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Optical view finders with technical cameras
- Thread starter Vilpo
- Start date
4x5Australian
Well-known member
I photograph architecture with a Cambo WRS and IQ4, and much prefer to frame and compose on a gridded ground glass using a reflex magnifier viewfinder.
The magnified image fills my visual field of view, is clear and upright, and is covered by the 10mm grid, exactly as I want.
Bright sunlight from the rear is never a problem, as it can be with the electronic live view on the digital back.
In addition, I don't have to stoop to view the screen nor elevate the camera such that the bubble levels and lens controls become difficult to see and reach.
It also doesn't use up the battery or heat up the digital back.
I find it faster, surer, and much more satisfying to frame and compose on the gridded ground glass than with the live view of the digital back.
The magnified image fills my visual field of view, is clear and upright, and is covered by the 10mm grid, exactly as I want.
Bright sunlight from the rear is never a problem, as it can be with the electronic live view on the digital back.
In addition, I don't have to stoop to view the screen nor elevate the camera such that the bubble levels and lens controls become difficult to see and reach.
It also doesn't use up the battery or heat up the digital back.
I find it faster, surer, and much more satisfying to frame and compose on the gridded ground glass than with the live view of the digital back.
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mristuccia
Well-known member
Stupid question by a person who has never used an optical viewfinder on a tech cam: how does it work with tilt and shift?
I assume we are not talking about a ground glass here...
I assume we are not talking about a ground glass here...
@4x5Australian was talking about a ground glass.
The Cambo viewfinder masks have shift indicators for each lens to approximate the frame.
The Cambo viewfinder masks have shift indicators for each lens to approximate the frame.
4x5Australian
Well-known member
Yes, I was talking about a ground glass and reflex viewfinder. I have edited my post above to make that clear. Thank you, @anyone.
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The Arca Swiss vario-finder also has sliding masks with index markings for rise and shift. With film and CCD-sensor digital backs, probably an essential accessory for R-line cameras. But with decent live view capable digital back, do optical view finders make framing and composing the image easier or faster?
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mristuccia
Well-known member
Are you using a sliding back?
docholliday
Well-known member
I rarely use LV when in studio with a tech cam and IQ. I don't care for the tiny screen unless I'm tethered. Battery isn't as much an issue with this as I'm feeding power to the back. However, when image quality counts, the heating of the back can cause noise artifacts.
The biggest thing for me and GG? I can draw on it with grease pencils. I do a lot of multi alignment work and conceptual art so being able to draw/trace on the GG makes creating much easier. Yes, one can use an overlay in C1, but it's still easier when standing on a ladder 8ft in the air to just draw.
The biggest thing for me and GG? I can draw on it with grease pencils. I do a lot of multi alignment work and conceptual art so being able to draw/trace on the GG makes creating much easier. Yes, one can use an overlay in C1, but it's still easier when standing on a ladder 8ft in the air to just draw.
4x5Australian
Well-known member
No. In my current project, shooting historic architecture in busy foreign urban environments, I prefer a smaller, less protruding profile.
I use a Hasselblad SWC focusing screen adapter with gridded ground glass, with a Hasselblad V viewfinder, mounted to the WRS via a Hasselblad V adapter.
The very neat Cambo SLW-C8 clip-on plastic cover makes it possible to keep the IQ back permanently mounted to the Phase One adapter. As a bonus, this combined unit still fits within the Phase One IQ padded case. Arca-Swiss offers the "protective cover 110x110" (order 200030) for similar functionality, though that cover is larger than the Phase One case.
With both devices already mounted to their adapters, the swap-over from gridded ground glass and reflex magnifier to the IQ back is simple.
Ideally, I mount the IQ4 and Phase One adapter only after I've worked out the shooting position and the best focal length lens for this particular shot, and framed my subject.
This setup and procedure took me a while to work out and perfect, and a suggestion by @anyone gave me a breakthrough.
I wanted to duplicate the comfortable viewing provided by the Cambo T-20 monocular reflex viewer on my film version Cambo WDS 4x5.
It's a shame that Cambo doesn't provide a smaller version of the T-20 for the digital WRS and Actus. I'm sure it would sell well.
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Not a reflex viewer, but we do offer a ground glass and magnifying loupe for use on the WRS and Actus-DB2. The https://www.cambo.com/en/view-cam/actus-xl/actus-xl-db-view-camera/wds-619/wds-630-slv-630/ keeps stray light away effectively and is easy to use.
