Just wonder if there is any focusing aid by using the Leica Wide angle M lenses e.g. 24mm 21mm lenses. I know there are external finders for them. How do your focus the lens? Is the camera finder can be used for focusing? How about the parallax correction? Thanks.

-- Kenny Chiu (amchiu@worldnet.att.net), May 11, 2000

Answers

You use the rangefinder in the camera to focus. The finders have a set of lines that roughly indicate the parallax correction at close distances. In that regard you guess a bit. It all works in the end, though.

-- Michael Darnton (mdarnton@hotmail.com), May 11, 2000.

By the time you get to 21mm, you really don't need a focusing aid. Practice distance estimation, and you won't have any problem, except maybe wide open. You can work on this with any lens, just walk down the street, focus on something and guess the distance. After a while you can do it pretty well.

Parallax is something you can also learn to estimate. Shoot constantly and review the results. After a while you will know where the frame really ends.

After a while, you will be shooting without looking through the finder...

-- Jeff Spirer (jeff@spirer.com), May 11, 2000.

yeah, and the depth of field scale is little more than an ornament on those wide lenses. With the 21 you practically have to TRY to get something out of focus! :)

-- Tony Rowlett (rowlett@alaska.net), May 12, 2000.

Rats, I keep forgetting to use rowlett@mail.com instead of alaska.net to prevent my responses from annoyingly appearing out of order at the beginning of the thread.

-- Tony Rowlett (rowlett@mail.com), May 12, 2000.