A Forgotten Accessory? ~ DR Leica VIOOH Finder

L

LeicaTom

Watch that step!
Local time
6:30 PM
Joined
Jun 7, 2007
Messages
2,504
Location
Winter Haven Florida
View My Gallery
VIOOHFORNET.jpg


Here`s a neat little item I picked up over the evilbay a few days ago for a BIN.

It`s a version of the VIOOH Universal Finder that`s most surely been forgotten by most people, and I`m sure never mentioned here at RFF.

A "Dual Range" VIOOH with distance scales in Feet and Meters !
(note red and black numbers on finder base)
Meters in Red and Feet in Black paint, I`ve only seen this finder for sale anywhere in over 5 years, so I`m sure it`s pretty rare, and from the serial number #260xx it`s an early numbered one with the new 85mm markings.
I figure this was produced (ca. 1949 - 51).

Just WHY? did they stop making them this way with the DR we`ll never know?, but they sure would have been helpful for everyone who`s using mixed lenses. 😀

Enjoy!

Tom
 
Last edited:
My Lyre-shaped VIOOH has both ranges as you say. Deteriorated optics in mine though and a small crack in the corner of one of the prisms 🙁
 
Yes, the VIOOH is easy to open and clean. The prisms aren't aluminized, you just need to get them clean. Remove the four obvious screws on the rear, and then the two that hold in the prism assembly.
 
They didn't bother to add serial numbers to the Lyre-shaped bodies as far as I know.

I've opened mine up before, but did not attempt to separate the prisms to clean them. Will do so tonight, right between souping some 127 film and cleaning up my "new" Rolleicord 1a.
 
Mr_Flibble said:
They didn't bother to add serial numbers to the Lyre-shaped bodies as far as I know.

I've opened mine up before, but did not attempt to separate the prisms to clean them. Will do so tonight, right between souping some 127 film and cleaning up my "new" Rolleicord 1a.
Click to expand...

Shoot a couple of Photos of it, if it`s different from this one......

Thanks

Tom
 
Rick, you just remove the bracket the prisms are on, and clean all the glass surfaces you can reach. Don't try and remove them from the bracket, you will never get them right again.

If the lenses in the front are clean, there's a more complex series of retaining rings and set-screws to deal with. But hazy prisms are the more likely fault.
 
John Shriver said:
Rick, you just remove the bracket the prisms are on, and clean all the glass surfaces you can reach. Don't try and remove them from the bracket, you will never get them right again.

If the lenses in the front are clean, there's a more complex series of retaining rings and set-screws to deal with. But hazy prisms are the more likely fault.
Click to expand...


I went to try cleaning mine, and muddled with the set-screw on the selector ring... it did not help me get the VIOOH apart, and I could not get the set-screw to thread-in again :bang: , so I put a piece of scotch tape over the set-screw, to keep it from getting lost, and put it away for another day.


Any suggestions on resetting that selector-ring set-screw, John ? 🙁


Luddite Frank
 
Hans,

I love my Leicas, but I find the VIOOH challenging to use, as it is VERY "squinty", even at 35mm setting. 90 & 135 are postively microscopic.

I have found the Nikon Varifocal and Tewe Polyfocal finders much easier on my eyes ; the viewfinder image stays the same size, these finders acting like a zoom-lens would on an SLR.

That's my very subjective opinion.

I do shoot quite a bit with 35 / 90 / 135 lenses on my Thread-mount Leicas, and tried the VIOOH once... that was enough for me.

I believe Cosina-Voigtlander has just come-out with a multi-focal accesory finder... look it up at Camera Quest...

Regards

Luddite Frank
 
A small image, Hans, but more precise than any other finder I have used. I had a VIOOH with feet markings and never had trouble using it with lenses with metre scales. Tom, wouldn't "Dual Scale" be better than "Dual Range"?
 
payasam said:
A small image, Hans, but more precise than any other finder I have used. I had a VIOOH with feet markings and never had trouble using it with lenses with metre scales. Tom, wouldn't "Dual Scale" be better than "Dual Range"?
Click to expand...

Leica folks always use the term "Dual Range" when it comes to dicussing distances......(for example the Summicron lens is also called DR Feet/Meters) 😉

Tom
 
Last edited:
Tom, I'll post some pictures of mine when I get home today (and remember to do it).

I did not get round to cleaning it last evening. The front and rear lens are in good condition, it's purely the prisms that are hazy.

Because of the haze in the VIOOH, I prefer using my black-nose VIDOM finder. It's no problem as I don't have any lenses with focal lenghts other than 35mm, 50mm, 90mm and 135mm.
 
Last edited:
Tom, the DR Summicron has two distance ranges, normal and close. Your VIOOH has two distance scales -- feet and metres -- for the same range of distances.
 
payasam said:
Tom, the DR Summicron has two distance ranges, normal and close. Your VIOOH has two distance scales -- feet and metres -- for the same range of distances.
Click to expand...

Sorry, but you know what, I`m not going to argue with you.....I posted this thread just to show everyone a rare finder, not to discuss what sounds better to someone, everytime this finder was mentioned to me it`s been called in the rare collectors Leica circles a
"Dual Range Finder" 🙂

Tom

PS: What`s totally off subject here: You can also read more here about the
"Dual Range" Summicron it`s not known as distance ranges ~ The lens is set in "Feet & Meters"

http://www.cameraquest.com/m50dr.htm
 
Last edited:
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

J
  • Article Article
A Leica Lover’s Guide to Acquiring a Digital M:
2
Replies
26
Views
4K
ranger9
R
Godfrey
return to Leica X...
2 3 4
Replies
72
Views
3K
Peter_S
Peter_S
J
  • Article Article
How Canon crushed Leica with the coolest accessory viewfinder system ever!
2
Replies
29
Views
9K
raid
raid
J
Did Nikon really blow Leitz and Zeiss out of the water in 1950? Not quite, but....
Replies
8
Views
527
Erik van Straten
Erik van Straten
A
My Leica SL2-S settings
Replies
0
Views
644
Archiver
A
Back
Top Bottom