Luddite Frank
Well-known
For those seeking neat, compact, and user-friendly aux finders for their Barnack, I just wanted to report that the Geiss - Sandmar "Zoom Vue" is none of the above....
😱
I just picked one up to enhance my Argus C-4 Geiss-modified kit, and was a little underwhelmed by the gizmo...
From the photos I'd seen on-line, it looks like a nifty finder.
In person, and on a camera, it is bulky, and (sadly) is not a true optical-zoom finder, along the lines of a Tewe Poly-Focal or Nikon Vari-Focal (where image itself is magnified as the unit is switched to the longer focal legnths); rather, it is in the class of "variable shrinking mask" finders such as the Leitz VIOOH.
Additionally, it has some sort of semi-Silvered Albada-type front element, and a "skylight" window on the top circumference of the finder barrel, between the front and rear elements that just seems to flood the finder in bright daylight. And the optics tend to be hazy.
All of which is to say, if you want one, great; but don't pay a lot expecting it to be a great user gizmo.
For what it's worth...
LF
😱
I just picked one up to enhance my Argus C-4 Geiss-modified kit, and was a little underwhelmed by the gizmo...
From the photos I'd seen on-line, it looks like a nifty finder.
In person, and on a camera, it is bulky, and (sadly) is not a true optical-zoom finder, along the lines of a Tewe Poly-Focal or Nikon Vari-Focal (where image itself is magnified as the unit is switched to the longer focal legnths); rather, it is in the class of "variable shrinking mask" finders such as the Leitz VIOOH.
Additionally, it has some sort of semi-Silvered Albada-type front element, and a "skylight" window on the top circumference of the finder barrel, between the front and rear elements that just seems to flood the finder in bright daylight. And the optics tend to be hazy.
All of which is to say, if you want one, great; but don't pay a lot expecting it to be a great user gizmo.
For what it's worth...
LF
