Universal viewfinders

[aad]

Hi- does anyone wish to give an opinion on Leica universal viewfinders?

Aaron

 

[taffer]

Old question with no answers... I have no first hand knowledge but let's bump this a bit and see if more info comes in the way...

 

[peter_n]

Well Aaron, I remember doing a fair amount of research and I ended up with a bashed up Leica VIDOM finder (so that I could look at scenes upside down) and an FSU turret universal. As I recall the Leica turrets were not that well though of. This was about two years ago.

 

[FPjohn]

Imarec

Imarec

Hello:

I have an imarec which I do not use - I find it squinty and bulky. Some do use them, or similar russian finders, happily. Instead I use a TEWE multifinder or a CV brightline specifically for 35mm. I can recommend the 90 and 135mm Leitz brightline finders if your are interested in those focal lengths.

yours
Frank

 

[jlw]

I don't think any of the Leica-brand universal finders are all that good. They have a very clear image, but they handle longer focal lengths by masking down the field of view, so that by the time you get to 90mm or smaller, you're looking at a very small image.

The VIDOM finder also has the disadvantage that the image is reversed (for horizontals) or inverted (for verticals) because of the lack of an erecting prism in the optical system. The later Imarect finder eliminated this problem, but the masking issue still remains.

I think most people would be happier with a turret finder, or a good zoom finder such as the Tewe.

 

[Stu W]

I own a turret finder, and it doesn't compare to the Tewe zoom finder.

 

[Jason_K]

Here's an article about accessory finders on Mr. Gandy's site:

http://www.cameraquest.com/leicafin.htm

I've got a Tewe 35-200 and like it quite a bit.

 

[aad]

Thanks for the help-I got a Russian turret finder not too long after the post. So far it works well, only use it for the 90.