Re: viewfinder magnification

[orath@astral.magic.ca (Otto Rath)]

>>I too have wondered about the M6 and M6J magnification.  I think the M6
>>is a bit less than the M2/M4 and the M6J a bit less than the M3 but
>>don't have a source to verify this.
>
>Dennis,
>
>In the M3, the 50mm finder pretty much fills the viewfinder. The image
>you see throught the viewfinder is just a little smaller than life size.
>
>The M2, M4, etc. add a 35mm frame. The viewfinder image that you see is
>physically the same size, but since you now see a 35mm view that fills
>most of the viewfinder, it's a wider-angle view and is smaller than life
>size. The 50mm frame now floats in the middle of the viewfinder with a
>lot of empty space around it.
>
>The M4-P and M6 add the 28mm frame. Now the 35mm, 50mm etc, frames are
>smaller because they fit inside the 28mm frame, which now fills the
>viewfinder. Again, it's a wider angle view in a viewfinder that is
>physically the same size, so the magnification of the image is smaller
>than the M3 or M4 viewfinder. The 35mm frame now has empty space around
>it and 135mm frame is really tiny.
>
>So, if in the M3 you have a viewfinder with a 50mm angle of view and in
>the M6 you have a 28mm angle of view, and if both viewfinder images are
>the same size, then the 50mm frame on the M6 is going to be a lot smaller
>than it would be on the M3. The M3 viewfinder image is over 90% of life
>size, the M6 is something like 67% of life size, the M4 is in-between.
>
>Because of the larger magnification of the M3, its rangefinder is
>slightly more accurate than the other models, and the M4-type rangefinder
>is slightly more accurate than the M6. The tradeoff is that you can use
>more lenses without needing accessory viewfinders.
>
>I think the choice of body should depend a lot on the lenses you plan to
>use with it. For instance, if I wanted a body to use with 90 and 135mm
>lenses, I wouldn't pick the M4-P, and if I wanted to use mostly 28mm and
>35mm, I wouldn't pick the M3 or M4. The M6 makes these kinds of choices
>hard, though, because the meter is so nice it overrides most other
>considerations. Personally, since I don't use 28mm much or need the 75mm
>frame, I'd love a body with the less cluttered M3 or M4-type viewfinder
>and the meter.
>
>- Paul

$ 0.02: I love the large M 3 frame and wish they had left it alone. The
cyclops -eye attachment on M 3/35mm was a bit awkward and absorbed some
viewfinder-brightness, but a lot of pros used the excellent 35mm
Spiegelsucher in the acc.shoe (no MR meter). Dto. for 28 and 21 mm.
When 35mm became the new normal lens M2/4/6 became the only game in town
and now a lot of photogs consider 28 and even 24 lenses or w.a.zooms their
standard on reflexes of course.

Tempus fugit! greetings from toronto  -otto-


otto w. rath, 504-633, northcliffe blvd. toronto on. M6E 3M3 canada (416)
783 5128