Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 2001/03/15
[Author Prev] [Author Next] [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] [Author Index] [Topic Index] [Home] [Search]Dear Luggers, With the advent of the Bessa T, some more photogs will rediscover viewfinders. I especially like the Voigtlander 50mm and 75mm finders from Cosina which are 1 to 1 magnification, meaning that what you see through the viewfinder is the same size as what you see with your other eye open - and the frame line floats over the picture when you have both eyes open. That lets you see what is coming into the frame - life size - to catch the elusive decisive moment. I think it interesting the Bessa T rangefinder is 1.5 times magnification - just like the rangefinders on the old Leica LTMs going all the way back to the Leica III of 1933. I have a question - what was the rangefinder length of the LTM Leicas with built in rangefinders of 1.5X magnification? Stephen Gandy points out that the Bessa T has a rangefinder effective base length of 58mm and I wonder how that compares with old LTM Leicas. I have searched Laney's Leica Collectors Guide but he seems silent on the rangefinder length of the old LTMs. Cheers Howard Cummer. PS: Thank you Stephen for getting this information up on your site so quickly.