Reading mode: Light Dark

Lost my viewfinder

Go to last post
osloray

osloray

Veteran Member
Messages
4,841
Reaction score
210
Location
Oslo, NO
I was at Akershus Castle in Oslo, Norway, yesterday to photograph the airshow over the city.

Having "climbed up all the step to the top to get a better view, I put my eye to the viewfinder, only it was not there any more.

I do not use my E-PL2 without the VF 2. So I went home. No images. No I just wonder if my insurance company will help me...

The viewfinder should have some fastening mechanism. The question now is to wait what new cameras Olympus will come up with this fall. The rumors say no Pen with a built-in VF. However, 4/3 rumors are talking about a new type of viewfinder today!
--
Raymond
http://www.blurb.com/bookstore/detail/1244032#author-bookshelf (my books)
http://osloray.wordpress.com/ (Image blog)
http://www.bildebank.com
 
What an awful feeling....

On my XZ-1 I used one of those sticky lens cap holders stuck on the side of the viewfinder.

Also placed a square piece of black tape under the viewfinder to tighten the fit.
 
zabatman said:
What an awful feeling....

On my XZ-1 I used one of those sticky lens cap holders stuck on the side of the viewfinder.

Also placed a square piece of black tape under the viewfinder to tighten the fit.
Click to expand...
Olympus has admitted the inadequacy of the VF without a lock by including a lock in the other things it has done -- the VF3 and the stupid little accessory flash. Why haven’t they brought out a replacement VF2 with lock? I don’t know. They should have done so long ago.

I switched from the VF3 to the VF2 for the superior view on my E-PL3. Like zabatman I added a sticky lens cap holder and tied it to the left hand strap lug (which is not in use; I have the camera on a sling using the right hand (as seen from the rear) lug). Even this is not fool proof, however, the other day I found the little clasp on that had come half undone.

When I want to use flash I slide the VF2 out and just let it hang. Messy. I attach a ClearViewer magnifying VF accessory so I can actually see something in the LCD.

Blast Olympus.

Cheers, geoff
--
Geoffrey Heard
http://pngtimetraveller.blogspot.com/2011/10/return-to-karai-komana_31.html
 
Mine came loose all the time and I lost it several times. Lucky for me, I found it before it was crushed by a car. I still have it - I turned my epl2 into IR, but plan to glue that thing one with some kind of sticky.
 
Hen3ry said:
zabatman said:
What an awful feeling....

On my XZ-1 I used one of those sticky lens cap holders stuck on the side of the viewfinder.

Also placed a square piece of black tape under the viewfinder to tighten the fit.
Click to expand...
Olympus has admitted the inadequacy of the VF without a lock by including a lock in the other things it has done -- the VF3 and the stupid little accessory flash. Why haven’t they brought out a replacement VF2 with lock? I don’t know. They should have done so long ago.

I switched from the VF3 to the VF2 for the superior view on my E-PL3. Like zabatman I added a sticky lens cap holder and tied it to the left hand strap lug (which is not in use; I have the camera on a sling using the right hand (as seen from the rear) lug). Even this is not fool proof, however, the other day I found the little clasp on that had come half undone.

When I want to use flash I slide the VF2 out and just let it hang. Messy. I attach a ClearViewer magnifying VF accessory so I can actually see something in the LCD.

Blast Olympus.

Cheers, geoff
--
Geoffrey Heard
http://pngtimetraveller.blogspot.com/2011/10/return-to-karai-komana_31.html
Click to expand...
Hi Geoff.

One way to eliminate the viewfinder hanging there, is instead of tying it to the strap lug (which I did at first) is to tie it (the lens leash) onto a blac women's hair tie and pop that around the lens you're using...makes it east to pop on and off.
--



http://www.pbase.com/madlights
http://barriolson.aminus3.com/
"why so serious?": The Joker
 
Raymond Wardenaer said:
I do not use my E-PL2 without the VF 2. So I went home. No images. No I just wonder if my insurance company will help me...
The viewfinder should have some fastening mechanism.
Click to expand...
The VF2 doesn't have a locking mechanism, but the VF3 does. I have the VF3, and thanks to its locking mechanism (you have to press a button in order to slide the VF3 off the hotshoe), I've never had to worry about the EVF coming off accidentally. I'm sure the next Oly EVF (probably a replacement for the VF2) will have the same, or similar, locking mechanism.
 
Sorry to hear about that, that's really bad luck.

