Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 1998/01/09
[Author Prev] [Author Next] [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] [Author Index] [Topic Index] [Home] [Search]Carl, The 24 can be used without the finder on the M6 or M2. You do loose a bit of the edges, but that is more than offset by the convinience of NOT having to shift your eye from one finder to another. The M's were never that precise in their framing anyway. The 21 does require an auxillary finder ( which cost $, breaks, falls off etc ,etc) or you can have the Abrahamsson/Mueller conversion done to it. That involves mounting the "goggles" for a 35 Summicron M3 on the lens, recamming the bayonet to kick in the 28 frame on a M4P/M6. That frame is then magnified by the goggles to approx. 22 mm, but you can now frame and focus without having to shift your eye. On older M's (M2 and M4) there is no antireflection mask ( as in the M6) so you get closer to a 21 frame, by using the entire viewfinder ( up the the edge of the glass). I usually stick a piece of black plastic over the viewfinder illumination cutout on the goggles and then you have no framelines interfering. It is not a cheap conversion, roughly $ 600 ( but that includes the goggles), or 1,5 times the finder. I have a 21/3,4 that is converted to that as well as the 21/2.8 and the 21/2.8 Asph also converted. It does make the camera less bulky and it works very well. Alternative finders are the Roussar 20 mm finder and also the Contax 21 finder ( rather large finder,but very good). The Roussar finder vignets but it is cheap. Both the 21/2,8 Asph and the 24/2,8 Asph are very good lenses. The 21 Asph is marginally better than the regular 21/2,8, particularly wide open. None of the are as good as the 21/3,4, at least for black/white. All the best, Tom A