Re: [Leica] Leica M choice, misc.

[Kip Babington <cbabing3@swbell.net>]

Jim Colburn wrote:
> 
> <snip>
> The widest lines in the only M6 I have handled just
> weren't easily visible for me.  From what I can tell from the literature,
> the viewfinder will be very similar on the M5.
>         What are the viewfinders like on the CL and CLE?  Any eyeglass wearers
> using one or the other who would care to comment?
>         I have this horrible feeling I will wind up with an M3...

Jim 

Looking through the finders of my M6 and CL with glasses on reveals that
I can see the edges of the 40mm frame in the CL with just the slightest
bit of left/right shifting needed, while the 35mm frame in the M6 takes
a bit more eyeball maneuvering and the 28mm frame takes a bunch more. 
The M5 has the same viewfinder magnification as the M6 but lacks the
28mm (and 75mm) frame lines.  So you'll have the same experience as with
an M6, just fewer frames to deal with.  Keep in mind that the CL
viewfinder has much less magnification than any of the Ms, so even if
you can see the full frame more easily it is a much smaller image that
you're viewing.  The CL rangefinder patch is also a tad smaller than
that in the M6, although with the reduced viewfinder magnification it
covers about the same area of the final image.

While the M3 has a higher magnification viewfinder, its widest frame
lines are for 50mm, and as I recall they're near the edge of the field
of view.  I haven't had an M3 for a long time, but I suspect you'd have
to move your eye around about as much to see the 50mm frame in the M3 as
you would to see the 35mm frame on an M5/M6.  And the M3 frame lines
remain in exactly the same place relative to your eyeball when you use
an RF 35mm lens (with the eyes).  If 50mm is all the wider you need to
go, you'll see the frame lines much more easily with an M6 while wearing
glasses than with an M3.  If you want to go to 35mm, you'll probably
have to move your eye around about the same with an M6 as with an M3 and
an RF lens, but with the M6 you'll have a much larger number of 35mm
lenses to choose from.

The usual advice, of course, would be to get thee to a store and look
through the various cameras for yourself.  Short of that, I hope this
helps.

Cheers,
Kip