My only problem with the VF-2 is the potential for disaster that the connection has. Other than that, everything about it seems better than the VF-3. As prophylaxis, I use an adhesive lens cap keeper with mine that terminates in an elastic band that lops around the lens
--
http://www.photoklarno.com
 
Aesj, stakkars deg. :( Unfortunately the only viewfinder with a locking mechanism is the VF-3, but you sacrifice view size and resolution. However it's cheaper and looks better aesthetically.
 
Sorry to hear about your VF-2. I don't understand this bit though:
Raymond Wardenaer said:
I do not use my E-PL2 without the VF 2. So I went home. No images.
Click to expand...
So you really didn't use the E-PL2's screen? Is it that bad?

Colin
 
Well, if you get another one. . . On all my Pens I ended up taking a small pliers to the front corner of the hot shoe rails, and slightly squeezed to make them a tighter fit. The VF-2 and the flash fit much tighter, they won't come off of their own accord, but they're still mountable/removable.

--
...Bob, NYC
http://www.bobtullis.com

"Well, sometimes the magic works. . . Sometimes, it doesn't." - Little Big Man
.
 
I shall of course find a way to fasten it. I had lost it once before, into the photo bag.
But I could wait and see about the new viewfinder they talk about at 4/3 rumors:

Second: I keep getting hints about a “sort of viewfinder solution” coming from Olympus. I have been told that it is not a viewfinder like the VF-2 and VF-3, it’s also not a built-in viewfinder solution and also not really a Leica Visoflex adapter solution. Sounds pretty much crazy
--
Raymond
http://www.blurb.com/bookstore/detail/1244032#author-bookshelf (my books)
http://osloray.wordpress.com/ (Image blog)
http://www.bildebank.com
 
Lights said:
Hi Geoff.

One way to eliminate the viewfinder hanging there, is instead of tying it to the strap lug (which I did at first) is to tie it (the lens leash) onto a blac women's hair tie and pop that around the lens you're using...makes it east to pop on and off.
Click to expand...
My black woman won’t let me take her hair ties.

Sorry -- couldn’t let that one go past! it’s a family joke. My partner actually is black (well, brown really) and loves to play with words, as do I.

Thanks for the thought, Lights. It reminds me that there used to be a brand of lens cap keepers that came with a black elastic ring on the end rather than the little plastic clip.

Cheers, geoff
--
Geoffrey Heard
http://pngtimetraveller.blogspot.com/2011/10/return-to-karai-komana_31.html
 
Raymond Wardenaer said:
Yes, I could never use the screen for serious photography.
Click to expand...
Agreed. Some people can but I can't. Reflections on the screen are compounded by reflections on my glasses. I'm not quite as extreme as you, though, Raymond -- in extremis I'll struggle with the screen.

Guy Parsons, long time photog, reckons he's a screen man almost completely now. I can't understand it myself.

Cheers, geoff
--
Geoffrey Heard
http://pngtimetraveller.blogspot.com/2011/10/return-to-karai-komana_31.html
 
Good thing you you only picked up photography now... otherwise shooting medium format TLR or large format with ground glass (using a focusing screen!) would have killed your abilibity to take photos. Amazing that nearly all the best classic photographers could do anything without a EVF!

Anyway, why are you looking for a new Pen when the OM-D has been released. If you're just going to weld the ugly EVF lump on your camera then you might as well get the OM-D... doesn't really cost much more either.
Hen3ry said:
Raymond Wardenaer said:
Yes, I could never use the screen for serious photography.
Click to expand...
Agreed. Some people can but I can't. Reflections on the screen are compounded by reflections on my glasses. I'm not quite as extreme as you, though, Raymond -- in extremis I'll struggle with the screen.

Guy Parsons, long time photog, reckons he's a screen man almost completely now. I can't understand it myself.

Cheers, geoff
--
Geoffrey Heard
http://pngtimetraveller.blogspot.com/2011/10/return-to-karai-komana_31.html
Click to expand...
--
mark hahn
http://markhahnphotography.wordpress.com/
 
Raymond Wardenaer said:
Yes, I could never use the screen for serious photography.
Click to expand...
Depends on what kind of photography you do. After all, screens work perfectly fine indoors, like in a studio setting, or in softer light. There is plenty of "serious photography" done in these less-contrasty lighting conditions. And you can always go old-school by using a hood to shade your screen. Ansel Adams did a bit of "serious photography" in this manner with his view camera. Also, plenty of medium format film shooters did plenty of "serious photography" with hooded waist-level focus screens.

These days, people hate the idea of shading their screens, although it was commonly done in the past.

