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Certain Leica rangefinders are known, to have an issue under specific lighting conditions. The issue is commonly known as “rangefinder patch whiteout”. It occurs when strong light sources in otherwise dim ambient light reach the bright line’s light collecting window in a certain angle. One sees a strong loss of contrast up to an extend of a complete white range finder patch, making focussing very difficult.

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What you need:

1 x camera body with rangefinder whiteout issue

1 x 3M vinyl electrical tape

1 x scissor

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Q:   Why trying this small trick?

A:   You like to shoot your rangefinder camera in low light with occasional strong light sources in or near the frame and you are annoyed by having to hold a finger in front of the light collecting window of your camera, while focussing.

Q:    Is there a caveat?

A:    There always is - you trade in brightness, clarity and visibility of the bright lines in favor of a more reliable and consistent rangefinder patch for focussing.

Depending on your shooting habits, this is a small tradeoff for a big gain or a loss of clarity and composition aid with little advantage in focussing.

For me this is a big deal, as I shoot mostly after the sun went down these days and deal often with the classic patch whiteout situation - city night scene with dark shadows and stingingly bright street lamps, car headlights and alike.

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1. Step - cut and paste

patched rangefinder

Cut a piece of 3M vinyl tape of aproximately 1/4 the size of the light collecting window. Paste it right in the center of your rangefinder’s light collecting window.

Test the remaining brightness of your framelines, whether they are still brilliant enough for your taste in the brightest environment, you like to shoot.If they are too dim, just cut the patch smaller.

The smaller the patch, the more white out you get, the more brilliant you see the framelines in sunny days.

It is a balance, you must find for your self.

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08. February 2010