The ‘perfect’ Ricoh GR optical finder.

[dreamsandart]

The ‘perfect’ Ricoh GR optical finder.

The one thing missing on the wonderful GR is a built-in finder. But after playing with my Voigtlander mini 28/35 the other day I realized how useful this finder can be. For those of you with a GR and haven’t tried, have a look.

Of course the 28mm frames work well at 4:3, and the 35mm frames if you use a cropped mode. But I use the cropped ratio options and wide option lens often and this finder offers work arounds.

In 1:1 ratio use the inside 35mm frames and the 28mm top and bottom.

In 3:2 ration use the top close focus frame line and the (normal) others sides and bottom.

With the wide angle option lens use the whole finder out to the edges, or in 1:1 ratio (one of my favorite with this lens) use the top and bottom outer extreme and the 28mm frame lines for the sides. The only disadvantage here is the bottom part of the view is mostly lens.

 

[dreamsandart]

Oh and I didn't mention the Voigtlander's all-metal black paint on brass construction, and very compact size 😀 but probably like many I've lost that rubber protection ring on the rear 🙁

 

[paapoopa]

i agree with you,
and I though I am the only one who is using this combination, it doesnt makes a lot of sense only because the finder itself could cost almost the price of the camera.
I use to shoot a lot using this mini finder on the GR and turning off the lcd behind... its a joy to use, and still pretty much pocketable with the finder on.