DIY Epson Frameline Illuminator Accessory

[agueco]

You can count me in with those who admire Nikon's ingenuity developing a gadget that illuminates the framelines of their Nikon SP in low light conditions. This frameline illuminator device is quite rare and commands big bucks from collectors. One day I decided to fabricate a similar device for my Epson R-D1s (I find my Epson's framelines a little inferior in low light conditions compared to my Leica M6). For this project, I used the foot of an old vintage flash accessory, an LED pocket flashlight from a thrift store, gorilla glue, and glossy black spray paint. The following is the result. Enjoy! 😀

Here are some close ups of my device.

Illuminator Off

Illuminator On

Note: The difference in frameline illumination between the above 2 photos may not be that apparent (due to my compact P&S digi's auto exposure) but in reality the difference IS striking. The framelines really glow when the illuminator is turned on and are very hard to see when it is turned off.

The actual hand held photo taken (room lights were off).

 

[Wallo]

You know what. I haven't really had too much trouble with the framelines, but that's a nice little project. I think I want to make one of those myself. 😀

 

[Ezzie]

One of those things that I didn't know I needed 😀

 

[bennyng]

Nifty gadget! And nice tank!

Cheers,

 

[Mr_Flibble]

Nicely designed little gizmo. An elegant solution to your problem.

It needs another accessory shoe on top of it 😀

 

[Ezzie]

Nicely designed little gizmo. An elegant solution to your problem.

It needs another accessory shoe on top of it 😀

Who uses flash in the dark? Whooops, I do. Then again you can get one of these:

 

[Ezzie]

Does it at all help with the rather dim focusing patch as well?

 

[agueco]

Thanks everyone for all your positive comments! 😀

@ Ezzie - unfortunately no, it does not help with the dim focussing patch 🙁

In fact you must be very careful to position the illuminator in such a way as to not get any stray beams of light into the small rangefinder window or else the patch will indeed flare badly.

Still a work in progress.....🙂

Regards,
...Adrian

 

[Sonnar Brian]

Nive, very nice! I need to make one of those for the SP. The originals are expensive!

 

[agueco]

@ Brian - Go for it! Those multi colored framelines of the SP would surely light up like a Christmas tree at night ... hehehe 😀

I agree, the original accessory is definitely pricey $$ 😱