Show Me Your Gizmos

[fraley]

Okay, show me your gizmos & gadgets, worthless or oh-so-useful 😛 The only requirement is that when you show it proudly to your family & friends, they have to give you a pitying look which says "you poor deluded soul!" Here are my latest ---

First, a bubble level to keep me on an even keel

Next, a unique viewfinder which merely backlights a brightline frame. Keep both eyes open and the frame is super-imposed on the view. Sounds goofy but it works, and it's handy for eyeglass wearers because you easily see the entire frame.

 

[back alley]

i have no gizmos

i am an artist!


man, i just kill myself
rotflmao

joe

 

[chug]

I just got a nice Gossen lightmeter yesterday for my TLRs and other non lightmeter cameras 🙂 The level looks really nice on the Olive R2 🙂

 

[Russ]

Okay, show me your gizmos & gadgets, worthless or oh-so-useful 😛 The only requirement is that when you show it proudly to your family & friends, they have to give you a pitying look which says "you poor deluded child!" Here are my latest ---

.

"Oh you poor deluded adult"

 

[peter_n]

I have a tiny 1cmx1cm waist-level finder made by Zeiss. Useful for all kinds of sneaky shots, it also rotates 90° to the left and right. 🙂

 

[jorisbens]

The Kontur wiewfinder is available for 35mm and 50mm lenses, but how can you see the difference between 35 and 50mm? I wonna know because i would like a nice 50mm finder for my fed-2 and this seems to be one of the few (non zoom finders) that seem to fit a fed-2.

Joris

 

[bmattock]

Zeiss Ikon Mattscheiben-Rahmen 540/11 Focussing Aid. It is a super-small ground-glass in a metal frame that fits into the film plane of a 35mm rangefinder camera, taking the place of the film.

What do you use it for? You open the camera back, insert the GG, and adjust the RF, using the image on the GG to focus. You kinda have to use it outdoors and on a tripod, and it doesn't fully fit into the film plane of every rangefinder (more Zeiss/Ikons, of course) but when it works, it is fantastic!

Best Regards,

Bill Mattocks

 

[Pherdinand]

Well, i can't SHOW it but i can describe it...
I have a special gizmo i made for my autofocus minolta SLR. It's a cable release. When i went to the shop to buy one and found out that they cos t 40 euro, i got really pissed, so i made one myself. Works perfectly. It's a long wire with a double-switch on one end and a plug on the other end. Looks very amateur 😀
I also have a dismantled compur shutter which i occasionally fire. I cleaned it and now it's waiting to be incorporated in...something. Just as the tessar 105/4.5that came with it.

What other gismos? Not much at the moment...

 

[fraley]

The Kontur wiewfinder is available for 35mm and 50mm lenses, but how can you see the difference between 35 and 50mm? I wonna know because i would like a nice 50mm finder for my fed-2 and this seems to be one of the few (non zoom finders) that seem to fit a fed-2.

Joris

Hi Joris,

THe Kontur I have is a 50mm view. There are two lenses in it. I suppose the lens elements are different for the 35mm version?

 

[T_om]

Okay, show me your gizmos & gadgets, worthless or oh-so-useful 😛 .

OK. Great. Now I've got that old Peter, Paul & Mary song "The Marvelous Toy" running through my head and it WON'T go away...

"It went zip when it moved and pop when it stopped,
Whirrr when it stood still
I never knew just what it was and I guess I never will."


Thanks. Thanks a bunch... 🙄

Tom

 

[mac_wt]

I have this tiny lightmeter. The leather case has 'Capital' and 'Japan' on it. That's all I know. I figured out how it works (mostly) and it seems accurate, but I haven't used it much since I got it.

Wim

 

[Heath]

I have 4 accessory rangefinders that turn viewfinder/zone focus cameras into non coupled rangefinders. Three are fully opperational and the fourth is dead. They are:

1) Hanimex (perfect condition)
2) Sagameter (perfect condition)
3) Pollux (leatherette is lifting but otherwise in very good condition)
4)Major J L (dead)

They are accurate. I have tested them beside 3 different rangefinders and they all rad the same distances when focused on the same object.

I use them with my Zeiss Ikon Contina and my Kodak Retinette.

Heath

 

[peter_n]

I have another little gizmo that users of Industar-22 50mm/f3.5 and Leitz Elmar 5cm/f3.5 lenses might be interested in. Its a ring with open teeth that engages that little recessed aperture knob that's such a pain on these lenses.

I've attached a composite photo below showing it with my Elmar 5cm/f3.5. In the top section, the ring (Leica part nr: VOOLA) is below the lens sitting on my desk. To the left of the ring is a Leica 36/39mm filter adapter (part nr: SOOGZ). You place the VOOLA inside the back of the SOOGZ and align the teeth over the lens aperture knob, then push the SOOGZ onto the lens and tighten the retaining screw. The lower left section of the photo shows the VOOLA and SOOGZ on the Elmar (this also works perfectly on an Industar-22). The lower right section shows the whole kit on the camera together with a filter and a Leica hood nr. 12550.

This little rig fixes two problems for me: the light yellow (1/2 stop) B+W filter adds a little contrast to this marvy little lens and protects the front element, and the VOOLA ring means that I can easily change the aperture on the lens by loosening the retaining screw on the SOOGZ, rotating it, then tightening the retaining screw again. 🙂

 

[agp]

Yes, I know this isn't really a gizmo, but a microwave is the best device in istory for getting chemicals up to temperature for colour developing- it works really well with the concertina bottles. I wouldn't put a dev tank in it, of course!

However did I manage in the old days with nothing but slow hot water to raise temperatures?

 

[peter_n]

Welcome to the forum agp! 🙂 I use a toaster oven for drying filters after I've given them a good wash with Dawn liquid! 😉 😱