anyone using a Linhof Reflex Finder these days?

[Arne Norris]

Before I spend the money on a new, relatively expensive dark cloth, I thought I should investigate other possibilities.

Anyone using a Linhof Right Angle Reflex finder on their Technika?

How bright is the image, how well can you see the edges of the glass and how easy is it to focus?

Anyone using the focus/metering bellows? I understand there were two versions of this part from Linhof, with the newer version having a 2/4x loupe option.

[ic-racer]

I saw a photo of Shelby Lee Adams at work and he had a reflex viewer on the back. When I saw the picture it seemed like a no-brainer, in that he would not have to hid under the dark cloth and could stay interactive with his subjects.

[Nathan Potter]

I've used an older reflex finder from Linhof (vintage 1965) for years. Mostly for macro work and for ease of getting my head in a comfortable position. Works great in a subdued light room but in the field it still requires a darkcloth and is somewhat awkward to use. It's heavy - built like a tank - but I don't know about recent versions.

Another factor with my unit is the folding shade does not allow critical examination of the ground screen with a conventional loupe. I had to make a long focal length focusing telescope to view the screen with the shade open. I use it with a Linhof screen frosted everywhere except in the center which is clear with a black engraved cross where I view the aerial image for very critical focusing applications.

I dunno. Probably not a big advantage except for positional convenience.

Nate Potter, Austin TX.

[Capocheny]

Like Nathan, I used a reflex finder on a Master Technika. I also had the binocular finder for the Sinar.

In both cases, personally speaking, I felt there was always extraneous light getting in and causing reflections, which made it difficult to focus on the ground glass. Consequently, I sold them off.

However, on the MT... I did try out a leather focusing bellows. It's major advantage (IMHO) was that it allowed you to look into the corners because of its flexibility. But, again, I found myself cupping around the viewing window in order to keep the light from falling on it. So, off it went too!

I did, however, just purchase an equivalent version for the AS. It seems to be a good combination between a rigid focusing hood and the flexible, leather version. Like the Sinar version... it's also a binocular model. I'm hoping this will work better than the two from the other manufacturers.

Hope this helps...

Cheers


PS: Arne... aren't you a big Leica user from years back? Or, is there another Arne Norris - photographer - out there running around? :)

Also, in response to your other posting about the dark cloth.. I use a version from Calumet that I quite like. It's black on the one side and brilliant white on the other. Using a material with a bit of body/texture to it will prevent the cloth from sliding all over the place when you're underneath it.The ebony versions seems to be the greatest dark cloth since sliced bread but it's worth 2 arms and 1 leg! :)

Good luck on making your decision... I'm sure it won't be an easy one!

[cjbroadbent]

Had the Linhof one, but used it only a couple of times because I could not see the edges with my 135mm - nor could I focus. I gave it to a friend and he didn't use it either.
Though it could be very useful with a sliding back and a long lens.

[Peter K]

If used with a ground-glass equipped with a fresnel-lens, the reflex finder is usefull for macro-work etc. But if the ground-glass is on eye-level, a viewing-bellows or a dark-cloth is much more convenient.