 
First, sorry for your loss. It's up to you to turn it positive.....into a learning experience.
Raymond Wardenaer said:
I shall of course find a way to fasten it. I had lost it once before, into the photo bag.
But I could wait and see about the new viewfinder they talk about at 4/3 rumors:
Click to expand...
You could do that. I'd get a body with built in VF. Surprising you didn't go that way since it's, for you, apparently essential. GH2 body is the deal now (price wise), pretty much was the benchmark, many argue still is the king of µ4/3 bodies. I went with E-M5
osloray said:
Second: I keep getting hints about a “sort of viewfinder solution” coming from Olympus. I have been told that it is not a viewfinder like the VF-2 and VF-3, it’s also not a built-in viewfinder solution and also not really a Leica Visoflex adapter solution. Sounds pretty much crazy
Click to expand...
I go four ways: built in VF on E-M5, V-F2, optical DMW-VF1, and the excellent LCDs of the E-P3 and the E-M5 for my visual connections, YMMV.
osloray said:
--
Raymond
http://www.blurb.com/bookstore/detail/1244032#author-bookshelf (my books)
http://osloray.wordpress.com/ (Image blog)
http://www.bildebank.com
Click to expand...
--
Dave
 
Probably irrelevant here, but I lucked into a VF-1 and don't mind using an optical VF.
Funny thing is that it also fits my LX-3 (a bit tight, though.)
 
mh2000 said:
Good thing you you only picked up photography now... otherwise shooting medium format TLR or large format with ground glass (using a focusing screen!)
Click to expand...
Only picked up photography now? There is a big chance that I started to photograph before you were born! I started in 1951, when I got my first camera.

And I had a twin-eyed reflex camera for many years, and a Hasselblad not too many years ago. But in these camera you could "dive" into the viewfinder.

would have killed your abilibity to take photos. Amazing that nearly all the best classic photographers could do anything without a EVF!
mh2000 said:
Anyway, why are you looking for a new Pen when the OM-D has been released. If you're just going to weld the ugly EVF lump on your camera then you might as well get the OM-D... doesn't really cost much more either.
Hen3ry said:
Raymond Wardenaer said:
Yes, I could never use the screen for serious photography.
Click to expand...
Agreed. Some people can but I can't. Reflections on the screen are compounded by reflections on my glasses. I'm not quite as extreme as you, though, Raymond -- in extremis I'll struggle with the screen.

Guy Parsons, long time photog, reckons he's a screen man almost completely now. I can't understand it myself.

Cheers, geoff
--
Geoffrey Heard
http://pngtimetraveller.blogspot.com/2011/10/return-to-karai-komana_31.html
Click to expand...
--
mark hahn
http://markhahnphotography.wordpress.com/
Click to expand...
--
Raymond
http://www.blurb.com/bookstore/detail/1244032#author-bookshelf (my books)
http://osloray.wordpress.com/ (Image blog)
http://www.bildebank.com
 
T3 said:
Raymond Wardenaer said:
Yes, I could never use the screen for serious photography.
Click to expand...
Click to expand...
I meant the small, electronic screens on the small modern cameras. I used Flexaret for many years and also Hasselblad. That was ok, but would not be for sports, which I do frequently. But these screens were not electronic!

I guess much of former serious photography was done with cameras like Hasselblad. And, as a matter of fact, I always wished I could have a Bronica or a Kowa, but could never afford it.
T3 said:
Depends on what kind of photography you do. After all, screens work perfectly fine indoors, like in a studio setting, or in softer light. There is plenty of "serious photography" done in these less-contrasty lighting conditions. And you can always go old-school by using a hood to shade your screen. Ansel Adams did a bit of "serious photography" in this manner with his view camera. Also, plenty of medium format film shooters did plenty of "serious photography" with hooded waist-level focus screens.

These days, people hate the idea of shading their screens, although it was commonly done in the past.

Click to expand...
--
Raymond
http://www.blurb.com/bookstore/detail/1244032#author-bookshelf (my books)
http://osloray.wordpress.com/ (Image blog)
http://www.bildebank.com
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Keyboard shortcuts

f
Forum
m
My threads
Mobile site
About
Editorial content
Cameras & Lenses
Community
All content, design, and layout are Copyright © 1998–2025 Digital Photography Review All Rights Reserved.
Reproduction in whole or part in any form or medium without specific written permission is prohibited.
When you use DPReview links to buy products, the site may earn a commission.
©GPS Media - Guides, Products, Services.
Back
Top