reasonably priced viewfinders

[Ko.Fe.]

I'd really go the Olympus VF-1 route if you want 35mm.

Here is what I was able to find for m43 frame (VF-1) and so called 35 mm frame:

https://www.dpreview.com/forums/thread/4439409

It should works as M43 and 135 film format VF for 35mm (FOV) lens.

I got one for low price. Its brightlines are not always visible... But even 100 CAD SBOOI I have isn't showing them perfect from time to time.

 

[Malcolm M]

MW Classic are showing a VIOOH with original leather case for £59.

 

[raydm6]

MW Classic are showing a VIOOH with original leather case for £59.

May I ask how reputable they are? I am curious as I've seen a few items I would like to purchase from them but have no experience with them. Thanks.

 

[Malcolm M]

May I ask how reputable they are? I am curious as I've seen a few items I would like to purchase from them but have no experience with them. Thanks.

I bought a couple of small items once. They could have come in the post in a Jiffy bag, but they used a courier in something the size of a shoebox, which necessitated a trip to an industrial estate the other side of town. Apart from that, no probs.

 

[raydm6]

Thank you for the feedback. I may try them.

 

[agentlossing]

Here is what I was able to find for m43 frame (VF-1) and so called 35 mm frame:

https://www.dpreview.com/forums/thread/4439409

It should works as M43 and 135 film format VF for 35mm (FOV) lens.

I got one for low price. Its brightlines are not always visible... But even 100 CAD SBOOI I have isn't showing them perfect from time to time.

In practice, the top horizontal mark is always more of a suggestion with accessory viewfinders in my opinion. And I just compose "through" the vertical side framelines to get closer to 3:2 format. I don't use the VF-1 all the time because its size to brightness/magnification isn't great. But for the lower end of the prices you can get it for, there's little to complain about. I got mine as part of an Olympus E-P1 kit with the 17mm pancake lens, the VF-1 is the only part of that kit I still own, kind of wish I'd hung on to all of that.

 

[daveisbest]

The Voigtlander Kontur finders are the clearest viewfinders you can get, if you can make them work for you. Basically it's just white framelines on a black background, and you keep both eyes open while looking through it. The framelines and the view of the subject through your other eye are then combined by your brain, but it seems some people can't get it to work as it should. If you can get it to work, it's as good as looking at the subject with your naked eye. For 35mm format they have a standard version which shows framelines for a 50mm lens, and there's also a rarer version for 35mm lenses, which is marked as such.

 

[Glenn2]

I have several Kontur finders and they are certainly unique. Only drawback is you loose the binocular vision the SBOOI gives. The part with the frame lines is made from a thin plastic that could be a thick lithograph film. What this means it should be fairly easy to make replacements, especially ones for different focal lengths.

The frame lines are actually slightly barrel shaped, I assume to correct for pincushion distortion in the viewing lens.
I’ve been working on building a digital Kontur finder and have produced a working prototype. Because the frame lines will be software you can zoom them to a desired focal length and correct for parallax.
My original plan was to build something to go in a Nikon DSLR hot shoe. One of the pins available gives focal length and focus distance information. Never got that far as I needed a data sniffer to figure out what format the data was in. The Nikon flash units are able to zoom the flash as you zoom the lens using that data.

If anyone wants to see how a Kontur finder works there’s an easy way to see the effect. What you need is to cut a small piece of tape the size of the finder window and block it off. I’ve done this with a Fuji X100 and my M4.
I press my thumb on the sticky side a couple times so it’s not too sticky. If trying with an M also block the small range finder window for now. On an M don’t block the window that illuminates the frame lines.
When done look into the finder with your right eye while keeping the left open, you’ll see the frame lines floating in your field of view, but not the right size because the finder isn’t 1:1. 50mm lines become 69mm because of the .72 finder. (50/.72)=69.44 (35/.72)=48.61


I suspect someone clever at Fuji could figure out a way to keep the finder shutter closed and put up correctly sized frames giving X100 and XPros a pretty cool Kontur style finder. If anyone from Fuji uses my idea just leave the reward in the usual place..... ;-)

When I was working on the prototype I’d hoped to visit Tom in Vancouver to see what he thought of my idea. Unfortunately I got ill and we lost Tom so nothing happened.

Glenn

 

[Glenn2]

Also check out “classic camera profiles “ on the Camera Quest part of the site here. There’s a whole section on viewfinders including the Kontur.

 

[daveisbest]

I have several Kontur finders and they are certainly unique. Only drawback is you loose the binocular vision the SBOOI gives. The part with the frame lines is made from a thin plastic that could be a thick lithograph film. What this means it should be fairly easy to make replacements, especially ones for different focal lengths.

The frame lines are actually slightly barrel shaped, I assume to correct for pincushion distortion in the viewing lens.
I’ve been working on building a digital Kontur finder and have produced a working prototype. Because the frame lines will be software you can zoom them to a desired focal length and correct for parallax.
My original plan was to build something to go in a Nikon DSLR hot shoe. One of the pins available gives focal length and focus distance information. Never got that far as I needed a data sniffer to figure out what format the data was in. The Nikon flash units are able to zoom the flash as you zoom the lens using that data.


