SWC finders

[emraphoto]

hi folks, curious... is there a substantial difference in the later model SWC finders versus the early models?

not entirely displeased with the early model finder but after using some of the CV and Zeiss finders i have become a bit spoilt!

as well, does anyone know if the 'mask' for the finder, for 645 back, is designed to fit over the early finder or later model?

wondering if it is worth replacing my early model finder with a newer version.

cheers and thank you for your input!

 

[MikeL]

Hi John,
I found the later plastic finder easier to use with the bubble, if that means anything. I did not have a chance to compare framing accuracy between the metal and plastic finder.

The best finder for framing and the view is the hard-to-find Voigtlander one. Really accurate framing, and worth it if you use the swc a lot. I use it with the SWC/M that has a bubble in the body for those times I want it level.

I have a newer finder gathering dust. If you want to borrow it, send me a pm.

Edit:
I remembered someone asked about the finders 2 years ago. I found two images, one through the newer finder and one through the Voigtlander. The view through the newer one is a little different since your eye can get closer (and the bottom magnifying lens allows you to see the focus and aperture settings), but the view might give you something to compare with your finder.

Plastic Hasselblad finder:

Voigtlander one:

 

[t.s.k.]

Holy smokes. I never knew the voigtlander finder was that much nicer.
This is the 90 degree finder, right?

 

[MikeL]

Hi Tony,
Yes, it is the 90 degree finder specific to the SWC (square) with the 15mm end. Once you are a few feet away, what you see in the finder is exactly what you get, which is nice. The dashes that denoted the 645 frame also help with centering objects.

 

[emraphoto]

wow, those pics are awesome, than.

in the original finder there are no 'frame lines' and it appears there are in the newer version. am i to assume the first finder is the whole of what is seen? give or take of course

Mike - great offer. ket me chew on it for a day or so. right about now i am considering going on the hunt for the vc version (645 frame lines/digital back🙂)

 

[fbf]

CV finder is the best but they fetch for premium and very hard to find one nowadays. I believe the last one I saw on ebay sold for $1000... (normally $400-$500 if im not mistaken).

 

[Tim Gray]

The CV finder does offer a beautiful view, but I found that for handheld work, it sometimes forced an awkward posture: head hunched over, etc.

 

[Pirate]

Any links to that CV finder so I can see what exactly it is?

 

[fbf]

http://www.cameraquest.com/frames/4saleSWC.htm

 

[Pirate]

this one was $1000 on ebay??

http://www.adorama.com/VTVFA.html

 

[fbf]

Not the same finder

 

[bigeye]

makes you wonder how different the 21mm might be, though...?

.

 

[Tim Gray]

As far as I can tell, the difference between the SWC and non-SWC CV angle finders is the crop. Also, since the whole SWC - 21 mm equivalence thing is based on the diagonal field of view (I think), if you were going to mask off a 35 mm format finder, I think you'd want one with the same vertical field of view. In other words, masking off the 15mm angle finder for 35mm format might save you a couple hundred bucks. Of course, you wouldn't get the 645 crop markings. It's also unclear to me how well masking one of those fingers would actually work.

 

[bigeye]

It seems like it would be a simple disassembly and re-masking job? The SWC VFs go for around $1000 on ebay and it looks like you're getting a $169 VF with a different mask.

I've learned to just tolerate the old VFs distortion. It just gives you a rough idea of where things are going, but at that FOV (and like the scale focus), it doesn't matter that much. It would be nice ($169) to see some straight lines, but it's not necessary ($1000).

- Charlie

 

[Tim Gray]

Yeah you are probably right. I don't know though since I've never played with the regular angle finder. I will point out that the finder linked above doesn't have any attachments, so you'd have to buy that too.