Gents:

I spent two painstaking hours at a shop today, la Maison du Leica in Paris (http://www.maisonduleica.com). So Busy there.

I met a young photographer, Benedicte, she came in to Buy a R6.2 for a trip to South America.

Evoking the M serie she said, it would be great if the M darkens the area unused by the focal. In other word, a sort of mask to dimmer the unused part of the picture. She said that often the camera operator at her work place ask that the movie camera are modified so they can concentrate better.

To me, it seems a good idea for the rumoured M7, using say liquid crystal properties.

So, I deliver here her idea. Xavier.

-- Xavier d'Alfort (hot_billexf@hotmail.com), January 18, 2002

Answers

Sounds like he/she is too used to SLR photography and would like to change our rangefinder into an SLR. The statement seems a little, well not thought through very well (I'll be nice). If he/she cannot concentrate because he/she are seeing more than the image area...well how would or could he/she ever pre-visualize outside the viewfinder. How does he/she walk down the street. Does he/she have blinders on? Blinders to block out any perriferal vision so that he/she can concentrate. I like to area outside the frame lines.

-- Rob Schopke (schopke@attbi.com), January 18, 2002.

I think one of the biggest advantages the M offers is the ability to see what is going on just OUTSIDE the image area. This often translates into what is just about to happen INSIDE the image area. Couple that with the almost instant shutter-response on the M, and you can easily anticipate and catch most predictable actions.

-- Jack Flesher (jbflesher@msn.com), January 18, 2002.

i would not like this feature on the next M.

-- Dexter Legaspi (dalegaspi@hotmail.com), January 18, 2002.

If she uses an accessory viewer in the hot shoe , she can have the best of both worlds . I do it and it works out nicely .

-- Don Bonamer (b3435@webtv.net), January 18, 2002.

Sounds like a job for the contax G2....

-- ed hazera (ehazera@msn.com), January 19, 2002.

As I read Xavier's post, the outside area of the frameline does not have to be blocked -just dimmer but still transparent. I don't know if it would work, but it is an interesting thought. Just because we are used to framelines -doesn't mean they are the ideal way to represent the image area.

-- Niels H. S. Nielsen (nhsn@ruc.dk), January 19, 2002.

How exactly would you go about blocking or dimming the surroundings of the 75, 90 and 135 frames with those lenses mounted, yet un-block them with 50, 28 and 35 lenses that use the same camming? It's the same problem that makes a zoom finder impractical.

-- Jay (infinitydt@aol.com), January 19, 2002.