. . . with apologies to one of my absolute favorite photography websites for borrowing their name to use as today’s title.
From the time I started shooting digital (P&S at first) alongside film back in 1999, I wasn’t picky about viewfinders. I think the first electronic ones I used were on a couple of upper-range Coolpix cameras, probably around 2006.
So it was natural when I first shot with an M240 around late 2013 for me to get the EVF to use with it. By then the benefits of an adjustable diopter made a positive difference for me. Motivation was insufficient for me to learn to use the rangefinder mechanism to focus, even though part of me wanted to—for more than one reason.
Somewhere in the midst of the first mirrorless bodies I used, I got an R body to see what I could get on film with my R lenses. The split image focusing screen, which had been easy to see during the 1980’s, was suddenly hard to see. On the advice of my ophthalmologist, I scrounged a +3.0 diopter for it off the internet. It didn’t work, which is a big part of why I’ve never been inclined to try rangefinder focusing, save for one Fuji medium format fixed-lens camera that I owned briefly.
With the help of a couple of nice Leica folk here, one of whom is descended from the holy town of Wetzlar, I was able to try several correction lenses today until I found one the one that worked best. Since then I’ve nailed every single shot I’ve taken with the 35mm Summilux FLE and 50mm Summicron.
With good light, I decided to challenge myself with the 135mm APO-Telyt in the afternoon. The bad news is that I nailed only the nearby objects. The good news is that it confirms what I already figured from having used the Visoflex with the lens: infinity focus hard stop is well off, which means the lens is almost certainly in dire need of calibration. Off it will go for adjustment tomorrow . . .
. . . before which I will also dare to try the 75mm Summilux in indoor light. Pray no calibration issues, else it will go in first, also for 6-bit coding which can be done locally by Leica. For the time being, the Visoflex stays in the bag…
