Correct. As you have noticed, it is a zoom viewfinderOriginally Posted by jamesw
Correct. As you have noticed, it is a zoom viewfinder
I bought a chinese made zoom finder from ebay.
http://cgi.ebay.com/Linhof-Technika-...3286.m20.l1116
It has a bit distorsion at wide angle but it works.
Oh yeah, and I'm gonna look the bees knees with that hangin' round my neck!Correct. As you have noticed, it is a zoom viewfinder
Thanks, I'll consider it if the cardboard method is not working out for me!
You obviously haven't joined us on a UKLFPG outing thenOh yeah, and I'm gonna look the bees knees with that hangin' round my neck!
Wow. Many seem to make it harder than it needs to be. Here are simple, and extensive, step-by-step instructions:
1. Start with any size card that's convenient, and any size square hole that matches the aspect ratio of the film: 4x5/8x10, 5x7, 24x36 for 35mm, 7x17, 20x24, square, etc. Smaller is actually easier. My 4x5 viewer hole is 1"x 1 1/4". The total size is about 3" round. My 35mm hole is actual 35mm film size (see previous post for use with proof sheets).
2. Set up the camera on a tripod with any lens, and focus it, framing identifiable landmarks at either side of the image. I like tree trunks because I have a lot of them handy. One on the right, one on the left.
3. Hold the viewer up above the camera at the plane of the ground glass or viewer eyepiece for baby cameras.
4. Close one eye and look through the hole in the viewer.
5. "Focus with your Face," meaning, move your face towards or away from the viewer until your eye sees the same view (landmarks at the edges) that the lens sees in the groundglass. Keep the viewer on the vertical plane of the gg - move your face, not the viewer.
If you're disturbed that the image on the GG is upside down, turn the card 180 degrees...:=)
6. When you've focused your face, extend the string to the cheekbone below your open eye and make it taut. Mark the string where it touches your face with a Sharpie. If your string is long enough, it can serve as a viewer necklace if you loop it and tie it.
If your hole is small enough, you can also pin the viewer between fingers and salute. So, f'rinstance, my 1"x1 1/4" hole, pinned between my pinkie and third finger, gives me a 210mm lens on a 4x5 camera when I salute and look thru the viewer. Between index and middle fingers gives me 120mm, and between middle and third gives me my 355mm on Alice, my 8x10 camera. Close enough for photography.
Total elapsed time: about two minutes if you're clumsy the first time. Subsequent lenses will take less time.
7. Repeat with other lenses.
This exercise, illustrated, is in my ebook "Finely Focused."
Joanna, I didn't know we "stole" it from the British. I distinctly remember stealing it from Ansel's book over twenty years ago. Maybe he stole it from over the Big Pond. I'll let you ask him.
The real fun is taking your viewer everywhere, and just looking at the world. That argues for a smaller card and hole (a smaller one looks less dorky - maybe use black mat board? My black plastic Picker Medallion lives inside my shirt until needed), but smaller still works fine, and is easier to make and calibrate in some ways.
The taking it everywhere is the "View from the Couch" exercise written in the already-mentioned-where. It gives you the opportunity to explore and practice finding pictures and new composition ideas anytime, anywhere, film-and-equipment-and-cost free. If you find something really good, many times you can plan to come back. But I find it's great fun, and great practice. One need not stick to claibrated distances, either - break your own rules, and see what inspires you.
Bruce Barlow
author of "Finely Focused" and "Exercises in Photographic Composition"
www.brucewbarlow.com
Hmmm, and I thought I had problems when the image on the GG started to appear the right way up ;-)
Now, that sounds like self-portraiture gone wrong :-)
Ah well, it's obvious AA must have "acquired" the technique from a Brit, just like the US seems to have "acquired" so much technology <gd&r>
Heh, clearly different people consider different things "simple".
i made a couple using Bruce's method. my only problem was when i rotated the finder 180 degrees around a vertical axis the image was still inverted!
I use the cardboard viewer method. Here is how I made mine. Now I do not leave home without it, and if I do, I turn back to get it. Total cost less than 5 dollars. I made this for a 4x5 camera but you could probably use it for 8x10 as well.
I went to a store and bought a black vinyl 3 ring binder. They are made for that looseleaf notebook paper with the three holes. They cost about a dollar. You separate the two sides and throw out the three ring binder part in the middle. You only need one of these 8x11inch sides but it is nice to have two in case you make a mistake in the procedure.
Next step is to get one of your throw away negs or slides. Center it on the notebook cover then trace it. I use a 4x5 so I trace that negative size, but I am sure you could make a 5x7 cut out or even try 8x10 if you use one of those formats instead.
For the hole you cut through the vinyl, then a piece of cardboard, the last cut will be the back side of vinyl. Please be careful cutting the hole.
After I made these cuts I took a good quality black electrical tape. I cut a piece of electrical tape to cover both the exposed vinyl sides and the cardboard of the hole I just cut. You don't have to be precise with cutting the binder as the tape covers the rough sides of the vinyl and cardboard very well. Use black tape and a black notebook so they match. I then covered the hole and a little bit of each of the sides with the black tape. I actually superglued the tape to the vinyl of the notebook binder material so it would not come off and it never has.
That is really it for the viewer. You just have to be careful cutting, but the material is easy to cut through.
I added a few extras that I think really make this viewer worthwhile. First I added a string for each of my three lenses. Some people use one string with knots for multiple lenses.
Most people are familiar with this string idea but for people who are not, If you own a 150mm lens on 4x5 camera you need a 6 inch long piece of string attached to your viewer. Look through the viewer that distance from the hole and you have the approximate view of the scene as your camera will record it with the 150 mm lens.
I recently purchased a 300mm lens, so I added a 12inch piece of string and a 90mm lens so I added a 3inch piece of string. For my viewer I put two tiny holes through the vinyl for each piece. I then put the piece of string through, I put a knot in the end and superglued the knot to the binder.
The way I did this was after I glued it in, I wrap the string around one side of the binder then cut the string to length using a ruler, this is so my viewing side was kept nice and clean with no visible glue or holes showing. So the length of the 6 inch string for example will be a few inches longer than 6 inches as it will wrap around the messy viewer's back side.
I suppose for an 8x10 camera you could make a 4x5 inch hole for your binder I guess you would just need to change the length of the string.
The last thing I did was I took one of those little luggage chain clasp thingies, put a small hole in the far corner of the viewer, glued this in and I use this to attach the viewer to my tripod bag, if I don't feel like carrying it.
The viewer is very durable. I have banged it around, fished it out of rivers, snow banks, etc. It is over 5 years old now, showing a little age but I could make another one in less than an hour if I ever need to. I think you will find this viewer to be cheaper lighter, more rugged, and the view will have a faster fstop than anything Nikon, Leica or Linhof could make!
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