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GR users that use an optical viewfinder

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Thank you :)

I couldn't find it on eBay, yeah you're right, I should have thought of google :)
 
That's because he sells direct.

There are so many variations needed to cover the different shapes and sizes of camera.

It will transform your picture taking by reducing camera shake and also letting you see the LED screen. The optical alternative does the former but not the latter.

Tony
 
2ndact scene1 said:
I found a used Leica 21mm - 28mm ovf and bought it late last year. I just sold it last month.

It helped a bit in bright light but it blocks up the hot shoe and you have to ‘chimp’ back and forth between the OVF and the LCD to change or check settings. I was taking pictures of China Beach in Da Nang Vietnam a few months ago. I waa going from OVF to LCD and back constantly to set exposure and focus while trying to decide how to frame the image. That is the moment I decided an OVF is too much trouble.

The unit was very nicely made but expensive. So Lesson learned.

I don’t like EVF’s in general but for me, the GR II really needs one (no doubt at the cost of added weight and higher prices).
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I used to set the ISO on 64 (or whatever I needed for the lighting that time if day). To be honest it does not change unless you have fast moving clouds covering the sun, do a single ISO is fine. I set the camera to P, and then use the green light beneath the OVF to know when I had focus. I never had to worry about looking at the LCD screen, unless I wanted to see the image after the shot or group of shots. Also I frame mentally before putting the camera to eye. As I described earlier, an OVF does require an adjustment to our way of thinking about photography..
 
Interesting. Maybe I am too “focused” on settings. I rarely use “P” but I will give a try. Letting the camera choose what to focus on is not always ideal but it should work most of the time.

What I do quite a lot if I cannot see the LCD is just look over the top of the camera to visualize what the camera is going to capture. At 28mm (or 21mm) FFE that is not hard to do.

Big Head Taco is a big fan of the camera and in one of his You Tube reviews mentions that as something film photographers used to do, particularly if a person is in the frame. That way you can establish eye contact and engage with the person before you hit the shutter.

I had the camera on a mini tripod while shooting gardens the other day at flower height (about a foot off the ground). I didn’t feel like laying on the damp ground to look at the LCD so I just got it level and fired away. Framing was a bit hit or miss but focus was spot on (the closest object - a tulip). I did not want to take the time to set up an iphone connection but that may have helped.
 
2ndact scene1 said:
Interesting. Maybe I am too “focused” on settings. I rarely use “P” but I will give a try. Letting the camera choose what to focus on is not always ideal but it should work most of the time.

What I do quite a lot if I cannot see the LCD is just look over the top of the camera to visualize what the camera is going to capture. At 28mm (or 21mm) FFE that is not hard to do.

Big Head Taco is a big fan of the camera and in one of his You Tube reviews mentions that as something film photographers used to do, particularly if a person is in the frame. That way you can establish eye contact and engage with the person before you hit the shutter.

I had the camera on a mini tripod while shooting gardens the other day at flower height (about a foot off the ground). I didn’t feel like laying on the damp ground to look at the LCD so I just got it or ready level and fired away. Framing was a bit hit or miss but focus was spot on (the closest object - a tulip). I did not want to take the time to set up an iphone connection but that may have helped.
Click to expand...
I use an OVF for steadying the camera in low light, but my favorite street viewfinder is my iPhone and GR Remote. Subject camera intimidation becomes a non-issue, and one can even point the camera behind and shoot away.

Sal
 
2ndact scene1 said:
Interesting. Maybe I am too “focused” on settings. I rarely use “P” but I will give a try. Letting the camera choose what to focus on is not always ideal but it should work most of the time.

What I do quite a lot if I cannot see the LCD is just look over the top of the camera to visualize what the camera is going to capture. At 28mm (or 21mm) FFE that is not hard to do.

Big Head Taco is a big fan of the camera and in one of his You Tube reviews mentions that as something film photographers used to do, particularly if a person is in the frame. That way you can establish eye contact and engage with the person before you hit the shutter.

I had the camera on a mini tripod while shooting gardens the other day at flower height (about a foot off the ground). I didn’t feel like laying on the damp ground to look at the LCD so I just got it level and fired away. Framing was a bit hit or miss but focus was spot on (the closest object - a tulip). I did not want to take the time to set up an iphone connection but that may have helped.
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If the object of focus is not to be the centre then you can also aim at it, half-press and then quickly re-frame, click.

What you quote about looking at people makes sense to me. I've seen this. A person holds a camera at chest height or lower and looks around at the scene and the people in the scene. Then people see the person behind the camera - even if they are aware of it they are not focusing the camera but the person holding the camera. So it becomes a moment of interpersonal psychology, followed by an implicit agreement by the subject to be in the shot. It's less like being stalked by a person with a camera, more about being part of a shared moment.

Aside from what you describe about engaging with people, I also think pre-visualising and taking in the scene before shooting helps train the eye. Shooting that way I suspect that, eventually, the framing becomes an automatic semi-conscious process.

