Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 2002/02/09

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Subject: Re: [Leica] Half Frame for Leica Glass
From: "Will" <wlarsen@ocsnet.net>
Date: Sat, 9 Feb 2002 13:33:49 -0800
References: <B88AB10F.198F5%jbcollier@powersurfr.com>

From: "John Collier" <jbcollier@powersurfr.com>

| It is difficult to use an external mask with a parallax
compensating
| viewfinder. With a 35mm lens you could use a the SBOOI
50mm viewfinder. You
| would have to loosen the set screw and orient the
framelines
| vertically(parallax marking useless of course). I do not
know if you can do
| that to any other viewfinders. It would be easy to make up
a L shaped
| accessory shoe to turn the finders 90 degrees (again no
parallax
| compensation. There was an official half frame M camera,
the MD-22 (no
| viewfinder) and I have jpegs of a M4-P half frame but who
did the conversion
| I do not know.

That is a very interesting point.  You would retain parallax
compensation on the vertical field but lose it on the
horizontal field.  I don't know how many people posting who
appear to want a single frame format have actually used that
format.  My experience is that you must shoot in a manner
that wastes nothing of the image (i.e. you don't want to
have to crop).

I was forced to use a single frame camera
semi-professionally for about a year.  It was not a problem
since the final prints were expected to be 8x10.  You could
go to 11x14 if and still get an acceptable print.  Slide
shows were significantly of less quality than 24x36 format
which is of course significantly less quality than a 6 x 6
cm format.

Personally, I don't see what would be gained by using a
single frame format.  The camera would be the same size
because of the rangefinder system.  In practical terms, I
usually ripped the roll out after about 36 exposures because
I needed the "product."  I admit to still occasionally
carrying a single frame camera...It is smaller than a
Leica...I think that the folks that want single frame ought
to try an Olympus Pen F...you have X flash synch to the
maximum shutter speed...you can get really slow hand held
exposures because they use a completely different view
system than "normal" SLRs...you can get an adapter for Leica
screwmount lenses...theoretically, because of the lens
registration, you could make an adapter for the M lenses and
the R lenses.  But you are still going to have shoot tight
to get acceptable results....

Regards, Bill Larsen
Terra Bella, California

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Replies: Reply from Mark Rabiner <mark@markrabiner.com> (Re: [Leica] Half Frame for Leica Glass)
In reply to: Message from John Collier <jbcollier@powersurfr.com> (Re: [Leica] Half Frame for Leica Glass)