4x5Australian
Well-known member
Thank you for responding. Yes, I bought the WDS-619 ground glass frame in the hope that I could somehow substitute its ground glass, which has no useful grid, with a 10mm gridded one. I also tried to find a reflex viewer of another make that might fit and attach over it, but I couldn't find one. That was when I found the Hasselblad reflex viewfinder, which required a Hasselblad adapter rather than the Cambo unit.
However, the reflex (mirror) component of the old Cambo T-20 viewfinder provides a few crucial benefits: Firstly, it allows me to position the camera comfortably and quickly at mid to high chest height. Being comfortable means that I can relax and examine the subject elements in relation to the 10mm ground glass grid with ease. Secondly, positioning the camera at chest level means that all the controls on the camera and lens and the bubble levels on top of the camera (that I must check frequently) are easily seen and reached. I hate having the camera so high that I can't see the bubble levels and controls easily. Thirdly, the image seen in the T-20 viewfinder is upright.
In contrast, the newer WDS-630 requires me to either elevate the viewfinder pretty exactly to my eye level, making the camera controls too high and difficult to use or, alternatively, to stoop my back and crick my neck uncomfortably downwards to some lower height. In addition, the image on the ground glass remains inverted. And after using high-quality Cambo 4x5 gridded ground glasses for a long time, I was surprised that the ground glass used in the WDS-619 is of sub-par quality and lacks a useful grid.
The old Cambo T-20 reflex viewfinder was simple and brilliant. A new smaller version of the T-20 viewfinder with integrated 10mm ground glass for the WRS and Actus-DB2 would be most welcome.
diggles
Well-known member
This sounds very interesting. Just want to be sure I have the components correct.
Are you using something like these?
Focusing Screen Adapter w/gridded ground glass:
Hasselblad 41050 Acute Matte Ground Glass Focusing Screen Super Wide -Clean-
This is the ground glass for the SWC and can also be used to check focus on the SLR camera. This is the later version with te acute Matte screen. The unit is in excellent condition with light wear. The screen has a couple of light marks that do not effect use. SKU: 220705-4
www.victorycamera.com
Hasselblad V viewfinder:
Hasselblad 45 Degree Prism Viewfinder for V Series | eBay
Find many great new & used options and get the best deals for Hasselblad 45 Degree Prism Viewfinder for V Series at the best online prices at eBay! Free shipping for many products!
www.ebay.com
Adapter plate:
Thanks!
Warren
Paul Spinnler
Well-known member
The benefit of the Alpa viewfinder is in conjunction with the TC and STC where it allows for handheld shooting together with the Alpa cable release and copal lenses ...
4x5Australian
Well-known member
Hi Warren,This sounds very interesting. Just want to be sure I have the components correct.
Are you using something like these?
Focusing Screen Adapter w/gridded ground glass:
Hasselblad 41050 Acute Matte Ground Glass Focusing Screen Super Wide -Clean-
This is the ground glass for the SWC and can also be used to check focus on the SLR camera. This is the later version with te acute Matte screen. The unit is in excellent condition with light wear. The screen has a couple of light marks that do not effect use. SKU: 220705-4
Hasselblad V viewfinder:
Hasselblad 45 Degree Prism Viewfinder for V Series | eBay
Find many great new & used options and get the best deals for Hasselblad 45 Degree Prism Viewfinder for V Series at the best online prices at eBay! Free shipping for many products!www.ebay.com
Adapter plate:
Thanks!
Warren
Yes, those are the components. They all fit and work together very well. With a caveat or two:
For the viewfinder itself I ended up with the later Hasselblad reflex RMfx unit (72530) despite its really nutso price, because having a mirror, rather than a prism, makes it lighter, and the 3.3x ocular lens is wide (I wear glasses) and enlarges the gridded ground glass very satisfyingly. It's a near-copy of the old Cambo T-20. However, as I found out the hard way, its construction is flimsy, and in my luggage on the return flight from Europe the mirror freed itself from its springy retainer clip and bounced all over the pristine ground glass, damaging it. The old Cambo T-20 is very rugged indeed and has even survived being dropped a few times without complaint. Anyway, yes, the older prism viewfinder you linked to is much more rugged and should work well.
The image is truly wonderful when the camera is unshifted. However, its brightness degrades quickly as soon as the rear plate is lowered, and only the brightest elements can be glimpsed as the shift is increased. That's why the Arca-Swiss viewfinder has bellows pleating and is able to vary the angle. A Cambo-made unit could incorporate a hinge, perhaps. Nonetheless, the setup here fulfills most of what I want from it.
I hope it works out for you, too.
Rod