Viewfinder for shooting LF and ULF

[Greg]

Back in the 1970s started to shoot LF (8x10) with a 12" Wollensak Velostigmat. Since I only owned and used one lens, in little time was able to previsualize the view it would give me. But then fast forward to the present time... now I shoot with 4 formats: 4x5, Whole Plate, 8x10, and 11x14, and certainly not with just one lens. Previsualizing just became a lot more harder and challenging to do.

Broke down and bought a slightly used (last generation?) Linhof viewfinder. With its 4x5 mask, works great for 4x5. Also works for 8x10 if I just interpolate the focal lengths. But then started to shoot Whole Plate and 11x14. By far most of my images are horizontal, so concentrated more on the horizontal coverage of my lenses. Took out my Whole Plate and 11x14, mounted each of the lenses that I use for these systems, focused on a distant image, and then labeled my viewfinder with the horizontal coverages of my lenses. For convenience sake, easily adapted part of a Hasselblad handle to the bottom of the viewfinder. Images attached.

Now when hiking, I always take the viewfinder with me, and should I come across a scene that I would like to capture with LF or ULF, determine which lens to use when I would return to the same spot.

2 things I learned: 1. Use a really good adhesive to attach the labels. I initially used thin double sided adhesive tape. The labels easily became undone and fell off. 2. Photograph the back of the viewfinder with the labels attached, lest you have to redetermine their locations by hauling your equipment out for a second time.

[Pfsor]

Why don't you use a simple viewing frame? You can find every FL of a lens for whatever film format you want and very precisely so. Not to mention other advantages of this simple and precise solution.

[Jeff Donald]

I use Mark II Artist’s Viewfinder for my iPhone. Custom focal lengths and any format can be setup in the app. Rated 4.6 out of 5 stars

[Kiwi7475]

Same here. The Viewfinder Mark II app is perfect for this purpose. You can also visualize in B&W or color, and even record a copy with your phone for future reference. And since I need to bring my phone anyway, I don’t need to carry another device!!


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[6x6TLL]

I use Mark II Artist’s Viewfinder for my iPhone. Custom focal lengths and any format can be setup in the app. Rated 4.6 out of 5 stars

Pretty pricey at $30 just for a viewing app.

I recently bought Photo Pills and discovered it has the same feature built into it's AR module, and will allow you to choose any focal length and format to overlay a viewing frame over the camera view.

In most cases I still just use a simple cardboard cutout 4x5 frame with a string to find the right view and focal length. Cheap and effective, and is easily convertible to 8x10.