Help me pick a 28mm viewfinder

[Dunn]

So, I pre-ordered the Ricoh GR and now I'm looking for an optical viewfinder to go with it. I originally wanted the Voigtlander 28/35 minifinder for its size, but it seems pretty hard to find and is more expensive than I thought.
I'm also considering the Voigtlander 28 brightline, the Sigma vf-11, and the plastic Leica 28.
Any others I should be aware of? I'm trying to keep the price $200 or below.
Can anyone speak to the quality and accuracy of the sigma? I couldn't find much on that. The Voigtlander brightline seems like a good build, but is the biggest and I would prefer smaller unless the Voigtlander is going to be the best build and optical quality.
Thanks.

 

[Richard G]

Gee. The last finder I bought separate to a lens was second hand from a dealer, $400 for a Zeiss 21. My Zeiss 28/25 is very good too, but no cheaper, especially brand new.

 

[Roger Hicks]

The Zeiss version is the best I know; I also have the old plastic Voigtländer and the Voigtländer mini, and prefer the latter. Old 28mm finders are rare because until comparatively recently (maybe 25 years ago), 28s were rare. The only old, common 28 finder I know is the FSU turret finder -- which is very good but bulky. Guess what: I have one of those too. Looks good, though -- sort of retro-futuristic.

Cheers,

R.

 

[Dunn]

Thanks guys. I'll take a look at the Zeiss. Probably out of my price range though.

 

[ferider]

Why not the original Ricoh mini finder ?

 

[Dunn]

Why not the original Ricoh mini finder ?

I read that the Ricoh finders have a 4:3 ratio as opposed to a 3:2 ratio of the GR. Otherwise I would go for the GV-2.

 

[ferider]

I see. The CV mini-finder is kind of crowded with the 35mm framelines. IMO, the best bang for the buck (and smaller than the Zeiss finder, too) is the CV 28mm finder. It's great. I've used the plastic Leitz finder (framelines are nice but not very bright) and the CV mini-finder (crowded, foggs up easily), but prefer the CV 28.

 

[Dunn]

I see. The CV mini-finder is kind of crowded with the 35mm framelines. IMO, the best bang for the buck (and smaller than the Zeiss finder, too) is the CV 28mm finder. It's great. I've used the plastic Leitz finder (framelines are nice but not very bright) and the CV mini-finder (crowded, foggs up easily), but prefer the CV 28.

Yeah, I'm kind of leaning towards that too. Thanks for your input.

 

[sepiareverb]

The Ricoh GV-2 (from the GR-D2) is tiny and bright.

 

[presspass]

If you can afford it, the Zeiss is wonderful. Otherwise, the CV 28 is great. Haven't tried the mini-finder.