Leica 28mm Auxiliary Viewfinder Questions

[Anthony Miller]

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Thinking of buying a 28mm viewfinder to use on my Leica M9 and Monochrom. Neither has 28mm frame lines and being a glasses wearer, I can barely see the 35mm frame lines in a single glance, nor the full viewfinder window which may approximate 28mm. Right now, I just point and hope and crop later which is close, but it would be nice to frame more accurately

Any thoughts on the Leica 12017 28mm Bright Line Viewfinder (plastic version) for eyeglass wearers? Are you able to see the full 28mm frame line straight on or do you need to kind of wander your eyes around the frame to see them fully?

Any other finder to consider, Voigtlander, etc... ?

 

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[spydrxx]

I use the Voigtlander 28mm finder and also wear glasses. It's a stretch to see all of the frame lines at the same time, but doesn't bother me as it only takes a microsecond to quickly shift my eyes.

[TomB_tx]

I get along fine just ignoring the frame lines and using the entire view of the finder. But then in the 1960s in the army I carried a IIIf with 35 Summaron without a 36 finder and just judged the area it covered. Of course the IIIf had no parallax compensation so you always had to judge-and-fudge for close subjects. As a result I always use loose framing.

[romualdo]

This may be a bit hard to find these days but it is my go to 28mm viewfinder - picked it up at a bargain price a few years back. Perfect for my LTM's

https://www.crutchfield.com/S-MEf6Rt1ZxlT/p_054DFCP1K/Nikon-DF-CP1.html

Nikon DF-CP1 Viewfinder

Overview: The DF-CP1 Optical Viewfinder is an accessory specifically for the Nikon Coolpix A digital camera. It attaches to the camera's accessory shoe, and covers the angle of view equivalent to that of a 28mm lens (35mm format).

Specifications:

• Aspect Ratio: 3:2
• Magnification: Approx. 0.52x
• Frame Coverage: 90% (+/- 5%) at infinity
• Dimensions: Width=0.966", Height=1.141", Depth=1.081"
• Weight: 1.1 ounces

[FrozenInTime]

Two good options, one considerable cheaper than the other !

18696 24mm plastic finder for the D-Lux 4.

12024 21mm metal finder for M.

Both of these include 28mm frames.

I have both, so just checked and confirmed that I can see the inner frame lines with glasses on. 

 

Edited March 10 by FrozenInTime

[Anthony Miller]

5 hours ago, FrozenInTime said:

Two good options, one considerable cheaper than the other !

18696 24mm plastic finder for the D-Lux 4.

12024 21mm metal finder for M.

Both of these include 28mm frames.

I have both, so just checked and confirmed that I can see the inner frame lines with glasses on. 

 

Thanks, did not think about the D-Lux finder and looks to have a sturdier base than the 12017 does and a rubber eyepiece.

[Kwesi]

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On 3/9/2025 at 2:47 PM, Anthony Miller said:

Thinking of buying a 28mm viewfinder to use on my Leica M9 and Monochrom. Neither has 28mm frame lines

Hold on! don't they both have 28mm frame lines?

That being said the Leica 21mm bright line finder (12025) has a built in 28mm frame lines, making it very comfortable viewing with 28's. its not cheap new, but can be readily found on the used market for far less.

 

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[trisberg]

13 hours ago, romualdo said:

This may be a bit hard to find these days but it is my go to 28mm viewfinder - picked it up at a bargain price a few years back. Perfect for my LTM's

https://www.crutchfield.com/S-MEf6Rt1ZxlT/p_054DFCP1K/Nikon-DF-CP1.html

Nikon DF-CP1 Viewfinder

Overview: The DF-CP1 Optical Viewfinder is an accessory specifically for the Nikon Coolpix A digital camera. It attaches to the camera's accessory shoe, and covers the angle of view equivalent to that of a 28mm lens (35mm format).

Specifications:

• Aspect Ratio: 3:2
• Magnification: Approx. 0.52x
• Frame Coverage: 90% (+/- 5%) at infinity
• Dimensions: Width=0.966", Height=1.141", Depth=1.081"
• Weight: 1.1 ounces

This is my favorite finder, bright and light weight, IMO better than the Leica or Voigtlander 28mm finders. Hard to find and usually expensive if you do find it but worth it.

-Thomas

[Anthony Miller]

On 3/10/2025 at 4:40 PM, Kwesi said:

Hold on! don't they both have 28mm frame lines?

That being said the Leica 21mm bright line finder (12025) has a built in 28mm frame lines, making it very comfortable viewing with 28's. its not cheap new, but can be readily found on the used market for far less.

 

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

Well, actually they do much to my surprise...........I can barely see the 35mm lines with my glasses so never realized there was 28mm line way out there somewhere LOL

[Anthony Miller]

On 3/10/2025 at 10:03 AM, FrozenInTime said:

Two good options, one considerable cheaper than the other !

18696 24mm plastic finder for the D-Lux 4.

12024 21mm metal finder for M.

Both of these include 28mm frames.

I have both, so just checked and confirmed that I can see the inner frame lines with glasses on. 

 

My D-Lux 24mm Plastic finder arrived today and is exactly what I needed. I can easily see both sets of frame lines, 24mm and 28mm with my glasses at a glance. 

 

Thanks for the advice 

[Luke_Miller]

I regularly shoot with a 24mm on my M240.  I bought the metal bright line finder to use for composition.  When shooting cityscapes with a lot of sky in the image I found the bright line would wash out in some lighting conditions making accurate composition difficult.  I replaced the bright line finder with the Leica wide angle universal finder which uses frame lines like those in the camera. Problem solved, plus I now had a finder that worked with my 21mm.

Leica Universal Wide-Angle Viewfinder M | Leica Camera AG

[eifer753]

On 3/14/2025 at 3:08 PM, Anthony Miller said:

My D-Lux 24mm Plastic finder arrived today and is exactly what I needed. I can easily see both sets of frame lines, 24mm and 28mm with my glasses at a glance. 

 

Thanks for the advice 

Did the framing end up being accurate for you?

[nykv]

Zeiss 25 /28. Used here on a Ig (because of the long exposure times, which the If does not have).

The Leica metal light chrome finders look better, but the Zeiss helps me see better.

[Anthony Miller]

On 3/24/2025 at 10:18 PM, eifer753 said:

Did the framing end up being accurate for you?

I feel it is close enough. For me with glasses just seeing the entire frame and then some was the real plus, and I am not averse to doing a little cropping to get exactly the frame I want in post.