HELP 0.72 OR 0.58 viewfinder..?

[angus]

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Hi,everybody.frist I want to say "HI".I m new to here.

I m gonna to purchase MP for my brother,but have no idea which one should get,I never used Leica myself

PLZ give me any suggestion about LEICA 0.72or0.58.Which one will be better if my brother wears glasses all the time? and the only lens I bought for him is 35/1.4 .will be fit the lens right?

 

thanks

[phovsho]

I wear glasses. I have a number of bodies with magnification of 0.72 and 0.85. My favourite lens is the 35/1.4. If I had only one body it would be the 0.72 - no question. With glasses it is great for lens 35mm and above. It is more than satisfactory at 28mm with glasses - but not great.

 

I considered the 0.58 and might yet get one. However, I certainly wouldn't want it to be my only body. Not ideal for longer focal lengths and wouldn't want to rely on it for focusing at 1.4. I would consider it as a second body for lens 28mm and wider.

 

Hope this is helpful.

 

M

[alun]

I'm a glasses wearer almost from birth (!) and am one of those who swears by the 0.58 viewfinder. I use 0.58 M7 and M6 exclusively and find the framing with a 35/f2 perfect. I can even -- with a bit of shifting around -- see ther framelines with a 28mm. No other camera has ever enabled me to do this.

 

And I think the focusing difficulties with the smaller mag viewfinder are utterly over-stated.

 

But as far as whether a 0.58 will suit your brother, it's an extremely subjective choice. The kind of glasses he wears will make a difference, and not being able to see the whole frameline in one glance bothers some people more than it does others. For me it's critical and I can't imagine being without the 0.58 finder. But having said all of that, I have never tried a 0.72 finder to compare!!

 

The reason I bought .58s straight off was because I remembered reading a comment by Tom Abrahamson who said that he found the .58 a "revelatory camera" or words to that effect....

[tgray]

It is kind of personal. The .72 is the most versatile and standard of the magnifications. I wear glasses and contacts (but mostly contacts), and the style of glasses I have makes seeing the 35mm frame lines a pain in the butt. I think if I was forced to wear them all the time, I'd go for the .58. But, if my glasses sat a little closer to my eyes, and I never shot 28mm, .72 would be fine.

[kenneth]

Hi,everybody.frist I want to say "HI".I m new to here.

I m gonna to purchase MP for my brother,but have no idea which one should get,I never used Leica myself

PLZ give me any suggestion about LEICA 0.72or0.58.Which one will be better if my brother wears glasses all the time? and the only lens I bought for him is 35/1.4 .will be fit the lens right?

 

thanks

 

I wear variofocal glasses and both my M6's are 0.72. I use Summicron objectives on my cameras and find f2 a fast enough lens as Leica lenses are designed to use fully open and anything faster is really expensive and unnecessary for general use

[Pangur Ban]

I have an MP with the 0.58 viewfinder, and an M7 with the 0.72 viewfinder.

 

I find the 0.58 to be the more versatile, as I have the 1.25x viewfinder magnifier attachment that converts it to 0,72 when I need the extra magnification, for my Noctilux for example, or 75/2 summicron. I can also use the full frame of the 0,58 for my CZ 25mm whereas the M7 would need the separate viewfinder.

 

I wear glasses occasionally, but more often have contact lenses in when out with the camera. I've had no focusing problems.

[peter_n]

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@Kenneth: There are plenty of people who like to employ lenses faster than F1.4 for "general use". In some cases it is necessary, for DOF effects for example. That is why there is so much excitement over the upcoming 21 & 24mm Summiluxes.

 

@Angus: It is personal and varies by sight/type of glasses. You've bought him a fantasic lens so you have something to give him, why not also give him a "coupon" for the MP and tell him to go into a store and choose what is best for him?

 

Welcome to the forum, BTW! You're a great bro, can I be your brother too?

[ai1]

I have and use both (on M6ttls), as I frequently use two bodies, typically a 35 on the .58 and the 50 on the .72. (I also wear eyeglasses.) If I am carrying only one body and the 35 is included (it usually is), then I carry the .58. If I will be using the 50 exclusively or primarily, then the .72. The 21, which has its own viewfinder anyway, and which I use less frequently than the 35 and 50, hops back and forth, depending on the other lens I have mounted; the 90, which I use very rarely, goes on the .72 almost always.

[ndjambrose]

I suggest a 0.72 finder. It's usable with glasses (I wear glasses and can see framelines with a 28mm lens comfortably) but -- much more importantly -- it keeps the options open for other lenses in the future.

