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View Full Version : Making masks for Crown Graphic viewfinder.



Paul Kierstead
1-Sep-2009, 10:30
I use my crown with a few "other" backs, notably polaroid pack-film back and roll-film back. I'd love to have a viewfinder mask that worked for these, but haven't figured out a procedure for making one yet that isn't based on trial and error (with the GG) and extremely time consuming.

Has anyone worked out a clever way to do this?

Oh, and a way to hold them....

pablo batt
1-Sep-2009, 12:05
i have made panoramic masks and 3.5" x 3.5" masks, 210mm lens masks

i used thin laminated cardboard and used masking tape to mock up the mask using the ground glass

once the tape was in the correct position over the viewfinder i then transferred this to the card and cut them out, 30 min at most

30473

Paul Kierstead
1-Sep-2009, 12:11
Ah, pablo (my name!), see, that is kinda obvious yet I didn't think of it. Thanks for the suggestion!

Vick Vickery
1-Sep-2009, 12:18
Very easy! Like Pablo, I look thru the ground glass, use black tape to mask the viewfinder, then make a slip-in mask out of thick black paper (plastic of some kind would be stronger). You can use this method to make masks for different formats or for different lenses, or a combination of the two.

Paul Kierstead
1-Sep-2009, 12:46
I'm willing to bet I have yet another brain-block here, but how are you transferring the masked viewfinder image to a piece of cardboard easily?

And how is it that I can solve enormously complex problems but can't get my brain to come up with a single creative solution to this?

pablo batt
1-Sep-2009, 16:35
stick the tape from the viewfinder to the card and cut out with a craft knife, then cut it to size for the slot in the viewfinder

its worth rechecking on the ground glass, and make minor adjustments if needed

30476

Paul Kierstead
1-Sep-2009, 18:29
Ah, yes, of course the tape will stay together (assuming you have overlapped the tape, which is certainly the easiest....).

Thank you!