Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 2001/01/27

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Subject: RE: [Leica] viewfinders
From: Jem Kime <jem.kime@cwcom.net>
Date: Sat, 27 Jan 2001 17:34:11 -0000

Emanuel,

The CLE, it must be remembered, does not engage the 28mm frame if a 
Leitz/Leica lens is inserted unless a little modification work is done to 
it first. It also doesn't have 35mm framelines, only 40. I'm sure Stephen 
Gandy's site would offer more pictorial explanations, but the 28mm frame is 
always up in the finder.
The left hand side has no edge line but two small corners only, to the left 
of that is the vertical arrangement of shutter speeds, from 1000 at the top 
down to 2 (1/2). This list is some small distance to the left of where the 
left hand edge might be, but it's easy to imagine that it marks the left 
hand edge. The right hand side of the 28mm frame doesn't show corners but 
sides, along with the top and bottom too.

40 and 90mm frames are a little more straightforward, and symettrical too. 
The 40mm showing edges, the 90mm showing corners.

In my book, the Leica's frame wins for clarity of display. The transparency 
of the viewing image (another type of clarity) is a close call, very 
similar to my 1986 M6 but I think that any (similarly old) CLE would have 
to be individually compared to any (new .58?) Leica-M. One or other may 
have absorbed more dust deposits than another. Certainly neither the CLE or 
my Leica-Ms appear as grey (to me) as the Konica Hexar's viewfinder, but I 
accept that others find this nothing to worry about.

Jem


- -----Original Message-----
From:	Emanuel Lowi [SMTP:mano@proxyma.net]

After years of fiddling around with various mag. Leica M camera finders, 
I've come to
the conclusion that, in practical use, the differences are mostly in 
viewing, not so
much in focussing accuracy. So I'm wondering if anyone here has been able 
yet to
compare side by side the new M6 .58 with the Minolta CLE, which also was 
.58x? I'm
wondering about viewing clarity and quality of the framelines for 28 & 35.

Emanuel Lowi
Montreal