Anyone use the "D" Viewfinders?

G

gdi

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My 3rd R-D1 just arrived - I kept selling them and missing them - so I am sure I will hang on to this one. (Of course I have to perform the obligatory Rangefinder alignment!)

This one came at a great price and some extras including one of the CV "D" viewfinders for a 25mm lens. Were these viewfinders that popular? I don't have a 25mm lens but I do have a 21, so I am thinking of selling it or trying to trade it for a 21mm "D".

Any idea what a reasonable price would be for it? Is it reasonable to try to trade straight up for a 21 version?

Thanks
 
the d finders are out of production but cq still has them for the 12 and 15mm lenses, sold out on the 21 and 25.

i think they go for around $139, new.

what you can get is what the market will bear.
i have a 25mm lens on the way but plan on using the 28mm framelines along with some guestimation at first.
 
I have a cv 15 mm with voigtlaender 15mm D Viewfinder.
Perfect, but you could also take a real 21mm Finder.
My LTM 21mm Lens is searching a 21mm Viewfinder, too.
At the moment i use my 28mm Finder from my Ricoh Gr,
quite good, but not perfect

so if anyone will sell a 21mm D Finder
let me know :)
 
gdi said:
...Is it reasonable to try to trade straight up for a 21 version?...
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I would not hold my breath. The 21D is a very sought after VF amongst R-D1 users. It is brighter than the body's VF but it tends to gather dust and its framelines can be difficult to view if you wear spectacles. I don't use mine much as i prefer guesstimating the 32mm FoV generally but if i needed another one i would try a regular 35mm VF or the CV 28/35mm minifinder probably.
 
LCT said:
I would not hold my breath. The 21D is a very sought after VF amongst R-D1 users. It is brighter than the body's VF but it tends to gather dust and its framelines can be difficult to view if you wear spectacles. I don't use mine much as i prefer guesstimating the 32mm FoV generally but if i needed another one i would try a regular 35mm VF or the CV 28/35mm minifinder probably.
Click to expand...


Actually I do have a 28/35 finder, and I was planning to try it out with my 21. I still think I would prefer the 21D; while the 28/35 works great for some people, I am more comfortable using a full size finder.
 
I use a cheaper solution: I look into the viewfinder not as close as it should be (same distance as of when I'm wearing glasses), that gives me a crop that emulates the camera's. It doesn't depict exactly what is being captured, but if I wanted that I'd get a dSLR.

Of course a finder with the equivalent focal length would be better, but then it's $140 extra to spend. A plus for regular finders is that you can use them with a film rangefinder as well.
 
I have the 21mm D finder, which I use with my 21/3.4 SA. It's really nice, much brighter than the R-D1 viewfinder. They show up for sale occasionally, both here (where I got mine) and on eBay. In fact, there's one for sale on eBay right now, though the asking price is a bit high.

The 28/35 minifinder is cool for a 21mm, because the effective length is 31.5mm - which falls right between 28 and 35.

Ari
 
Just bumped into this thread...

I've got the 12, 15 and 21 D finders, bought along the 12, 15 CVs and the 21 ZM. They are really good: bright, low distorsion, fairly accurate, if a bit "pessimistic", IMO: I always get a lot more photo around my original framing than expected, learned to use the outer part of the frames.

My copy of the 15D was badly aligned, so I just aligned it easily: undo the 2 screws, slightly rotate the lens with the frames, screws back and voila. None of the others had this problem.

Strangely enough, I tend to use the 28/35 minifinder with the 21 (truth be told, the minifinder is so mini that it could almost become a permanent fixture on the Epson, just like the silver one on my M3). But the 21D has a better image and when using glasses is better overall. It's just that the minifinder is, well, "mini"... :)

I also have the non-D 15mm and 12mm (this one is massive) for FF use. Incidentally, the regular 15mm finder is a very good match to the 12mm FOV on the M8...
 
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