135mm Finder Alternatives?

[ncc1701]

Hello all,

I recently snatched a Hanimar 135/3.5 on ebay but without a finder.

Are there differences between Canon/Leica/Russian Turret 135mm Finders.

Can you mix/match em to lenses?

I have a Bessa-R,
How much of a guesstimate is the 90 frameline to a proper 135 Finder?

Is there a way to make a mask for the built in viewfinder?

Thanks in advance
😎

 

[ScottS]

The russian turret finder would be cheaper than either the Canon or Leitz brightline finders (and you can also use the 28mm view if you have/get a 28mm lens. On the other hand, it's much larger than the alternatives.

The canon chrome 135 is also pretty cheap -- it's not a brightline though.

The black Canon 135mm or the Leitz finders would be the most convenient to use, as they're both 1:1 magnification (allowing both eyes open for shooting if you want to) with easy-to-see bright lines. For Canon, you would want the one with a manual parallax correction dial (I've got one with automatic parallax correction which only works on the V and VI series Canon bodies).

Komura also made a 1x brightline finder which you can sometimes find with the Komura 135/2.8 lens for the same price (or less) as the Leitz finder alone. It's not as nice as the Canon or Leitz finders, though (cheaper build quality, dimmer brightlines). I'm basing my Leitz finder comments on my Leitz 90 finder, as I haven't seen the 135 finder in person, but I'd imagine they're quite similar in quality.

Also note that with the Bessa-R's short RF base length, you may have difficulty focusing the 135 accurately wide open.

Scott