VF-31 Viewfinder on DP1M

Hello all

I've searched the forum but cannot find the answer I'm looking for:

Does the new VF-31 for Quattro work on the DP1 Merrill? It seems as though it may be bigger and perhaps brighter.

Regards

Ty

It should work equally well on any APS-C sensor camera with the same focal length lens. So as the DP1M has a 19mm lens, it will match.

There's no electrical connection to the camera, so you don't see any of the data that is displayed on the LCD -- just the view.

I hope they do one for the dp3Q, so I can use it on the DP3M.

Don Cox

Thank's Don, just order placed. I used to have one on my Leica/Voigtlander 15mm Heliar and it worked well from memory, but that was a long time ago. US$70 seems like a good price so I'll give it a shot.

I thought Voiglander used to do a 75mm VF but any Voigtlander viewfinder is hard to come by at the moment from what I've seen.

PunkJr wrote:

Thank's Don, just order placed. I used to have one on my Leica/Voigtlander 15mm Heliar and it worked well from memory, but that was a long time ago. US$70 seems like a good price so I'll give it a shot.

I thought Voiglander used to do a 75mm VF but any Voigtlander viewfinder is hard to come by at the moment from what I've seen.

I have the Voigtlander 75mm VF for the DP3 Merrill. It's fine but no substitute for real a VF (optical or electronic) with a proper built-in display. I wish Sigma would finally realize this blatantly obvious fact.

I'm left eye dominant and find the left side located built in viewfinders awkward to use. On my Sony RX1 I had a detachable viewfinder that sat in the hotshoe. I like this idea better than a built in as I can use it in a smaller form factor if I desire, or put the viewfinder on for those times I need it. Sure, it's more work but for me it is worth it.

So my Sigma VF-31 viewfinder arrived and I've been giving a work out with the DP1M over the last few days.  The framing is more accurate than I anticipated to be honest. It is large, heavy, solid (metal and glass with rubber eyepiece) and very bright. I tried three viewfinders last weekend at my local store and the best of the three was the Leica 24mm (plastic body). Well this viewfinder is far brighter, which is to be expected as the front element is around double the size of the Leica. I really like the way it looks, I just have to get used to the zone focusing - I would love it if there was a way to lock the focus so that bumping the focus ring would not change the focus point. On a couple of occasions I have shot for a few minutes and the focus had been moved unintentionally.

Next I'll get the VF-42, then all I'll need is the DPM2 to go with it.

VF-42 atop the DP1M

SigmaChrome wrote:

PunkJr wrote:

Thank's Don, just order placed. I used to have one on my Leica/Voigtlander 15mm Heliar and it worked well from memory, but that was a long time ago. US$70 seems like a good price so I'll give it a shot.

I thought Voiglander used to do a 75mm VF but any Voigtlander viewfinder is hard to come by at the moment from what I've seen.

I have the Voigtlander 75mm VF for the DP3 Merrill. It's fine but no substitute for real a VF (optical or electronic) with a proper built-in display. I wish Sigma would finally realize this blatantly obvious fact.

If somebody is good at accurate metal work, they could make a custom baseplate in order to use the loupe for the fp on a DP_M. I held mine up against the DP3M screen and it looks good.

Maybe the loupe for the dp Quattro cameras could also be used. I don't have one to try.

If you don't wear spectacles, there are some crappy cheap loupes with plastic lenses available, but the eye relief isn't enough for spectacle wearers and the image quality is poor.

PunkJr wrote:

So my Sigma VF-31 viewfinder arrived and I've been giving a work out with the DP1M over the last few days. The framing is more accurate than I anticipated to be honest. It is large, heavy, solid (metal and glass with rubber eyepiece) and very bright. I tried three viewfinders last weekend at my local store and the best of the three was the Leica 24mm (plastic body). Well this viewfinder is far brighter, which is to be expected as the front element is around double the size of the Leica. I really like the way it looks, I just have to get used to the zone focusing - I would love it if there was a way to lock the focus so that bumping the focus ring would not change the focus point. On a couple of occasions I have shot for a few minutes and the focus had been moved unintentionally.

Are you saying you use manual focus only ? What's wrong with the auto focus ?

Next I'll get the VF-42, then all I'll need is the DPM2 to go with it.

VF-42 atop the DP1M

Don Cox

Don I haven't tried autofocus and the VF-31, but I had thought I might give that a go over the next week or so, just setting the autofocus point to the centre - should be fairly accurate.

At the same time I got the viewfinder I purchased a Hoodman. This is a well made bit of kit and, because it is made of a rubber type material, I have found, hanging it around my neck and the holding to the back of the screen, along with pressure up against the eye, that it stays in place perfectly well. I had thought that I could get a couple of those big red rubber bands and just twist around the neck of the Hoodman, then flick them around the lens. That should work very well but may be a little aesthetically unpleasing. I wear contacts 80% of the time but I have found that I get more than 100% of the viewfinder whilst wearing my glasses. I am really happy with the Hoodman.