Re: [Leica] M6 Meter Area

[Dan Cardish <dcardish@microtec.net>]

At 07:36 PM 27-03-98 -0800, Jim wrote:
>I'm at a loss here, understanding this percentage, infinity, close-up,
>etc... metering area on the M6. When I look in my M6, with the shutter
>cocked, no lens, I see a reflective circle painted on the shutter. The size
>of this circle never changes, regardless of which lens is on the camera,
>where it's focused, or even if it's focused. The film laying behind the
>shutter is always the exact same size, regardless of all of the
>aforementioned conditions, it's a 35mm frame of film. So, since the spot
>size doesn't change, and the film size doesn't change, it sure seems to me
>that the spot covers a particular percent of the film frame under ALL
>conditions. Assuming that the frame lines in the viewfinder depict exactly
>what is going to register on the film, in focus or out of focus, I fail to
>see what the argument is. 

The problem is that the frame lines do not depict exactly what is going to
register on the film, and the discrepancy is a function of focusing
distance.  At the closest focusing distance, the frame lines are supposed
to show something like 94% of the frame (from memory, so don't shoot me!
;-)). As you focus towards infinity, the difference between the VF frame
and the film frame increases.  This happens with SLRs, except most people
don't notice it, and the TTL viewfinders compensate for it.

Dan C.