Folder with good viewfinder?

[stevierose]

Can anyone suggest a 6x6 folder camera with a good lens that has a viewfinder that I can see the frame lines in with my eyeglasses on? I own a Super Idolette which is a fantastic camera but the viewfinder is a tiny peep hole that is basically unusable with glasses on. An external viewfinder would work but haven’t been able to find an appropriate one in square format. Thanks!

 

[KoNickon]

I can't think of any medium format folder that actually has frame lines. Just the edges of the viewfinder (and yes, the finder is generally very small) is all you'll get.

I think actually that a folder with a folding viewfinder might be the best you'll do -- the rear glass is pretty large.

 

[Vince Lupo]

The Zeiss Ikon 433/16 is a square rigid finder, though they can be a bit difficult to see through.

 

[bbutterfield]

I use a Leica SBOOI finder on my Agfa Record III and Zeiss Mess Ikonta 6x9s; same aspect ratio and perspective. Much better than the built in viewfinders and it kind of looks cool. Some of the earlier Super Ikontas have Albeda finders with bright frame lines but I’ve never handled one that was bright enough to use.

 

[Retro-Grouch]

I believe that the last iteration of the Mamiya Six folder had a bright line finder. But I agree; finders on folders are generally miserable affairs.

 

[WoodallP]

I believe that the last iteration of the Mamiya Six folder had a bright line finder. But I agree; finders on folders are generally miserable affairs.

I don’t know, the Polaroid 110s were useable 😊

 

[sojournerphoto]

Fujifilm GF670 / Voigtlander Bessa iii

Fabulous viewfinder and a better lens

Not inexpensive

Fuji GF670 on 35MMC

These was shot with mine on Ilford XP2+ and developed in PC-TEA

 

[Deleted member 65559]

Well, not exactly a folder, but collapsible new Mamiya 6.
Not 6x6 but collapsible w a stunning lens Plaubel Makina 670

 

[jbrubaker]

Fuji GF670 has a superb viewfinder. It is larger than most folders but can be used as 6x6 or 6x7.
It is expensive, but it is a one-of -a-kind camera with an unbeatable lens.

 

[DownUnder]

Most 'traditional' (= vintage) folders have reasonably good viewfinders, especially the German ones - as one poster has already written, I also cannot think of a folder with frame lines. Others may differ, if you know of any please post, to satisfy our curiosity.

If your reason for wanting a superior viewfinder has to do with your vision, you could consider one of the older (circa 1950) Zeiss folders - mine is a Nettar 6x6 from about 1950 - with the flip-up/down viewfinders formerly known as Albada finders. Mine has one, and I find it vastly better than the peer-thru finders in the newer and often more expensive models.

(Added later) I see bbutterfield (#4) has already posted about the Albada. Apology for the obvious repetition, I do this a lot of late in my dotage. At any rate my eyesight is far from perfect, and I find the Albada is more useful to me than the built-in finders on my other folder (a Perkeo I).

Or consider buying an external clip-on viewfinder. I believe Voigtlander once made some super good quality ones. In fact I think I had one of their 6x6 viewfinders once, but I no longer have it, and that was so long ago I cannot really recall if it was a Voigtlander or not. Again, others here may be able to improve my too-overloaded (alas, with mostly mundane ideas) memory on this, many thanks in advance.

(Added later) It's called the Voigtlander Kontur. See #13.

 

[Coldkennels]

Another option would be the Ensign Selfix folders - a fair bit cheaper than the Zeiss or Voigtlander folders, and the pop-up Albada finders on the later Selfix models are really quite nice. I had the 16-20 for a bit a while back, but never really gelled with the 645 format. I have a (6x6) 12-20 in my office that needs a clean up before I can use it, but it's a charming little thing. It has an unusual lens release and shutter button design:



Those shiny nubs above the bellows are pushed outwards, not down, to unfold the camera (on the left as you hold it) and fire the shutter (on the right). I imagine that might be a bit more stable in use than your regular downwards shutter release, but I won't know for certain until it's all been cleaned up a bit.

The 16-20 had a conventional shutter release button in comparison... but there was a spike hidden inside it that stabbed you in the finger if you hadn't cocked the shutter!

