Optical viewfinder with adjustable magnification

[Lucadomi]

Out of curiosity, would it be possible to achieve an optical viewfinder, for a rangefinder camera, where the magnification can be adjusted depending on the lens that you want to use?
It is just a thought, but why do we have to use a camera for wides, one for normal and one for long lenses?
Open for discussion.
Thanks

Luca

 

[ForestCap]

I think Contax G series cameras have that.

Also there are multi-focal viewfinders, see Multi-Finders on
https://www.cameraquest.com/leicafin.htm

I guess the reason why they are not a norm is that they are much more expensive to manufacture, and the extra bulkiness kills the compactness which many rangefinder shooters value.

 

[Lucadomi]

True about the Contax G, however it not a real RF in the classical meaning of the term. I remember some old Canon rangefinders having this kind of feature, but I don't know how successful they were.

 

[splitimageview]

Yes. It's definitely possible. 🙂

 

[Lucadomi]

The Fuji X-E 2 I think also has a similar feature, althoug it does not focus like Leica. Is this something that Leica ever considered?

 

[Lucadomi]

 

[splitimageview]

The Fuji X-E 2 I think also has a similar feature, althoug it does not focus like Leica. Is this something that Leica ever considered?

The X-E2 uses an EVF, not an optical viewfinder.

 

[ForestCap]

True about the Contax G, however it not a real RF in the classical meaning of the term. I remember some old Canon rangefinders having this kind of feature, but I don't know how successful they were.

Yes, most of the Canon V, VI series cameras have a 35mm-50mm-Zoomed triple focal viewfinder. I have a Canon L2 (V series), and I wrote about it in this post:https://www.rangefinderforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=155715

In shorter words, I like it.

Viewfinder/Rangefinder:
As one of the biggest features of Canon V and VI series rangefinder cameras (except Canon P), the viewfinder has three selectable modes/field of view: "50", "35" and "RF"(for critical focusing). You can turn a cogwheel - namely "Viewfinder Selector" - near the eyepiece to select the one you want manually.

The magnification of viewfinder is x0.72 for 50mm, x0.4 for 35mm and x1.4 for RF. The view of RF mode is oval-shaped, so you can't really use it as a 135mm FOV for framing as some online posts suggested.

Unlike Canon VI series cameras, none of the viewfinder modes on L2 have bright frame-line nor parallel correction. Talking about actual using of viewfinders, I actually prefer good "peephole" type to bright-line type with too many cuts/gaps in between, and I must say L2's "peephole" is really good. I'm an eye-glass wearer and prefer shooting with glasses on. The eye point of L2's viewfinder is long enough for me too see the whole frame, especially the 35mm, thanks to the low magnification. I don't mind soft edges of the frame and I will definitely use this camera more due to the nice viewfinder. Currently it has the best peephole type viewfinder I've used. The next to best I've seen is the one on Zorki-6.

And, don't worry about scratching your eye-glass with the viewfinder selector cogwheel, which you might have read somewhere online: the viewfinder eyepiece protrudes a bit, so your glasses are very unlikely to touch the cogwheel.

When cleaning under the top plate of my L2, I had a look at the multi-focal finder. It's a very smart way to fit in 3 prisms tightly on a little spinning frame, in that limited space. It has the typical cunningness of Canon in it!(pre-DSLR age).

 

[Sarcophilus Harrisii]

The ALPA 7 & 8 series have an adjustable rangefinder/viewfinder with three variable magnifications up to 135mm focal length.

 

[Lucadomi]

That's very interesting. Yes, the Canon IV solution seems very smart to me, and an upgraded improved version could be still interesting today.
I did not know about the Alpa.
Very interesting, thanks.

 

[presspass]

Even the Canon IVSB2 has a viewfinder with three magnifications - 50, 100, and 135.

 

[Lucadomi]

Ideally, I will need a 0.6 for 28mm, 0.72 for 35 and 1:1 or close for 50 and up. The fact that I have to buy 3 different cameras makes this very expensive and inefficient.

 

[splitimageview]

Use a Nikon SP (focusing and >50mm is 1x; 28/35 is 0.4x)

Or use a Konica Hexar RF (0.6x) for 28/35 and an SBOOI aux viewfinder for 1:1 for 50mm.

 

[Lucadomi]

Never thought about the sbooi on the
Hexar. That could be a possible compromise.
The SP looks like a great camera, but 0.4 mag is really not much.

 

[ForestCap]

If you dont wear eye-glass, you can use your R2's full frame as 28mm.

If you find the framelines of other FL disrupting, simply stick the illumination window with a sticker.😎

 

[Lucadomi]

That is a great tip. Thank you so much nukecoke!

 

[Corran]

The SP looks like a great camera, but 0.4 mag is really not much.

It's 1:1 mag for 50-135, the .4 is for the 28/35 frames.

IMO the SP has the absolute best viewfinder of any RF...including my Leica M6 .85x. Some people get hung up on the Nikon's soft-edge RF patch, compared to the Leica's hard-edge rectangle. Personally I like the Nikon because it blends in better when focused.