Got eyeglasses protected, viewfinder all but unuseable

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I have found how to protect my eyeglass lenses from the knurled rings on the FSU camera view and range finders, but then the finders are hard to use.

I found a thread on 'The Kiev Report (Russ & Ukr. Cameras)' Delphi forum where one person suggested punching a hole in black plastic electrical tape and putting it over the finder rings.

I tried it and it does a good job of protecting the eyeglass lenses: FSU Zorki-Zorki with electrical tape 'eyeglass protection'. by Steven Wagner, on Flickr

The bad news is now I can't see very well though either Zorki-Zorki finders. My eyes are too far away from the finders. All i can see of the rangefinder is the central spot.

So back to the drawing board.

Steve W
 
You might try Liquid Electrical Tape. It's messy to apply--at least it was for me but that's likely because I'm a clutz. It saved my eyeglasses back when I was shooting with Kievs. I found it at Walmart so it shouldn't be hard to locate a can.
 
My latest Zorki-1d came with a -2 diopter on it, so you could always try to find one that matches your eye, and shoot without glasses. Works really well if you are far sighted, but I'm near sighted so I have to put up with doing the scene scoping when it's a blur.

Or, you could switch to a Zorki-6 with its adjustable diopter view/rangefinder.

PF
 
Way back maybe 10 years ago when I first obtained 3 or 4 Russian cameras I found a solution that to this day still works. I went to an auto parts store and just tried several rubber washers till I found what fit. Then just a dab of adhesive and attach and all done.
 
I use a "#9 O-ring" on several of my FSU cameras and the turret viewfinder. Dimensions are listed as "5/8 x 7/16 x 3/32" which means, I think, 5/8" outside diameter, 7/16" inside diameter, and the 3/32 is the thickness/diameter of the ring.

Not sue if that size would fit the eye pieces on the Zorki you've got but I will suggest taking your camera with you to a good hardware store and seeing what size may be the best fit.

I also use a very small amount of rubber cement to help secure the rubber O-ring around the eye piece. These rings are a bit stretchy and seem to fit well just by friction but I wanted a removable way to secure them a bit better.

Rob
 
My latest Zorki-1d came with a -2 diopter on it, so you could always try to find one that matches your eye, and shoot without glasses. Works really well if you are far sighted, but I'm near sighted so I have to put up with doing the scene scoping when it's a blur.

Or, you could switch to a Zorki-6 with its adjustable diopter view/rangefinder.

PF

PF,

I am nearsighted too, so I expect that the search for a Zorki or FED 1 with the correct diopler rangefinder finder might be long.

My FED2 also has diopler adjustment and is the only camera that adjusts to my eyesight.

Steve W
 
The tape you're using is as thin as it gets, other things like O-rings, while elegant, won't solve your problem that your eye is too far from the eyepiece with your glasses on.

How about making correction lenses from old glasses and sticking them in the eyepieces? Then use without your glasses on.
 
The tape you're using is as thin as it gets, other things like O-rings, while elegant, won't solve your problem that your eye is too far from the eyepiece with your glasses on.

How about making correction lenses from old glasses and sticking them in the eyepieces? Then use without your glasses on.

I don't know if older eyeglass lens would work, my prescription keeps changing. But seeing if I could get a lens with the current prescription would work. Thanks for the suggestion.

Steve W.
 
I don't know if older eyeglass lens would work, my prescription keeps changing. But seeing if I could get a lens with the current prescription would work. Thanks for the suggestion.

Steve W.


I've never looked through one of these cameras, so I don't know if there's any chance that the finder works with glasses on at all. But if you do want to use the camera with glasses on rather than going the route of correction lenses on the camera, how far from the eye your glasses sit matters. Something to watch out for when getting your next pair. In my case, my eyelashes are so long that ladies envy me and I have to specifically pick glasses frames that stay pretty far from my eyes :(
 
For me adding a diopter gives a better field of view than using glasses. Here's a way to add one that worked on my Canon RF.

Modify a Nikon rectangular diopter DK 20c ($15) which normally slides on the Nikon eyepiece. First remove the lens in the diopter (by bending the tiny tabs that retain the lens with a tiny screwdriver) and cut off the larger tabs that slide over the Nikon eyepiece (on the side and top of the mount) with a hacksaw blade, making it much thinner, hit it with a bit of sandpaper on a block to smooth the back (where the hacksaw work was done), reinstall the diopter lens, and put on a few strip of removable thin foam tape near the edges of the frame, and stick it to the camera. Takes about 10 minutes to do. Mine has lasted a year so far with no signs of loosening. Of course you would need 2 for your camera. The power of the Nikon diopters is off by one diopter from your eyeglass prescription - there are charts that show which way, but if I remember correctly, the -3 Nikon is really -2 as there is already a minus 1 in the camera.
 

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For me adding a diopter gives a better field of view than using glasses. Here's a way to add one that worked on my Canon RF.

Modify a Nikon rectangular diopter DK 20c ($15) which normally slides on the Nikon eyepiece. First remove the lens in the diopter (by bending the tiny tabs that retain the lens with a tiny screwdriver) and cut off the larger tabs that slide over the Nikon eyepiece (on the side and top of the mount) with a hacksaw blade, making it much thinner, hit it with a bit of sandpaper on a block to smooth the back (where the hacksaw work was done), reinstall the diopter lens, and put on a few strip of removable thin foam tape near the edges of the frame, and stick it to the camera. Takes about 10 minutes to do. Mine has lasted a year so far with no signs of loosening. Of course you would need 2 for your camera. The power of the Nikon diopters is off by one diopter from your eyeglass prescription - there are charts that show which way, but if I remember correctly, the -3 Nikon is really -2 as there is already a minus 1 in the camera.


Goody,


Thank you for the suggestion. It looks interesting. I just need to find my eyeglass prescription.



Steve W
 
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