Testing a new (to me) optical finder to use while photographing with a 28mm lens on a Leica rangefinder body.

Last week I bought a used Leica optical viewfinder. It's an older model. Mid-1990s? It fits into the camera hotshoe and you can choose from three different settings for three different angles of view. There's one for 21mm lenses, 24mm lenses and 28mm lenses. The finder isn't a "bright line" finder; there are no bright lines demarcating the frame edges, it just shows you the image all the way to a black edge. There is also no diopter adjustment on the finder. Pretty rudimentary but well built and when I use my precision eyeglasses it's obvious that the Leica optics are in play here. No fuzziness, no ghosting and no flare anywhere to be seen. 

I bought it because I haven't been all that happy with other workarounds for wide angle lenses on the M240 family of cameras --- at least when it comes to adequate coverage of the frames in the viewfinder. The cameras do show a 28mm frame but it requires one to move one's eye around to see each edge so I consider that aspect of the camera's viewfinder mostly vestigial. 

I bought a TTArtisan 28mm viewfinder for about $60 but it wasn't up to the task of showing a good proxy image. The edges were unsharp and there was visible barrel distortion which made viewing less than satisfactory.  

That false start, and the live view capability of the cameras, led me to buying an EVF-2 adapter that also slides into the hotshoe of the camera and plugs into an electronic interface. With this accessory enabled I could use live view to get an eye level image that had defined edges and showed a realistic image with all lenses. 

The issues here were twofold. First, one has to go through a series of steps to first enable live view and then transfer the live view image from the rear screen of the camera to the EVF. Second, with the live view enabled in the finder the sensor is active. When you push the shutter button the camera has to close the shutter curtain and then fire, and then re-open the shutter curtain. The process adds a bunch of lag to the act of photography and also sucks down battery juice which depreciates one of the M240's super powers; its long battery life. The delays from stop down, shutter close, shutter fire, etc. also plays havoc with the cameras operating speed. Instead of thinking about frames per second you start counting on seconds per frame. Not delightful in 2024. 

The new/old finder (Leica 21,24,28) is better than the budget optical versions or the attachable EVF but it's not perfect. Like any new addition to a camera's operation it takes me time to get used to its peccadillos. And right off the bat I have to state that since there is no parallax correction going on (as there is in the camera's actual finder) you really can't count on getting accurate compositions in close up work. And by "close up" I mean anything closer than about six feet. 

I rarely dismiss new gear out of hand and while I was underwhelmed at first blush I decided to give the new finder a fair shot. I put it on the crustiest of my black M240s, attached the 28mm lens, set a 28mm lens profile in the menu and directed my automobile towards downtown. I left the car and proceeded to walk a two mile loop through very familiar territory taking sample images and spending a lot of time squinting into the new finder. 

Here are my takeaways: The finder needs a higher eye point, or  eye standoff than this offers. You need to be able to see the edges of the frame without pressing your eyeball against the glass on the back. But if you are willing to suffer the eye to glass contact pain the finder image does present a very accurate representation of the composition you'll end up with. So, that's cool. If you want to shoot fast you need (as always with a direct optical finder, including the camera's finder window) to take a leap of faith about exposure because "dumb" optical glass can't present exposure information to your eye. That's okay, I learned how to meter a long, long time ago. 

But the finder, along with hyperfocal distance pre-focusing makes shooting quickly very much fun. I set the camera at f11, computed the needed shutter speed to get correct exposures and just used the finder in a very quick way while shooting. Toss in shooting in DNG (universal raw) and it's little wonder all the exposures were right on the money. 

While the new finder is not perfect it works pretty well and by the end of the walk I was both covered in sweat but happy to add the finder to the inventory of usable gear. I'm especially looking forward to adding a 21mm lens to the M collection and am happy I have added 21mm finder capability in advance. 

The images here are just for the fun of it. They aren't going into a portfolio or being entered into a contest. At least, for your enjoyment, I have edited out all of the great and insightful mannequin shots I also took. 

I wish each frame was filled with interesting and beautiful people but with a mid-afternoon heat index of 105° not many people were out on the sun drenched streets taking their chances with heat exhaustion. But soldiering on through the heat is just what I know I should be doing in order to bring salient content to my (tiny) legion of followers. You are welcome.

The Carl Zeiss ZM 28mm f2.8 Biogon is a wonderful lens. At least when used on the M bodies or the SL2. Any good camera with a huge list of Leica M lens profiles in the menu works well. 

Today is all about swimming, catching up with state sales taxes, and chilling out with a good novel. Pausing every once in a while to eat Cosmic Crisp apple slices and watermelon. Life is good. 

You can click on these and make them much larger on your computer screen. They are, perhaps, more fun that way.

Sunscreen (mineral based) is wonderful skin moisturizer for senior photographers...