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Suggestions for optical VF for Ricoh GR
- Thread starter sniper5
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Allen George
Senior Member
At least, according to the Ricoh website...
delete-pending
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It could also be something hellishly simple. Look at this ancient folding viewfinder. Nothing functionally similar (and non-electronic) is made nowadays:
Zeiss Ikon Nettar folding viewfinder, manufacturing date uncertain (probably late 1930s)
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Hey, I would hardly spoil the fun for all those guys putting up $50 finders for the op. (grin)
We never know, once the bit is between the teeth there must be some "other brand" as yet not noted that looks sleek, has the right frame lines, and can flip upwards on demand. Cheap of course.
Luckily I got a free 28mm oem Ricoh, one made of real metal. Pity I had to pay so much for the lens that came with it. Of course the ltm lens fitted is 28mm x 1.5 = 42mm but the free ovf works just fine on the GR. Rare as hens teeth though.
Meanwhile the Clearviewer works well and is within the op budget. But we might hardly wish to spoil the fun
Yeah, but that just folds down for storage, doesn't it? It's not like you can actually USE it when it's folded down and look DOWN into it ( unless you just want to get a GREAT view of the top of your camera!). Unless I'm totally missing what I'm looking at, this is not at all what was being asked about.dottore wrote:
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It could also be something hellishly simple. Look at this ancient folding viewfinder. Nothing functionally similar (and non-electronic) is made nowadays:
Zeiss Ikon Nettar folding viewfinder, manufacturing date uncertain (probably late 1930s)
-Ray
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Yes, it folds down for storage, and it can not be used when folded.
User jerrysdean43 asked: "(...) any of these viewfinders (...) can [be used to] frame looking down into the viewfinder?" - yes, this one can.
User jerrysdean43 asked: "(...) any of these viewfinders (...) can [be used to] frame looking down into the viewfinder?" - yes, this one can.
Really? I can't see that in the photo. It LOOKS like the two prongs fit into the hotshoe and when its open, you look at the glass piece on the back and it gives you a view of what the camera is framing. Is there some sort of mirror in there that I'm not seeing that allows you to have the same view if you're looking down into it when its open? If so, apologies - but I'd love to have a clearer view of how it works. From this photo, its not apparent...
-Ray
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Ray, I think the folding viewfinder can only be used to look down into it,
not at eye level, the part that looks like an eyepiece is actually a swivel for
the viewfinder to rotate 90 degrees, they were common on the old
folding film cameras of the 1920s and 30s. The prongs were probably used to attach
the viewfinder to the body of this camera, not a hotshoe, no such thing in those days.
the vf
Thanks - that photo makes it a LOT clearer. So you look down into it, but I presume the image is gonna be upside down and backwards unless the lens somehow flips the image. And its an either/or deal - you get this to look down or one that looks straight through, but probably not one that does both...Trafford wrote:
Ray, I think the folding viewfinder can only be used to look down into it,
not at eye level, the part that looks like an eyepiece is actually a swivel for
the viewfinder to rotate 90 degrees, they were common on the old
folding film cameras of the 1920s and 30s. The prongs were probably used to attach
the viewfinder to the body of this camera, not a hotshoe, no such thing in those days.
the vf
Thanks...
-Ray
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Godfrey
Forum Pro
Depends on which Voigtländer 29mm OVF you're talking about. The "Voigtländer 28mm Metal Brightline Viewfinder" which sells for $209 from CameraQuest.com is excellent, I have the 35mm version of that type which is an excellent OVF.
The "Voigtländer 28/35mm Brightline Mini-Viewfinder" was a bit difficult to see through for me wearing glasses. They're discontinued now, far as I'm aware.
CameraQuest also lists a Voigtländer 15-35mm multi-format viewfinder. It's not cheap, but if you regularly change lenses between focal lengths in this range and use them on a variety of cameras (M9, GXR, etc), the $539 it costs can save a lot of hassle and money. (My OVF collection probably cost me $800 or more at this point with all the different ones I've accumulated... !)
sorry, I wasn't clear. I meant the brightline. It is also my understanding that the 28-35 is discontinued now, but I may be wrong about that. I actually just ordered the brightline with the GR, and I am very excited about it. I also thought that the circular design looked better with the rectangular body. I am sure many would argue the looks are irrelevant, and I can understand that. But I also wear glasses and my understanding is that the v28 is a better option when used with glasses?
JL Salvignol
Senior Member
I ask my last month question again 
.
If some of you use both one of the existing 28mm viewfinders - Ricoh, Voigtlander or Sigma - and the GH-3 with its lens hood, what about the fraction of the frame line of the viewfinder that is blocked:
- by the lens with the lens hood GR GH-3 installed
- by the lens barrel without the lens hood?
