Kiev 4 -parallax problem!

[PetarDima]

Hello, RFF friends!
I have one big problem ... after comparing Kiev to Bessa i find out that Kiev have quiter shutter( most of you, lucky ones to have Kiev and Bessa, told me that).I have noticed that I have about 25% more on photo, on right side, In other word if I shoot somethig what is in the middle of viewfinder it will be a little on left... I thought that paralax '' steals from photo from both sides... Can you help me? Thank's!

 

[rxmd]

Hi Petar,

this is normal with the Kiev because of the comparatively wide distance between the optical axes of the viewfinder and the lens. The offset will be larger when this distance is large, and it will go in the same direction as the distance. This means that if you look through the built-in viewfinder of a Kiev, where the viewfinder is on the far top left, there will be an offset both in vertical and horizontal directions. On a TLR there will be only a vertical offset.

Then again, if you use anything other than a 50mm lens on a Kiev you have to use an external finder, which only has vertical offset because the finder is directly above the lens. Some finders have compensation for parallax by tilting the finder a little, depending on the distance to the target. This is not really helpful in most cases because it takes a lot of time to focus, then take the camera from the eye, adjust the viewfinder parallax compensation manually, and then take the picture. During this time a moving subject might have moved out of focus.

All of this really only matters at shorter distances. At longer distances parallax isn't a big problem.

Philipp

 

[wyk_penguin]

Get used to it and frame your shots a bit loose. For parallax free joy shooting, go SLR. Not even moving brightlines will help you because there is the omnipresent problem of viewing angle (i.e. if you aren't behind the lens, you can't see what the lens sees).

 

[#FT2_8*fffg.]

Almost all SLR's are still lousy with their accuracy, due to that their finders only cover around 91% of the area that you'll see on film. It's a reverse problem to non-parralax rangefinders, where a bit gets cut off. I hate having that extra area when I meant to have a tight crop. It makes for printing problems later.

Only a few SLR's, like the Nikon F series and Canon F1, have true 1:1 viewfinders where you will see exactly what you get.

 

[wyk_penguin]

Nothing is perfect. Such is life.

p.s. Haul out the honkin' big view camera.

 

[PetarDima]

Thank you RFF friends ... It sounds silly, but rangefinder concept is the reason why I am on RFF... Of course, I have an old Mamiya Sekor 500 DTL( about 20 - 25 years old). That beautifull camera my father bought from someone who was in U.States... Yes, it's perfect, but few months ago I found used Kiev 4 camera( only 25 Euros ) and now nothing can be the same.It is a little smaller, it's quiet( much, much more) and I can( it's not 100% succesfull) shoot on 1/10 exposure at night, from hand. Some people here told me that even Bessas( which are my favourites) are louder than Kiev... Only problem for me, at this moment, is parallax... I can't find some examples - what I see in viewfinder and what is left on photo( on same picture).If I win one day some prize on photo-contest, or something like that - I will buy Zeiss , but till that time I will hold my old Kiev 4. Regards!(Sorry, I hope that you'll forgive me for my english).

 

[Xmas]

Petar
Can you confirm that photos at a distance greater then 10m are not offset to the right? The reason for the query is that there is an intermediate pair of lenses in the viewfinger path which might be decentered, and might produce a fixed offset to the left or right, a missing screw might allow this. I'd have to lift the top plate of my camera to find out if this could occur, I dont think it is possible.
If you remove the back and open the shuttedr on B and lock the shutter open by rotating the shutter button dot. Placing grease paper (for cooking) or similar translucent media, over the film plane, will allow you to confirm if the image on the grease papar at distance is similar to the viewfinder image. The paper image should include more than the viewfinder image.
Noel

 

[ruben]

Thank you! You think '' always left extra space on image in viewfinder''? I take shots on street - with 50mm lenses ... sometimes it 's hard to '' recompose '', when I must work quickly... it's matter of exercise...

Perhaps this may help:

http://www.fortunecity.com/marina/marine/569/rusrngfdrs/focusing.html

Cheers,
Ruben

 

[steamer]

Hi Petar
The photo you saw in my gallery was taken with my Contax II with a contameter, which comprises a series of slip-on lenses and a viewfinder that lets you take photos at 50cm, 30cm and 20cm. The viewfinder fits on the shoe and is slanted down, giving a fair idea of what shows up on the film, but it seems to shoot a little high. So far I've only taken a few shots but I like the results. I'll have to try it on my Kiev some time. Sorry but this is not much help for your parallax problem.
Cheers
Steve