Well worth checking William Eggleston out with his son in the car. They way he sees something, gets out of the car, walks over and knows more or less what he is going to do. He stops, lifts the camera up to his eye and clicks in one smooth movement (he already knows the framing) and then lowers the camera, still looking at the scene. Sometimes shoots a second photograph in the same way, and then he is finished, gets back in the car. He knows he has it.

--
'I don't take photographs, I delete them.'
Tungsten Nordstein, 1999
 
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Sal Baker said:
2ndact scene1 said:
Interesting. Maybe I am too “focused” on settings. I rarely use “P” but I will give a try. Letting the camera choose what to focus on is not always ideal but it should work most of the time.

What I do quite a lot if I cannot see the LCD is just look over the top of the camera to visualize what the camera is going to capture. At 28mm (or 21mm) FFE that is not hard to do.

Big Head Taco is a big fan of the camera and in one of his You Tube reviews mentions that as something film photographers used to do, particularly if a person is in the frame. That way you can establish eye contact and engage with the person before you hit the shutter.

I had the camera on a mini tripod while shooting gardens the other day at flower height (about a foot off the ground). I didn’t feel like laying on the damp ground to look at the LCD so I just got it or ready level and fired away. Framing was a bit hit or miss but focus was spot on (the closest object - a tulip). I did not want to take the time to set up an iphone connection but that may have helped.
Click to expand...
I use an OVF for steadying the camera in low light, but my favorite street viewfinder is my iPhone and GR Remote. Subject camera intimidation becomes a non-issue, and one can even point the camera behind and shoot away.

Sal
Click to expand...
So you hold the iphone for in one hand and the camera in the other? Or is the camera on a neck strap. Assume a tripod is out of the question for street shooting. Just curious.
 
2ndact scene1 said:
Sal Baker said:
2ndact scene1 said:
Interesting. Maybe I am too “focused” on settings. I rarely use “P” but I will give a try. Letting the camera choose what to focus on is not always ideal but it should work most of the time.

What I do quite a lot if I cannot see the LCD is just look over the top of the camera to visualize what the camera is going to capture. At 28mm (or 21mm) FFE that is not hard to do.

Big Head Taco is a big fan of the camera and in one of his You Tube reviews mentions that as something film photographers used to do, particularly if a person is in the frame. That way you can establish eye contact and engage with the person before you hit the shutter.

I had the camera on a mini tripod while shooting gardens the other day at flower height (about a foot off the ground). I didn’t feel like laying on the damp ground to look at the LCD so I just got it or ready level and fired away. Framing was a bit hit or miss but focus was spot on (the closest object - a tulip). I did not want to take the time to set up an iphone connection but that may have helped.
Click to expand...
I use an OVF for steadying the camera in low light, but my favorite street viewfinder is my iPhone and GR Remote. Subject camera intimidation becomes a non-issue, and one can even point the camera behind and shoot away.

Sal
Click to expand...
So you hold the iphone for in one hand and the camera in the other? Or is the camera on a neck strap. Assume a tripod is out of the question for street shooting. Just curious.
Click to expand...
I mostly use a wrist strap. Sometimes the camera is sitting on my lap turned to the side (inside subways, trains, etc).

Sal
 
I use the Ricoh GV-1. I find It's only really convenient when using the camera on a neckstrap. Which I recommend for fast access, having the GR in a pocket never attracted me I use a sturdy belt pouch for it instead then, when not using the viewfinder.

Using the OVF is essential for precise framing in bright light and then I really like it.
 
This 2015 thread was only revived because someone wanted to know about the Clearviewer.

I pointed him to the right URL.

Is nobody else interested in an alternative to the OVF?

Tony
 
TonyGamble said:
This 2015 thread was only revived because someone wanted to know about the Clearviewer.

I pointed him to the right URL.

Is nobody else interested in an alternative to the OVF?

Tony
Click to expand...
I know about the Clearviewer. I just commented to the title of the thread which seemed logical.
 
TonyGamble said:
Why do you think the OVF is better than the Clearviewer?
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You didn't ask me, but I'll give my 2 cents anyway. It provides a nice, big view, but when it's time to change the battery t's hard to re-attach the Clearviewer in the field. I tried it for a while, then abandoned it in favor of the GV-1.
 
agfa100 said:
But if you are going to get the wide angle adp for your GR I would be picking up the ricoh GV-1 viewfinder as it will cover both the 28mm and 21mm. If you were just going to be using the GR by itself then the ricoh gv-2 is nice and small but no wider then 28mm. I think both are in stock at B&H and you can look at their site and see pictures of the finders.

wbill
Click to expand...
The GV-2 is way cheaper on eBay, or was the day after I bought a new one at B&H...

--

"There are two kinds of games. One could be called finite, the other infinite. A finite game is played for the purpose of winning, an infinite game for the purpose of continuing the play." - James P Carse
 
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