Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 1997/04/25
[Author Prev] [Author Next] [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] [Author Index] [Topic Index] [Home] [Search]>What makes the R8 finder SSSOOOOOOOO BRIGHT????? What controls finder >brightness beyond the speed of the attached lens? Compare the finder of >an R8 and a Nikon F5 and you will know why Nikon has to concentrate on >AF. There are a lot of factors involved. The assembly comprised of the mirror, the focus screen itself, any collimating lenses at the screen, the prism, the viewfinder optics, any overlay or other informational optics optics overlaid into the viewfinder optics, ... I would say that the screen itself is potentially the greatest factor in viewfinder brightness. Many modern reflex cameras lose brightness due to semi-silvered sections of the mirror for the fancy metering systems as well. Personally, when I played with an R8 side by side with a Nikon F3 and F5, I did see a discernable difference between the R8 and the F5 but not so much between the R8 and the F3. Could be my imagination. I do love the high eyepoint finders of the F3 and R8, and yes I prefer manual focusing to AF most of the time. Godfrey