I'm interested in getting a 21mm or 24mm for my M system. I don't like the idea of an external finder (I would probably get one for occasional critical use). But I was wondering which lens comes closest to the full view of the .58 finder. I don't wear glasses, which I know can make a difference. Thanks.

-- Noah Addis (naddis@mindspring.com), April 11, 2002

Answers

Noah,

Credits to Erwin Puts; the quotation below is from his brief and informal report on M models (The numbers game"):

"... the redoubtable 24mm lens can be used with the 0.58 finder: the outer mask of the finder is approximately the angle of view of the 24mm lens. This feature is best used without wearing spectacles."

Ps. Doesn't say about the 0.72 and 0.85.

-- Thomas Lofqvist (thomas.lofqvist@brevlada.com), April 11, 2002.

Not wearing glasses you can press your cornea against the finder and see the outer edge of the 28mm frame which should approximate the 24mm focal length. I wear glasses and did use the 24mm on my Hexar (which is .58x) with no complaints about the viewfinder coverage or lack of framelines since I never expected perfect framing with rangefinders anyway. However the lens itself blocks off too much of the finder for my taste so I ended up using it on another body with separate 24mm finder.

-- ray tai (razerx@netvigator.com), April 11, 2002.

Just for clarity, I think Ray was speaking figuratively when he wrote about pressing your cornea against the finder. This wouldn't feel very good, and might cause epithethial damage, which is painful, albeit temporary.

-- Bob Fleischman (RFXMAIL@prodigy.net), April 11, 2002.

I have found that with my face geometry -- and I realize everybody has a different face geometry so this is a qualified statement -- that the finder "edges" on my .58 body show slightly more than the 24 covers and slightly less than the 21 covers. So for me, I'd call the outer edges on my .58 body about 22.5mm framelines.

:-),

-- Jack Flesher (jbflesher@msn.com), April 11, 2002.

Another option with any leica having a 28mm finder frame, would be Reinhold Mueller's modification to the 21mm SA f/3.4. He scavenges a goggle-eye unit from a 35mm Summicron or Summaron and grafts it onto the 21mm. Using the 28mm frame, it gives a 22mm field of view: close enough.

-- Bob Fleischman (RFXMAIL@prodigy.net), April 11, 2002.

That gets a mention in Jonathan Eastland's M Compendium book (though the idea is credited to TA). I do wish Leica would do something similar - though via an attachment mounted on the shoe. It would sure beat those cursed accessory finders anyday.

How much does Reinhold charge for this? I'm half tempted, though the fix does remove the size advantage of the SA lens.

-- Tim Franklin (tim_franklin@mac.com), April 12, 2002.