The GetDPI Photography Forum

Great to see you here. Join our insightful photographic forum today and start tapping into a huge wealth of photographic knowledge. Completing our simple registration process will allow you to gain access to exclusive content, add your own topics and posts, share your work and connect with other members through your own private inbox! And don’t forget to say hi!

Best Viewfinder For LX3 at 60mm?

M

meilicke

Guest
Hi all,

I am considering a viewfinder for the long end of my LX3, 60mm equiv. What would be a good match?

When I am using my 28/35 CV mini, the lines are a little generous. I find the 28 lines correspond to about 32mm, and the 35 to about 40mm. If the same is true of the CV 75 viewfinder, I am thinking that may be the best match.

Any comments would be much appreciated.

-Scott
 
M

meilicke

Guest
Whoops, not the 75, but rather the 50. Has anyone used a 50mm viewfinder on an LX3 at max zoom?
 

Streetshooter

Subscriber Member
That sounds like it should be in the ball park...but remember the parallex will be different and the aspect ratio is made for 3/2 not 4/3 or 16/9....

shooter
 

simonclivehughes

Active member
Scott, the 50mm Voigtlander's framelines are almost dead on the view seen by the LX3 at 60mm (3:2). Quite surprising. The 75mm, as expected is much too narrow, even for the entire view it shows (beyond its' framelines).

FWIW, I'm using the Voigtlander 28mm for the wide end and it works well enough if your eye is close and you use the entire view.

Cheers,
 
M

meilicke

Guest
Thanks Shooter and Simon, much appreciated.

Simon, I have a 28, and I know what you mean, but I wear glasses. That said, I need to see the eye doc, so maybe I'll go contacts. :)

-Scott
 
W

willpix

Guest
FWIW, I found the Cosina Voigtlander 21mm viewfinder a perfect fit for shooting at the 24mm setting of the LX3. It even allowed me to see a bit of the target area outside the dotted lines, which are quite accurate for purposes of composition. Notice, I speak of this accessory in the past tense, 'cause somebody ripped it off, along w/ my black LX3, from my stupidly unlocked car almost a month ago. I've replaced my purloined little gem w/ a silver LX3 and now use the Leitz 21mm finder, which is OK, though more angular and squat. But w/ the Leitz, what you see through the finder is what you get: no peeping outside any dotted lines. Also, the CV 40mm I bought w/ my Nokton 40mm f/1.4 is great on the LX3, for those who love that focal length for street shooting. On the focal length bar that appears in the LCD whenever you zoom, just set the marker at the halfway point and you'll be right on for the 40mm field of view.
 
M

meilicke

Guest
I'm surprised the 21 works so well. I would have thought the 25 would be better. I'll have to try both. Thanks for your thoughts!

Scott
 
W

willpix

Guest
meilcke:

Both work quite well, but it's a question of how comfortable you feel with either set up: a somewhat tight 25mm field of view in the case of the Panny original finder, or the very accurate composition lines, with some outside area showing, of the CV 21mm. At $129 + shipping from a place like Cameraquest, the CV 21 is also a pretty good deal. Keep in mind, however, the one indisputable advantage of the very narrow, streamlined Panny 25 finder: you don't have to remove it from the shoe in order to deploy the onboard flash.
 
W

willpix

Guest
meilcke:

A quick correction: Did I say 25mm throughout that last post? Of course, I meant the 24mm FOV of the Panasonic viewfinder.
 

Streetshooter

Subscriber Member
I hate to interrupt....I used the 21 with the LX3 and it was very accurate.....

I also have it for sale......contact me by pm.....

add over....
 
M

meilicke

Guest
Good point about deploying with the flash, Will. I have used my 28/35 with the flash, which was really nice. But as a glasses wearer, I do like the idea of having a bit more room with the 21 in which to look around.

Shooter, the interruption is just fine, and helpful. :)

Thanks,

-Scott
 
W

willpix

Guest
Since this thread has diverged from discussion of the 60mm vf, why not explore the possibility of eye level viewfinder composing while shooting with the 18mm DMW-LW46 wide conversion lens? I did some newspaper photos this weekend for the first time with the 18mm lens, but decided last night to break out the 15mm vf that came w/ my CV SuperWide Heliar 15mm f/4.5 and do some tests. Not as accurate as the CV 21mm vf with the 24mm FOV, but still useful, in my opinion. One has to remember to compensate for parallax at distances closer than 4 feet, of course, and the flared 18mm black lens will obtrude a bit at the bottom of your composition as seen through the 15mm vf. But with a bit of practice, you'll soon learn to previsualize the slight amount of cutoff at the edges of the frame that you'll end up with for both the 4:3 and 3:2 aspect ratios. Perhaps an option that'll appeal only to die-hard external viewfinder fans like yours truly, but I feel the advantages of this arrangement for quick compositions in street photography outweigh the drawbacks.
 
M

meilicke

Guest
Diverging even more :), what are your impressions of the wide angle attachment?

Scott
 
W

willpix

Guest
Though I haven't really had time to put the 18mm through its paces, my first impression is very favorable. Unless you have some kind of program like CS3 that rectifies barrel distortion in post processing, you have to expect curvature of horizon lines and vertical lines near the edge of the frame. Myself, I don't mind this kind of distortion at all, especially in my personal B+W documentary stuff. Sure, the 18mm conversion lens represents a compromise in IQ over shooting with one of the ultrawide 16-35mm full frame or 10-22mm APS-C zooms. but then no ultrawide in either of those two groups allows you to shoot 18mm wide open at f2. I love the gritty, extremely long focus look and the fact that I rarely need to focus, especially outdoors at elevated brightness levels. Sharpness and contrast have been impressive, and I can already see doing lots of my personal as well as newspaper work with this combination. In fact, I'm starting to get so conflicted over my favorite focal length with the LX3--18 or 24mm--that I can envision the need for a second LX3 (black, without a doubt) which I'd shoot at 24mm and 40mm with the appropriate viewfinders, while the 18mm conversion lens stayed permanently mounted on my silver body.
 
Top