 

If your brother takes to the rangefinder experience it's reasonable to expect that he'll want other lenses at some point. Most people find space for a longer lens in their collection - say a 70mm or 90mm. But they won't be very usable with a 0.58 finder. In fact, I find using a 90mm lens with a 0.72 finder can still be a struggle - to the extent that I prefer a magnifier. This gives an effective magnification of 0.85, which I find a lot more comfortable. But a 0.58 finder will be too wide for any precision with longer lenses, and even with a magnifier it will only be the equivalent of 0.72 - which is possibly ineffective for someone who has corrected vision.

[dcoombs]

The issue of focusing accurately is at least partially dependent on your age. As one gets older the eyes don't flex and focus as easily as when they were younger. Hence higher magnification (0.72 or 0.85) is very helpful. If your brother is younger, this shouldn't be an issue. Then it's really a question of whether he prefers using the wideangle lenses to the 50-90mm lenses.

 

Doug

[kenneth]

@Kenneth: There are plenty of people who like to employ lenses faster than F1.4 for "general use". In some cases it is necessary, for DOF effects for example. That is why there is so much excitement over the upcoming 21 & 24mm Summiluxes.

 

@Angus: It is personal and varies by sight/type of glasses. You've bought him a fantasic lens so you have something to give him, why not also give him a "coupon" for the MP and tell him to go into a store and choose what is best for him?

 

Welcome to the forum, BTW! You're a great bro, can I be your brother too?

 

I would still argue that anything faster than f2 is not really necessary because Leica objectives are designed to operate at full aperture. Depth of field being relative to how far you stop down.

[andybarton]

Faster than f2 is necessary if it's dark and you are using a slow film.

 

An f1.4 lens renders completely differently wide open, when compared to an f2 wide open, and an f1.0 even more so. And that's ignoring the one or two stops extra speed. I had great fun with a Summilux 35 while I owned it, and cannot take the same shots with my Summicron that I did then. The Summilux was actually cheaper than the Summicron that I own now.

 

Sometimes absolute minimum depth of field is what the photographer wants, and f2 is too much.

 

Horse for courses.

[kenneth]

Faster than f2 is necessary if it's dark and you are using a slow film.

 

An f1.4 lens renders completely differently wide open, when compared to an f2 wide open, and an f1.0 even more so. And that's ignoring the one or two stops extra speed. I had great fun with a Summilux 35 while I owned it, and cannot take the same shots with my Summicron that I did then. The Summilux was actually cheaper than the Summicron that I own now.

 

Sometimes absolute minimum depth of field is what the photographer wants, and f2 is too much.

 

Horse for courses.

 

Fine

[andybarton]

I can see that you're less than convinced, Kenneth

[kenneth]

I can see that you're less than convinced, Kenneth

 

If it works for you, then fine

[bill]

Lenses are like brushes to an artist. Each has a distinct fingerprint, and set of attributes. If I did not believe this I would not have five 50mm lenses ranging from 3.5 through 2.5 and 2.0 to 1.2. There are shots that I could not get with my Elmar or Summicron that are within the scope of my Canon. Equally, I do not want to carry the Canon around with me everywhere. A good fast lens is more practical in use than a good slow lens purely because it can cope with more lighting situations. A 1.4 Summilux would be the perfect compromise in this regard, although a Summicron is not far behind.

 

Regards,

 

Bill

[rob_x2004]

A good fast lens is more practical in use than a good slow lens purely because it can cope with more lighting situationsl

 

In your ligting circumstances. In other environments a good slow lens will out perform a good fast.

[rob_x2004]

Faster than f2 is necessary if it's dark and you are using a slow film.

 

Not necessarily. Its more the way the lens handles the light, and how much movement you can manage with in your subject.

 

Some low light photography manages well with a Summilux for example, and it will still allow you to shoot right through the f/stops for depth of field considerations, and some low light is impossible with a Summilux and better with an Elmarit when you need to see more into the shadows.

[kenneth]

Are we not forgetting the poor original poster- HELP 0.72 OR 0.58 viewfinder..?the mention of lenses appeared to have highjacked this of which, I admit I was partly responsible, my apologies to the original poster

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[rob_x2004]

Well, it kind of depends on his glasses. I dont wear correctives but wouldnt frame visibility depend on the type of correction and the fit to the face? I wear and photograph while using sunglasses and and have no problems at all with 0.72 and the 35 framelines. I can see teh 28 framelines fine as well. The other thing to consider is that you need to learn the framelines anyway, and you shouldnt need to rely on seeing them presicely for every shot. When you are concentrating on other things sometimes all the framelines are 'invisible'. Often what is most important is how well you see the rangefinder patch and how good you are with patching quickly.