Adjustable Viewfinder Magnifier for Canon P?

[cloudbusting]

I've seen viewfinder accessories for Leica cameras and other brands such as this: https://petapixel.com/2015/08/28/fo...er-with-this-adjustable-viewfinder-magnifier/

I'm wondering if there is an accessory I could stick to a Canon P viewfinder with a bit of effort. It would be nice to magnify the viewfinder to match the lens I have mounted. I know other Canon rangefinders have this feature built in, though I prefer the design of the Canon P and they are more affordable to buy.

Would love to hear your ideas. The accessory I linked above looks a little too big for the Canon P...

 

[squirrel$$$bandit]

Since the P doesn’t have the same viewfinder thread that other cameras have, it’s hard to imagine how this could work. Also, a magnifier won’t give you the framelines you want—what focal length lens are you using?

 

[cloudbusting]

Thanks @mabelsound for your reply. I would be interested in using 85mm and 135mm lenses for portraiture. And yes, it doesn't have a thread unforunately for this. Though I have read of users working around this with double-sided adhesive foam as a kind of cushion for the accessory to sit on around the viewfinder? I'd only do something like this if it is reversible as I don't want to damage the camera. As for the framelines, wouldn't the existing framelines be fine - It's just a magnification of the viewfinder frame? Am I missing something

Here is another example of the accessories I'm talking about http://www.ebay.ie/itm/New-1-08x-1-...e=STRK:MEBIDX:IT&_trksid=p2055119.m1438.l2649

 

[squirrel$$$bandit]

Right, you’d said “magnify the viewfinder to match the lens” and I wasn’t sure what you meant by it. But sure, maybe it would be possible to hack something together!

I believe the older Canon L1 has a built-in magnifier, but only 35 and 50 framelines...

 

[cloudbusting]

I believe the Canon VI-L has built in magnifier also with more framelines but it's about 100-200 more and personally I prefer the simpler aesthetic of the Canon P!

I'm wondering now if the magnification would distort the accuracy of the framelines with a magnifier stuck on?

 

[MaxElmar]

I would like an attachment to reduce the view so I could see the 35mm frame lines with my glasses on!

 

[mdarnton]

I can only speak to a 1.25X magnifier on my M4, but I find that it isn't really an advantage. More glass = more flare and general diffusion, and I find it exactly equally easy to focus with or without it. The attachment I have wouldn't fit my Canon P directly, but I will take a look tomorrow if I remember, to see how the view looks. I suspect it will not be an advantage. The Canon P finder is enough inferior to the Leica that I don't use it, and I suspect the added layers of glass would make this even worse.

tldr: in my experience magnifiers don't do what you'd really like them to do, and make the view worse, not better.

 

[Mackinaw]

I can only speak to a 1.25X magnifier on my M4, but I find that it isn't really an advantage. More glass = more flare and general diffusion, and I find it exactly equally easy to focus with or without it......

Don’t agree. The 1.25X magnifier has taken up permanent residence on my MP and M 240. No flare that I can detect and brightness is quite similar too. Plus the increased magnification truly helps focusing with when using a large aperture lens (which I do, a lot).

Jim B.

 

[cloudbusting]

Thank for your replies. I'd mainly be interested in portraiture, so I can get over using the viewfinder natively for 85mm, though 135mm may be harder to frame and focus? I'm not sure if glare would really bother me as it's a rangefinder finder ( I haven't used a rangefinder before ). The bottom loading thing really puts me off the Leicas but I will try one at least some day, maybe I'll change my mind about that.

It's likely I'll try double-sided foam/adhesive to create a seated cushion for a magnifier on the Canon P, when it arrives. I had hoped someone would have tried this already 😛

 

[mdarnton]

I tried my magnifier on my P this morning. The quality of the view is quite good--better than on my M$, but all I am able to see through it is the 100mm frame. Additionally, there is no way to attach it. The camera doesn't have lips for slide-on fittings, nor threads. The only thing I could imagine would be to glue a leica eyepiece ring on the back of the original window frame. This would reduce the size of that frame considerably, which might affect the view of the other frames. Or possibly one could adapt a lipped frame from some other camera and then cobble up a lipped adapter. Anyway, it seems like a lot of work for scant gain.

 

[cloudbusting]

Thanks for your helpful reply mdarnton! Do you know what magnification the magnifier is? I wouldn't mind so much about having just the 100mm frame. 85mm and 135mm would be the main issues for me on a Canon P.

Did you try focusing with the rangefinder with it attached? I'm curious if the framing and focusing would be acccurate...

It shouldn't be so difficult to use double sided foam cut to the shape of the viewfinder as a seat for a diopter. Alternatively there are many third party slide on adapters for other camera models that may stick with some removable adhesive...

 

[mdarnton]

The magnifier I have is 1.25X. It was surprisingly comfortable for the 100mm frame, and focused easily. There's no reason focus and framing would change with the finder.

 

[cloudbusting]

Nice one! 🙂 Yeah, I just wasn't sure how magnification would alter the frame accuracy. I think I'll go for the Canon P then! Thanks for your info.

It'll be a while before I get my hands on one, but I'll be sure to post any mod efforts here.