Ive been going back and forth on this for weeks now because I finally bit the bullet and picked up a 28mm Elmarit for my Leica M3. Obviously the frame lines on the M3 only go down to 50mm so Im basically flying blind right now and just guessing the edges based on the entire window but its not really working out for my street stuff. Im heading to Tokyo next month for a two week trip and I really want to have my framing dialed in before I go because I dont want to get home and realize half my shots are composed poorly.

I did a bunch of reading on the Leica SBOOI but thats specifically for 50mm and Im seeing mixed things about whether I should hunt down a vintage SLOOZ or if those are just overpriced paperweights now. The problem is the prices for original Leica finders are getting kinda insane lately and Im worried about buying something expensive only to find out it has internal haze or the brightlines have faded away. Then I looked into the Voigtlander 28mm metal finders which seem way more affordable and honestly look pretty sleek but some people on the forums were saying they have a lot of barrel distortion compared to the Zeiss ZM finders.

So I was thinking maybe the Zeiss is the way to go for clarity but man those things are bulky. My logic was that I want to keep the profile of the M3 low so it actually fits in my small leather sling bag without snagging. I have about $350 left in my gear budget for this and Im just stuck between going for a period correct Leica finder or just getting the modern Voigtlander and hoping the aesthetic doesnt bother me too much. Does the brightness of the modern finders really beat out the old Leica glass or am I just paying for the brand name at this point? Ive also seen some cheap plastic ones from Canon or Ricoh online but I'm worried theyll just slide right out of the accessory shoe while Im walking around Shinjuku...