I already own the metal Voigtlander 28mm and use it with my Pentax K-01/KA 20mm (the occultation of the lower part of the fields of view is awful with a hood, and heavy without).
A big thank you for those who will assist me to resolve this terrible problem!
JLS
.If some of you use both one of the existing 28mm viewfinders - Ricoh, Voigtlander or Sigma - and the GH-3 with its lens hood, what about the fraction of the frame line of the viewfinder that is blocked:
- by the lens with the lens hood GR GH-3 installed
- by the lens barrel without the lens hood?
I already own the metal Voigtlander 28mm and use it with my Pentax K-01/KA 20mm (the occultation of the lower part of the fields of view is awful with a hood, and heavy without).
A big thank you for those who will assist me to resolve this terrible problem!
JLS
photoreddi
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I don't think that it's a terrible problem but if you do, one solution would be to get a camera that uses an EVF instead of an optical viewfinder, or get one that has both, such as Fuji's X100/X100s. Another solution would be to find or make your own hot shoe extension. It would add a bit more parallax error, but this would only be a problem shooting at very close distances, and it would eliminate the lens hood/lens barrel occultation.JL Salvignol wrote:
I ask my last month question again
If some of you use both one of the existing 28mm viewfinders - Ricoh, Voigtlander or Sigma - and the GH-3 with its lens hood, what about the fraction of the frame line of the viewfinder that is blocked:
- by the lens with the lens hood GR GH-3 installed
- by the lens barrel without the lens hood?
I already own the metal Voigtlander 28mm and use it with my Pentax K-01/KA 20mm (the occultation of the lower part of the fields of view is awful with a hood, and heavy without).
A big thank you for those who will assist me to resolve this terrible problem!
JL Salvignol
Senior Member
Your suggestion is interesting but then I may solve one problem by creating another - the parallax.
I use Voigtländer Kontur viewfinders in 24x36, 6x9 and 6x6 and everything is so simple, but unfortunately the Kontur does not exist for the 28mm focal length.
Ah! yes, I know there is also the Leica M9 ... and the Panasonic GX7 is coming soon with his great EVF. But the GR charmed me greatly, even though my Nikon V1 associated with the Nikkor 10mm is so good ... when the light is good.
I use Voigtländer Kontur viewfinders in 24x36, 6x9 and 6x6 and everything is so simple, but unfortunately the Kontur does not exist for the 28mm focal length.
Ah! yes, I know there is also the Leica M9 ... and the Panasonic GX7 is coming soon with his great EVF. But the GR charmed me greatly, even though my Nikon V1 associated with the Nikkor 10mm is so good ... when the light is good.
photoreddi
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Optical viewfinders that you attach to hot shoes are generally pretty crude (even when well made) and not very pleasant to use. They can be a great help when shooting landscapes and cityscapes in bright sunlight, but this type of shooting doesn't suffer from OVF parallax. It will be a problem for shooting at macro distances but for this type of shooting you probably won't be getting glare from the sun and the OVF won't let you see when subjects are improperly focused due to razor thin DoF.
.
Nikon's 6.7-13mm lens isn't as fast as the 10mm f/2.8 but it's just as good if not better and it has VR stabilization, so it doesn't always need to be as fast. It's equivalent to an 18mm to 35mm zoom lens so it goes far wider than the GR. Here are three photos labeled with their equivalent focal lengths.
18mm
31mm
23.5mm
The Ricoh site seems to in fact, indicate an aspect ratio of 3:2.
GV-2
I use the GV-2 with my new GR and it is bright and clear. I also appreciate the 1:1 frame lines. It certainly isn't as accurate for composition as the LCD but then again, I view it as serving its purpose in bright sunlight - and I am glad to have it under those conditions. I find accuracy is improved if you carefully "square up" your eye to the viewfinder. It isn't the best with eye glasses but passable.
I originally wanted a Voigtlander 28/35 minifinder but gave up looking. I felt the current generation Voigt 28 metal finder was too large for this camera. I ultimately chose the GV-2 for its form factor, supposed quality of optics (I have read in several places it is sourced from V-C) and frame lines. I had a chance to buy from Japan on the bay new for $189 including shipping so I went for it. I'm happy with it.
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Godfrey
Forum Pro
Yes, there's more eye relieve in the Brightline finders than in the mini-viewfinders.
It's a very nice finder. I use the 35mm model with my X2 quite often, most of the time I'm using the X2 as a matter of fact.
C
cgarrard
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