the next occasion. 

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The best eyeglasses solution was when Leica offered .58X finders. I so regret having sold my M6TTL .58X finder so many years ago....

One thing that doesn't get mentioned is that the beauty of the M finder for those with eye issues is that one is looking straight through the finder to distance (except for the patch of course). Whenever I use an SLR for an extended period of time it feels like my eye is going to fall out of its socket due to it focusing on a mirror a mere inch away or so. Similar thing with an EVF. So an EVF in and of itself may not be an ideal solution for all users who wear glasses (or not). 

Edited by charlesphoto99
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Here's where progressives rescue me. It quickly becomes second nature to peer through the part of the lenses that works best, even as I switch cameras. 

They work well even going from waist level ground glass in an old Hasselblad or Mamiya TLR to an eye level arrangement on a Leica. 

You don't even think about it. 

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On 4/19/2025 at 3:25 PM, jaapv said:

I meant a significant rival...

I’m shooting one of these now for the next month. I was pleasantly surprised. It has some very nice features.

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I’m sure it’s a nice camera but hardly a commercial threat to Leica. Come to think of it, why hasn’t it popped up earlier in this thread?

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