Bright Line View And Range Finder - Leica M Instruction Manual

ThE BRIghT-LINE VIEW AND RANgEFINDER
The Leica M's bright line view and range finder is not only a very
high-quality, large, brilliant and bright viewfinder, it is also an
extremely accurate range finder coupled to the lens. It has a
magnification factor of 0.68x.
The bright-line frame is illuminated by LEDs - with a choice of red or
white. This enables it to be seen perfectly in all lighting conditions
and for all subjects.
Selecting the bright-line frame color
1. In the main menu (see p. 154/246) select
(page 3,
Frameline Color
2. Select the desired color in the sub-menu.
section), and
SETUP
When using lenses with focal lengths of 28 (Elmarit from serial
number 2 411 001), 35, 50, 75, 90, and 135mm, the relevant frame
is automatically illuminated in the combinations 28+90mm,
35+135mm, and 50+75mm. All lenses with focal lengths from 16 to
135mm connect with the range finder when fitted on the camera. The
size of the bright-line frame is matched to the initial format on the
Leica M and thus corresponds to a sensor size of 23.9 x 35.8mm at a
range setting of 2m. It is linked to the range setting to ensure that the
parallax - the offset between the lens and the viewfinder axis - is
automatically compensated. The bright-line frame and the picture
image are largely congruent over the entire distance range from 0.7m
to ∞. This means that at a range of below 2m the sensor generally
detects slightly less than shown by the inner edges of the bright-line
frame, and slightly more at longer ranges (see adjacent diagram).
These slight variations, which are hardly ever critical in practice, are
due to the operating principle.
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