Waist level finders

[noah b]

Do any of you find times of light glare on your finders when you're taking pictures? I'm trying to conjure up some kind of solution to eliminate the glare from the top, or maybe it's just imminent.

 

[VictorM.]

Sometimes, yes. Rollei made a leather 'tunnel' to block out all light. Another idea would be to carry a piece of dark cloth (maybe a hoodie) and use it as if you were using a view camera.

 

[Beemermark]

Wear a baseball cap.

 

[Jerevan]

I concur with the baseball cap idea. If the camera is on a tripod, cupping my hand around the WLF to shield it off sometimes works.

 

[NickTrop]

Sit on the ground, cover the finder with your hands, and operate the camera with your feet.

 

[shadowfox]

^
That is funny 😀

Whenever possible, shoot from a shaded area.

 

[manfromh]

You could flip up the little loupe thingy. Then your head will shield the ground glass.

 

[khagler]

Glare is definitely a concern here in blindingly sunny Los Angeles. I find that a combination of the flip-up focus magnifier and a fedora (or other had with a wide brim) works nicely to keep it off the viewfinder.

 

[nikon_sam]

I try blocking the sunlight with my hand...a yes it's sometimes a big pain...

 

[Larry Manuel]

Investigate a Maxwell focusing screen, it may be a lot brighter than your current ground glass.

 

[whickus]

odd. i live in arizona and i've never needed more protection than the flip-up hoods on my c330 or sq-ai. are you saying you don't have a hood at all?

 

[rolleistef]

If is the sun is so bright that you cannot see the focusing screen properly, that usually means that you can use a small aperture, zone focus and frame with the sportfinder...

 

[rpsawin]

Sit on the ground, cover the finder with your hands, and operate the camera with your feet.

Wouldn't this make the operator rather vulnerable?

Bob

 

[grainhound]

I happened on a chimney finder for my Mamiyas, 220 & 330. It completely eliminates this problem and gives you 3.5x or 6x magnification. With 3.5 mag., you still see the whole frame, though the circle made by the finder eyepiece just touches the corners of the frame. Unlike some Mamiya gear, it weighs almost nothing, although it's large.