I suspect someone clever at Fuji could figure out a way to keep the finder shutter closed and put up correctly sized frames giving X100 and XPros a pretty cool Kontur style finder. If anyone from Fuji uses my idea just leave the reward in the usual place..... ;-)

When I was working on the prototype I’d hoped to visit Tom in Vancouver to see what he thought of my idea. Unfortunately I got ill and we lost Tom so nothing happened.

Glenn

Ah interesting, I'd love to see a digital implementation of the Kontur style viewfinder. Reveni Labs are planning to release a spot meter which uses the same principle.

 

[peterm1]

I thought people might be interested in seeing this collection of finders of mine. Back in the day (1990's) when I was using LTM cameras a lot I decided that I would like to start a collection of accessory finders. I was pleasantly surprised to see the range of designs available, some very cheap and some much more expensive. The photo below shows most of those I still own (a couple are missing - no doubt in a drawer somewhere or on a camera) and some were sold off when I needed money to invest in something else. Sorry about the crappy smart phone image but it was a quick and dirty way to make the shot.

 

[Coldkennels]

May I ask how reputable they are? I am curious as I've seen a few items I would like to purchase from them but have no experience with them. Thanks.

Just a heads-up: I tried buying a bunch of stuff from MW in the latter half of 2020 - a mixed bag of a viewfinder, Metraphot meter, and a booster cell for the meter. I waited months, chased them multiple times, had many emails saying "sorry, we'll get it out to you this week", and eventually had to raise a dispute with Paypal to get the money back.

Prior to this I'd bought many things from them both on the site and in person. This was the first time I'd had any problems with delivery, but the general rule of thumb is that condition and quality of the item is slightly lower than expected. It's generally better to go visit them in person if you get the chance - but obviously that's out the window right now!

 

[Antoine31]

Just received a beautiful older Voigtlander finder for my 28mm Hektor. Bought from Japan; much too much money but is very small with a great view.

 

[bluesun267]

This lack of choice in brightline finders--and 'exuberant' pricing of used ones--is a real thorn in my side.

There's a Japanese company called Fujishou that makes (or recently made) both a 35mm and 28mm plastic bodied bright line finder (and possibly others). Largish but fairly low profile. I came across one and bought it (the 35) but find it marginal at best, with not so bright framelines and a bit of distortion. I haven't seen another since.

Why oh why has Voigtlander so thoroughly abandoned us poor, wretched Barnack shooters?

 

[Godfrey]

I had one of the Leica Imarects when I had my IIIf, IIf, and IIc. It worked well, but the view at 90 or 135 mm was pretty tiny.

I prefer the modern Voigtländer bright line finders, single focal length. I have a set for 21 through 75mm on 2:3 proportion frames. I bought them years ago now, can't remember what they cost.

Recently bought a Kodak Retina IIc, and found the 35 and 85 mm lenses available in nice condition very inexpensively for it. So I hunted around and found a Kodak Multifinder for the IIc/IIIc available, cost me about $70. It's complete with offset accessory shoe mount and parallax correction, seemed quite a deal.

Like with all these things, hunting up what you want takes time and effort. And sometimes costs a bit more then expected. And sometimes, you get lucky and find a deal. 🙂

G

 

[bluesun267]

Those Kodak Retina finders are indeed nice, both in use and finish. But they will totally block the shutter speed dial on a Barnack.

 

[Godfrey]

Those Kodak Retina finders are indeed nice, both in use and finish. But they will totally block the shutter speed dial on a Barnack.

Definitely. It's been years since I had/touched a Barnack Leica... LOL!

G

 

[splitimageview]

It was designed to work with the three optical pieces removed from the various Sure Shot Owl models, which have 35mm lenses.

The Owl has the largest viewfinder of any P&S with a 35mm lens, making it an ideal donor for this purpose.

Here are the list of all the model names:

Sure Shot Owl - Prima af-7
Sure Shot Owl pf - Prima af-9/date
Sure Shot Owl/date - Prima af-8/date
Snappy lx / bf35 - Prima bf
Snappy lxII/date - Prima bf-8/date - BF35D
Snappy lx/date - Prima bf-7/date - BF35 QDN

I've since updated the manufacturing process which smooths the finish from the usual 3D-print look.

http://www.metro-case.com/grips/viewfinder

 

[Antoine31]

Just received a cheap plastic 28mm finder from China. $17.00 but total garbage.

 

[Coldkennels]

On a related note, I thought I'd lucked out and finally found the perfect 35mm viewfinder. I picked it up from the Post Office today, so I spent a while stripping it down and cleaning out about 80 years worth of dirt, fungus, and paint flakes, only to realise afterwards that something was a bit wrong:

Yep, the dealer had listed a 2.8cm Zeiss viewfinder as the 3.5cm one. I double checked the images he has on the site, and it's definitely this viewfinder. Still, it's lovely and clear now, and for £39, I can't complain. It'll probably replace the CV mini finder as my 28mm viewfinder on my Barnacks.

I guess this means that the hunt for a decent 35mm viewfinder without coughing up for a SBLOO continues; I've racked up a pretty good collection of viewfinders now, but I'm still not really happy with any of them for 35mm.