External finder, quicker shooting?

[nightfly]

Just wondering for those who use an external finder, do you find shooting quicker?

I've got a rangefinder with framelines for the lenses I use primarily (28/35) but was wondering if something like the Cosina mini finder would make shooting a bit quicker for street shooting. Sort of like how pre setting the exposure and aperture and no built in meter keeps me from worrying about these things when taking a shot would an external finder be quicker for framing than one than the built in one with a rangefinder patch?

That video with Winogrand awhile back put the idea in my head.

 

[dazedgonebye]

I was thinking of the same video as I read your question.

Sticking the camera in AE and pre-focusing with a 28mm for good dof might work very well.
I might just have to try it with my 21mm (since I don't have a 28).

 

[nightfly]

Well, I don't have auto anything or even a meter so AE is not an option but I'm very comfortable shooting using hyperfocus and my own internal meter.

I'm mainly concerned with quick framing, something between shoot from the hip and focusing. With the 28 and even the 35, I hit the focus 95% of the time, it's just the framing that I need to get quicker with.

Probably just getting better with my technique.

 

[Magus]

Post deleted by posters request

 

[lZr]

I think only 1:1 viewfinder can be better then external viewfinder, presuming the photog uses hyperfocal settings

 

[BillBingham2]

Nightfly,

I use a Bessa L in very much that manner. My 25/4 is on her all the time. The external lights for the meter allow me to quickly adjust the exposure as I am bringing the camera up to my eye. I used external finders on Ts and Ls for several years and find that for street shooting they work fine. The only place where they are not as good is when shooting close up with longer lenses (parallax correction must be manually adjusted).

The L is a great camera for shooting like this as there is no built in view or range finder. I wish they would come out with an L2A and L2M, sounds like a logical follow-on product.

B2 (;->

 

[Finder]

I do not find an external finder any quicker than the built-in finder.

 

[Tuolumne]

Since I have started shooting wides (21mm and 25mm) I am beginning to appreciate this set-up more and more. No need to focus and the external view finder is much brighter and easier to use than even the best built-in view finder. Leica has a nice (and expensive) 21-24-28 zoom external finder, but it has no bright lines so framing is hard to get exact. It does have long eye relief and a rubber protector on the rear element for eye glass users. It is also beautifully made of metal.

The Russian made FEDs 28-135 (all metal turret finders) are the slickest of all: Really bright turret view finder with bright lines, parallax compensation that really works, and a central cross-hatch -- boom, caught 'ya. Best of all they are less than $100 in excellent condition. Try Fedka or eBay for this item.

/T

 

[Rico]

Presuming the camera is set, an external VF has no effect on speed. For me, the compelling reasons are brighter view, lack of clutter, and a friendly demeanor to human subjects. My 50mm and 90mm VFs are 1:1, which allows the comfort of shooting with both eyes open (no squinting).

 

[pvdhaar]

I think it strongly depends.. if you're in the habit of continuously adjusting focus for each shot, then yes, an external finder slows you down (and quite a bit at that), but not really because you physically need to move the eye from one spot to another..

On my Bessa-T, the magnification between the RF (1.5x) and the finders (ranging from 1x to ca. 0.x5) is different, and you've got to adapt mentally when switching view. This process is what slows me down, and detracts me.

So I work in a somewhat more relaxed way.. I set the focus, and then eyeball the DOF, and I won't re-focus unless I know the subject's moved beyond the DOF range. Basically, it's the same way I handle exposure. I'll measure once, and adjust only when I see the light change..