DIY cheap 28-80mm viewfinder for my Zorky

[giovatony]

Being new to FSU rangefinders and thinking about a wide angle lens (J 12 ?) maybe some day, I been reading about VF issues with anything but a 50mm mounted on a Fed or Zorky.. I don`t see an abundance of turret finders or anything else available so I got thinking.
I had an old Yashica Zoomate 80 pocket camera in my desk drawer that my 85 yr old cousin bought for $6 at a tag sale that she handed me to fix (take up spool had a broken film tab holder and wouldn`t grab the leader) so I gave her a similar old Vivitar that worked.

Well I dissasembled the Yashica and saved the VF and the attached zoom mechanism. All I have to do now is cement it to an old flash shoe . Plenty of them arond.

Now ,my question is this? Anyone think this will work well enough for a 35mm angle to 85? Just spin the gear from wide angle to tele works like acharm.
Or am I all wet?
Let me know if anyone wants a picture of the zooming VF. It`s a 3 pc design, the center glass moves in and out. It`s really slick how it was coupled to the lens and all. When I`m finished with it it should be about 1-1/2"wide X 1-1/2 " long X 1" high. It even has parallax lines.
John

 

[clarence]

Nice idea. I just used a cheap Helios viewfinder though. The edges of the finder are approximate to the 28mm field of view.

Clarence

 

[payasam]

Good luck to you. I'm a fan of DIY people and sometimes try to imitate them.

 

[radiocemetery]

Hello John,
I would like to see a picture of this device when you get done with it. I just bought a Canon IIf and Jupiter 12, and have been looking for an accesory rangedfinder to use with it.
Steve

 

[Spider67]

Sounds great please post pictures! Is the Yashica a pocket or a 35 mm Camera?

 

[giovatony]

Sounds great please post pictures! Is the Yashica a pocket or a 35 mm Camera?

I guess it`s both a compact 35mmpocketable camera.heres a pic of it.
Should available on ebay.

http://www.pbase.com/johnd1/image/89923260

 

[giovatony]

Here`s a pic of the VF section that has to be cut away from the camera.
At top right you can see the zoom wheel (gears) that turn freely and smoothly with a finger.
Penny shows relative size and
I hope to trim away more plastic. On the sides are the IR windows . I think the IR window on the left can be cut off but the right side houses the gearing.

Regardless, another plus of this finder is that it is flat on all sides and easy to affix to a shoe .

http://www.pbase.com/johnd1/image/89924066

 

[pvdhaar]

.. At top right you can see the zoom wheel (gears) that turn freely and smoothly with a finger...

What? No motor zoom? 😀