Re: [Leica] M6 viewfinder upgrade

[Peter Klein <pklein@2alpha.net>]

At 09:06 AM 5/4/03 -0700, Ted Grant wrote:
>Considering the whine factor, I'd say it appears there are quite a number of
>mentally challenged folks lugging about Leicas they obviously are quite
>unsatisfied with. It doesn't take a rocket scientist nor a mental midget to
>figure out how to fix the problem....... get rid of the damn camera, sell it
>or throw it away and buy something one is happy with. Is that so difficult
>to understand?

And others, said, variously:  STFU, quit whining, you never had it so good, 
take your medication, Leica:  Love It Or Leave It, etc. etc.

Ted, with all due respect to your years as a pro, I think you're being a 
little narrow about this.  And I do not consider myself a mentally 
challenged.  I think the RF flare issue is one of basic performance.  And 
for what Leica charges, basic performance should not be something a 
customer has to worry about.  They know how to make a rangefinder that 
doesn't flare.  They did it throughout the 50s, 60s, 70s and early 
80s.  Then they messed it up.

The RF flare issue has caused me to miss shots.  Unfortunately, there is no 
other RF camera alternative that is as suitable for the kind of photography 
I love--available light, silent, non-intrusive.  And sometimes in the 
theater or concert hall.  Neither the Bessa R2 and the Hexar RF have RF 
flare. The Bessa R2 has the nicest viewfinder I've ever seen.  But the R2 
is noisy, has vibration that I suspect would negate the "one shutter speed 
slower" RF advantage, and the short-base RF doesn't focus accurately up 
close with a 90/2.  The Hexar RF is also noisier than Leica, and has a 
darker viewfinder with annoying distortion. And it still isn't as accurate 
with a fast 90.

So I don't want to sell my Leicas and buy something else.  I'd like my 
1980s M4-P and my 2000s M6TTL to work at least as well as my late, lamented 
1960s M-2 did back in the 70s.  They don't.

Buying an older M2,3, or 4 is an option.  But I hesitate to buy a 30 - 50 
year-old camera without a meter where the viewfinder might be near the end 
of its useful life. As Daniel Ridings found out, when an older M needs 
viewfinder repair, Leica will replace it with the new, not-improved finder.

When we shoot available light, there will often be light sources at odd 
angles, which cause RF patch flare.  What this means is that Leica, 
whatever its reason, made the M6 RF less suitable for the very purpose why 
*photographers* buy a Leica in the first place.  They denied the problem 
for years.  Now they will fix the problem, but for more than the cost of a 
new camera from their competitors, or of many used Leicas.

That's sheer chutzpah--especially since the problem would have been fixed 
long ago if they had spent one-tenth the effort on the flare problem that 
they did on the "Coronation of the King of Outer Slobovnia" 
commemoratives.  It lends credence to those who say that Leica is no longer 
interested in providing a high-quality camera for photographers.  That they 
are simply using that cachet as a way to sell expensive neck jewelry to 
status seekers.

I'm a practical cat, so I've tried various home-grown solutions.  The 
shift-your-eye solution doesn't work for me as well as it does for you.  I 
think that's because when I wear glasses, if I shift my eye, one of the 
framelines disappears beyond what I can see.  My eyes are fairly deep-set, 
making for a longer eye-to-vf distance than some people. So you may not 
have this issue as much as I do.  When I wear contacts, I can and do shift 
my eye.  It often works.  In rooms with multiple light sources, sometimes 
it doesn't.

The scotch tape solution did nothing for me.  Lutz Konermann's "The Shade" 
is the best solution I've found, and it is now always on my cameras 
outdoors.  But in dim light, the Shade sometimes dims the viewfinder lines 
to near-invisibility.  So it's less viable in the very situation where it 
matters the most.

I may very well grunt, swear and get the RF fix eventually, if it is proven 
to work.  Forgive me if I grouse a little.  I bought a new 35/1.4 Summilux 
ASPH last year.  I spent more on it than I ever spent on a piece of camera 
equipment before.  And you know what?  No complaints.  Sure I wish it had 
been less expensive, but it is an astounding, superb lens, worth every 
penny.  The RF flare problem is another matter.  As I said, it's a problem 
of basic performance.  On a camera body that costs $2000 - $2500 new, it's 
something none of us should have to worry about.

- --Peter Klein
Seattle, WA

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