Hey, has Voigtlander stopped making 28 & 35 viewfinders?

[Timmyjoe]

Was just looking at external viewfinders on B&H website and they no longer have the Voigtlander 28mm viewfinder listed at all, and the Voigtlander 35mm viewfinder is listed as Discontinued. Luckily I have one of each, but I'm really surprised they would stop making them, they're a really good product at a good price (compared to Leica & Zeiss).

Anybody know what the situation is here?

Best,
-Tim

 

[Deleted member 65559]

Was just looking at external viewfinders on B&H website and they no longer have the Voigtlander 28mm viewfinder listed at all, and the Voigtlander 35mm viewfinder is listed as Discontinued. Luckily I have one of each, but I'm really surprised they would stop making them, they're a really good product at a good price (compared to Leica & Zeiss).

Anybody know what the situation is here?

Best,
-Tim

Tim, Check out Cameraquest's site. https://cameraquest.com/voigtacc.htm You'll see that a large number of accessory viewfinders have been discontinued. I agree with you, they were a very good product for the price.

 

[Ko.Fe.]

... they were a very good product for the price

Better be for 299 USD. But I'm not sure I want it on my 260 USD Leica IIc. Must be perfect match for 1K USD M3 and 3K USD FLE.

 

[Deleted member 65559]

Better be for 299 USD. But I'm not sure I want it on my 260 USD Leica IIc. Must be perfect match for 1K USD M3 and 3K USD FLE.

KF... It costs more (with shipping) to do a CLA on your 260 USD Leica IIIc... so what's your point?

 

[Ko.Fe.]

KF... It costs more (with shipping) to do a CLA on your 260 USD Leica IIc... so what's your point?

You totally off the tracks on this one.

And so am I. It is not IIc, but IIIc from fifties. 🙂

My IIIC was purchased recently for 260 USD from known person on eBay. He was working for Leica for decades. Camera has full CLA, new curtain and half-mirror.

One person at my work send him his Leica LTM. 90 USD CLA and 10 USD for each curtain. Shipping was fifteen bucks one way.

So, my point is not all of us think what 299 USD is OK price for VF.

 

[Deleted member 65559]

...So, my point is not all of us think what 299 USD is OK price for VF.

If you haven't had one in your hands or used one, then you have no real basis to comment on the value/quality. So it's a typical Ko.Fe negative/ aggressive statement.

 

[Kai-san]

299 USD! 😱 I just bought a nice used 35-135 zoom viewfinder with parallax adjustment for 130 USD included shipping. For 299 USD you can get a used Leica viewfinder in excellent condition.

 

[CharlesDAMorgan]

As I remarked when looking for mine (in the end I settled on a Leica 35mm - just gorgeous) there are very few finders out there - for so many lenses. It's right up CV's street, they have done them all, yet no sign. It's all rather strange.

 

[raid]

I have a Leica 35mm finder that is still in the box from the 1960's. I hardly ever use 35mm finders. I can see the need for a 16mm or 21mm finder with very wide lenses.

 

[Deleted member 65559]

299 USD! 😱 I just bought a nice used 35-135 zoom viewfinder with parallax adjustment for 130 USD included shipping. For 299 USD you can get a used Leica viewfinder in excellent condition.

Kai-san, Comparing a used item with a new one is really apples and oranges. Also 35-135 finder is a bulky piece, compared with the single image finders.
If $299 USD gets you excited, here's an expensive Leitz finder.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Ultra-Rare...631057?hash=item48e612b551:g:SxAAAOSwMPxez4Bh

Ultra rare 2.8 SLOOZ black paint 😉

 

[Yokosuka Mike]

Per the Cosina "discontinued viewfinders" website page those viewfinders (and many more) are discontinued.

http://www.cosina.co.jp/seihin/voigtlander/archives/finder.pdf

Only 4 viewfinders are still in production.

http://www.cosina.co.jp/seihin/voigtlander/accessory/index.html

I hope this helps answer the OP's question.

All the best,
Mike

 

[Ko.Fe.]

K.F." So, my point is not all of us think what 299 USD is OK price for VF."

If you haven't had one in your hands or used one, then you have no real basis to comment on the value/quality. So it's a typical Ko.Fe negative/ aggressive statement.

Trashing honest opinion as negative/aggressive is bad behavior.

