Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 2000/11/08

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Subject: [Leica] another use for black tape - Snapshot Skopar
From: Johnny Deadman <john@pinkheadedbug.com>
Date: Wed, 08 Nov 2000 10:57:01 -0500

Michael Darnton and I have been comparing notes on and off list about the
Voigtlander 25mm viewfinder and have discovered that it shows a lot more at
the top and bottom of the frame than the lens records on 35mm, but the sides
are reasonable accurate. In other words, the frame it suggests doesn't have
the same proportions as the 35mm frame. I noticed this because I was
chopping people's heads off.

There is a really simple fix for this: tape the front element of the
viewfinder with black tape to crop the top and bottom. I did this by putting
the camera on a tripod, opening the back, setting the shutter to T and using
masking tape to attach glassine to the film gate. Then use a loupe to check
the image on the glassine (ground glass would be even better) and establish
the real edges of frame, then apply black tape to the front of the
viewfinder and recheck. I was surprised at how far in I had to crop (about
3mm on the glass on top and 2mm on bottom). You can also at this time
correct the parallax for your favourite shooting distance.


- -- 
Johnny Deadman

http://www.pinkheadedbug.com

Replies: Reply from Ken Wilcox <wilcox@tir.com> ([Leica] Re: another use for black tape - Snapshot Skopar)