Here's the view through the viewfinder. There's not really that much of a gap around the framelines - that's all due to slamming the wide lens of an iPhone camera into it as tightly as possible, but there is a decent bit of space around, even when wearing glasses. One thing I do find interesting is the circular mark within the framelines; I can't tell if that's intentional (to indicate the way a lot of photos were mounted in circular frames) or just a side-effect of the circular eyepiece on mine being incredibly filthy. My guess is the former, not the latter.

 

[P C Headland]

The Super Fujica-6 has a nice, fairly bright viewfinder, but no framelines. Probably one of the brightest of all the folders I've got (the Iskra is not bad either).

The Konica Pearl IV, a 645 camera, has framelines, and the viewfinder is supposedly very bright, though I've never handled one myself.

 

[Godfrey]

The very best eye level viewfinder I've seen on any 6x6 folder is the Kontur accessory finder on my Voigtländer Perkeo II.

The Perkeo II has the usual little peephole viewfinder, but they made a 6x6 Kontur viewfinder for it. The Kontur is a brilliant concept ... You view with both eyes, the Kontur provides the frame lines and your other eye provides the view of the subject. Your brain merges them in your visual context so it becomes the scene, as broad and detailed as your vision is, with the frame lines superimposed upon it.

It's an amazing viewfinder. They also made one for my Vitessa with 2:3 proportion framing ...

G

 

[Muggins]

It's good fun handing someone a camera with a Kontur on and watching them close one eye... I have one on my MDa, and use it infrequently enough that I often do the same, though I do at least realise pretty instantly what I am doing wrong!

I should add to @Coldkennels post above that if you can find a Selfix with the Ross Xpres lens they are supposed to be very good indeed, 4/5 elements (there seem to have been design variations under the same name) and I think a coloured marking on the housing to indicate that is coated. Though I should add the caveat that this is what I've gathered over the years, I don't own one.

 

[Coldkennels]

I should add to @Coldkennels post above that if you can find a Selfix with the Ross Xpres lens they are supposed to be very good indeed, 4/5 elements (there seem to have been design variations under the same name) and I think a coloured marking on the housing to indicate that is coated.

I think I can vouch for this. I seem to remember the 16-20 I had was one of the Ross lensed models. It was really nice for something that I'd basically acquired by accident!

I should dig those negs out and rescan them later.

 

[TenEleven]

The Mamiya Six Automat II has framelines, actually!
However good copies are hard to come buy.

Other folders with (in my opinion) good viewfinders are:

• The Fujica Super Six - nice bright finder (no framelines) with a very good contrasty patch to boot. Relatively lightweight as far as folders go
• The Balda Super Baldax - nice bright finder (no framelines again) with a very good rangefinder patch that even has decently hard edges - comes with a 2.8 lens, too and weighs only a little under 600 grams
• The Mine Six IIIS - decent finder - illuminated(!) framelines and an okay rangefinder patch - Zunow lens - hard to find these days
• The Mine Six Super - nice finder - not just framelines but illuminated (not van albada!) framelines - the lens is a decent if not amazing Takumar triplet
• Aforementioned Mamiya Six Automat II - albada framelines and a decent if not amazing RF patch - the Sekor on it is quite good

 

[WoodallP]

The Mamiya Six Automat II has framelines, actually!
However good copies are hard to come buy.

Other folders with (in my opinion) good viewfinders are:

• The Fujica Super Six - nice bright finder (no framelines) with a very good contrasty patch to boot. Relatively lightweight as far as folders go
• The Balda Super Baldax - nice bright finder (no framelines again) with a very good rangefinder patch that even has decently hard edges - comes with a 2.8 lens, too and weighs only a little under 600 grams
• The Mine Six IIIS - decent finder - illuminated(!) framelines and an okay rangefinder patch - Zunow lens - hard to find these days
• The Mine Six Super - nice finder - not just framelines but illuminated (not van albada!) framelines - the lens is a decent if not amazing Takumar triplet
• Aforementioned Mamiya Six Automat II - albada framelines and a decent if not amazing RF patch - the Sekor on it is quite good

Thanks for this list; I thought I knew folders pretty well (I have plenty but mostly European) but I had never heard of the Mine Six cameras.

 

[P C Headland]

Also the Aires Viceroy has illuminated framelines, though the finder is not really much brighter than the Fujica or Iskra previously mentioned. I just tested with glasses, and the framelines are still visible.