I have seen exactly same viewfinders priced for less than year ago. They were at low 200 USD and I was considering to get one. The one and only reason they are 299 now is because they are rare. It has nothing to do with quality, but value due to rarity. Same as 400 USD Bessas R series vent to 999 USD after production seized.

 

[Timmyjoe]

Ko.Fe., I bought my Voigtlander viewfinders a few years ago, but they weren't $299. I paid $209 for one and I think $199 for the other, both brand new. Maybe the prices had skyrocketed in the last year, I don't know.

Best,
-Tim

PS: I see you are referring to prices for the discontinued ones currently. I guess scarcity raises price. I do believe they are worth the $200 price range I paid. They are very well made and optically very bright and easy to view thru.

 

[Kai-san]

Kai-san, Comparing a used item with a new one is really apples and oranges. Also 35-135 finder is a bulky piece, compared with the single image finders.
If $299 USD gets you excited, here's an expensive Leitz finder.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Ultra-Rare...631057?hash=item48e612b551:g:SxAAAOSwMPxez4Bh

Ultra rare 2.8 SLOOZ black paint 😉

Thanks, but overpriced Leica equipment does not excite me at all. BTW I was not comparing anything, just stating that you can get much more versatile viewfinders for sensible prices.

 

[Archlich]

Might be a bit off topic but it came to me one day that like the Ricoh GV-1 which was obviously a plastic CV 21mm finder with 28mm frame lines added, the diminutive GV-2 possibly shares the long-discontinued CV 28/35 "small" finder's optics, just without the 35mm frame lines and in a different casing. Both are still available new.

Sigma also makes a variety of viewfinders for the DP cameras. Smaller plastic ones are cheap, but all are excellent quality-wise.

 

[css9450]

I still kick myself for not paying extra to get a 35mm viewfinder when I bought my SC Voigtlander 35mm lens shortly after I bought my Nikon S2. At the time, the version with the viewfinder included in the box wasn't much more expensive.... An extra $75 maybe. I could be using that VF on ALL my cameras today!

 

[Ko.Fe.]

Ko.Fe., I bought my Voigtlander viewfinders a few years ago, but they weren't $299. I paid $209 for one and I think $199 for the other, both brand new. Maybe the prices had skyrocketed in the last year, I don't know.

Best,
-Tim

PS: I see you are referring to prices for the discontinued ones currently. I guess scarcity raises price. I do believe they are worth the $200 price range I paid. They are very well made and optically very bright and easy to view thru.

28 and 35 CV VF were 209 USD for years since they became available in 2010, discontinued in 2016, still 209 USD in 2019.

All I was saying, I don't think I want 299 USD VF on 260 USD Leica IIIc camera (price I paid earlier this year and it includes CLA, new curtain and half-mirror) with Jupiter-12 on it, but it should be just fine on M3 with Summaron 35 2.8.
How aggressive/negative was it?

My 35mm with bright lines Oly XA VF is bright enough and whole frame is OK for 28 lens. It cost me well under 50 USD (crapped out XA) and couple hours to make it as VF.

 

[CameraQuest]

28 and 35 CV VF were 209 USD for years since they became available in 2010, discontinued in 2016, still 209 USD in 2019.

All I was saying, I don't think I want 299 USD VF on 260 USD Leica IIIc camera (price I paid earlier this year and it includes CLA, new curtain and half-mirror) with Jupiter-12 on it, but it should be just fine on M3 with Summaron 35 2.8.
How aggressive/negative was it?

My 35mm with bright lines Oly XA VF is bright enough and whole frame is OK for 28 lens. It cost me well under 50 USD (crapped out XA) and couple hours to make it as VF.

Don't worry about buying one at $299, they are sold out.

 

[css9450]

All I was saying, I don't think I want 299 USD VF on 260 USD Leica IIIc camera (price I paid earlier this year and it includes CLA, new curtain and half-mirror) with Jupiter-12 on it, but it should be just fine on M3 with Summaron 35 2.8.

What's the difference? Would the $299 VF be OK on the IIIc if you had paid $900 for it instead?

 

[peterm1]

I am fortunate enough to own one of their 75mm finders which came free with the Voigtlander 75mm f1.8 Heliar Classic when it first came out. I am even more pleased now that I know what Voiglander accessory finders cost. 🙂

To be honest I have mainly used it not with the Heliar as the Leica M I own is still the M8. So instead I use it (now and then) with 50mm lenses which have a similar field of view on cropped sensor cameras. It's nicely made and handsome.