By day, Nathan sometimes shoots audiophile gear and jewelry and sometimes wine and suit meets at various British Embassy of Tokyo associated events. By night he’s a HiFi, headphone, and DAC geek, reviewing mainly earphones and headphone amps at headfonia.com. When the weekend hits, he’s all about Dungeons & Dragons; if you’re in the area, he’d love to roll some dice with you. By all means, check out ohm-image.net, to see bits and pieces of his latest work, as well as silly commentary about ticklish fancies.
Disclaimer: MGR Productions supplied the Bresson zoomable viewfinder for the purposes of this review. I paid nothing for it. 2nd gen versions (Type J and Y) go for HKD 699,00$ (~89$ USD [exchange rate circa 2016.01.26]). You can find all about them here: Adjustable viewfinder magnifier Type J and Y.
Last week I posted a slew of images and a small report on the MGR Production Bresson zoomable magnifier (V1) for Leica M cameras. Today, I’d like to show it in action.
Naturally, Bresson’s biggest marketable feature is a 1,1x to 1,6x magnification zoom, which, on paper should be able to replace both wide and tele M viewfinder magnifiers.
Turning its rear element anti-clockwise magnifies the focus area (and extends the lens outward from the camera); a clockwise turn reduces the focus area (and compresses the lens toward the threaded eyepiece). At a magnification setting of 1,1x, Bresson sticks out roughly 8mm from the camera; at a magnification setting of 1,6x, it sticks out roughly 12mm from the camera. For reference, the Leica 1,4x magnifier juts out of the camera by 6mm (rubber protector included), and the MS Optical 1,15x magnifier — practically a pancake — rises to just around 4mm.
While larger, the Bresson has the potential to be more convenient. On paper, its step-less zoom range should cover M lenses from ~35mm to 90mm, and beyond. (More on this later.)
Because its zoom actin is controlled by clockwise and anti-clockwise turns, Bresson often comes loose from the camera whilst adjusting it. And while its helical doesn’t seize, its focus action is rough. MGR Productions’s marketing suggests that J and Y variants rotate more smoothly.
Bresson comes with two rubber protective cups, one wide, half-shield, which works for eyeballs, and a low-profile shunt. Thanks to my -6,5 handicap, I have no choice but to use the latter. Both are pliable and rise far enough from the magnifier to protect both the magnifier and your eyeball or glasses.
Hit up my introduction article: Leica M – MGR 1,1x – 1,6x Adjustable viewfinder magnifier V1 short summary to see Bresson’s accessory set and size comparisons.
Bresson’s Achilles heel is viewfinder blockage. For glasses wearers, its widest (1,1x) magnification occludes a significant portion of the 50mm frame. Even without glasses, I need to shift my eye around the frame in order to see the entire 50mm FOV preview. As a result, the 35mm frame lines are right out. In contrast, MS Optical’s low-profile (and discontinued) 1,15x magnifier leaves 15% of the viewfinder open on all sides of the 50mm frame lines.
For this reason, I can’t suggest using Bresson with lenses wider than 50mm. Which is a shame: because Bresson covers such a wide ratio of magnifications, it could be useful for everything from 35mm lenses on up. And, certainly for lenses such as the 90mm Summicron, it is helpful in achieving reliably sharp focus.
I’m sure that my methods leave a lot to desire. That said, the following is my method:
I repeated steps 2-9 for each magnifier, taking two exposures per lens per scene and selecting the sharpest of the two. I did this to eliminate (admittedly in the smallest, least scientific of ways) focus anomaly due to eye bogies, dust, or the quaking of frozen fingers (Tokyo never gets cold, but at 6AM, and to a body now accustomed to winters that don’t freeze, I’ve become weak. 5º C is no longer t-shirt weather.)
I did not use a shutter release. I probably should have. Results of 1 are hits, 0s are demonstrable misses.
Magnifier order:
Scene close-ups:
Scene 1: the mouldy Christmas tree (Summilux 50 ASPH)
Focus: the noose area around the angel’s neck
Results:
I’ve found that even with a 50mm lens at f/1,4, even my naked eye is good enough. That each magnifier returned acceptably sharp results almost should be a given. Apologies.
Scene close-ups:
Scene 2: the mouldy Christmas tree (Summicron 90 pre-ASPH)
Focus: the noose area around the angel’s neck
Results:
I was surprised that even the MS Optical magnifier got on so well despite strong backlight and the close focus. Good show.
Scene close-ups:
Scene 3: the mouldy Christmas tree (Elmarit 90 FAT)
Focus: the noose area around the angel’s neck
Results:
As the sun started going down, the living room scene lost much of its contrast and focus became more difficult. Difficult scenes like this are where the Leica magnifier shows its mettle.
Scene close-ups:
Scene 4: the mailbox and the Meze headphones (Summicron 90 pre-ASPH)
Focus: the top of the gold nub in the middle of the headphones*
Results:
The strong nimbus is the best evidence for my failure to achieve focus through the MS Optical magnifier.
I should have focused on a higher contrast, variegated area. The Meze logo would have been best Even through the EVF, and then later, through close inspection by eye, the featureless gold nub proved to be almost featureless. Apologies.
In order of achievement, first place goes to Leica (4), 2nd to Bresson (3), and third to MS Optical (2).
Despite the illustrative photos below failing to show it, Bresson also flares and loses contrast against both front and back light. The effect isn’t inordinate, but more so than either Leica or MS Optical magnifiers. If you don’t have to wear glasses, most of it is minimised by attaching the eyecup.
Before penning the first words of this review, or even slipping my M240 onto the tripod head, I could have told you that MS Optical’s 1,15x magnifier was out of its league, particularly with longer lenses. And yet, at the end of the day, it is the only magnifier that stays out of my way and can be used with 35mm lenses.
The Bresson is bulky and high-powered. It flares a bit, but not enough to hamper its utility – which, for lenses above 75mm, impresses. As long as the scene is free of flare, it keeps neck and neck with the Leica. But even without glasses, it is next to useless for wide-angle lenses. Even a 50mm lens is stretching it. I have high hopes that versions J and Y are better adapted to wider angle lenses.
Still, considering its price, the Bresson is a clever device which should appeal to the price-conscious tech-loving M-shooter.
If you have an interesting idea for a guest post, you can contact me here.