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Waist level chimney magnifier to fit Contax 645?

lowep

Member
Having trouble manual focussing my Contax 645, so am looking for magnifier options. Unfortunately Kyocera never made a WLF chimney magnifier or eyepiece magnifier for this great camera. But other camera makers like Mamiya and Topcon did for theirs.

So far I have come across and tried the Nikon DK-17 eyepiece that does fit in the eyepiece of my Contax 645, but it doesn't give much magnification. Reviews of other eyepiece magnifiers are not very positive.

So I am trying to figure out which if any waist level chimney magnifier or loupe with rectangular base will fit (more or less) on top of my Contax 645 in the position the WLF normally occupies? Or what magnifiying loupe may be narrow and long enough to slide down in the WLF to the ground glass focussing screen on top of the camera? I am not sure if this is a dumb idea or not? So suggestions most welcome.
 

Chuck Jones

Subscriber Member
Here are a couple of ideas.

Try a search for: Carson BigEye Magnifier
It's about $12, and you will be surprised how useful it is.

There are several sources for one of these in a 10X power. Very useful for sitting on ground glass as a focus assist:


Get the 10X version though, the usual 2X or 3X isn't enough for critical focus.
 

lowep

Member
Thanks Chuck, I ended up solving this problem by investing in a custom split-image focusing screen from Maxwell Precion Optics. It cost me a lot more than a magnifier but works I think a lot better and this enables me to work effectively with the MFDB system I have rather than investing in a more expensive one, so at first glance apparently worth the investment.
 

Audii-Dudii

Active member
Thanks Chuck, I ended up solving this problem by investing in a custom split-image focusing screen from Maxwell Precion Optics. It cost me a lot more than a magnifier but works I think a lot better and this enables me to work effectively with the MFDB system I have rather than investing in a more expensive one, so at first glance apparently worth the investment.
For the record, Contax did make a folding, waist-level finder for its 645 body, but they are hard to find these days and expensive when one does. Although I do have one for my Contax 645 outfit, I prefer to use a 3.5X Mamiya loupe designed to cover up to 6x6 and place it directly over the top of the focusing screen (it actually sits on the rails that mount the finder, not the screen itself) because it's both brighter and less distorted. These are also NLA and can be hard to find and costly, too, but that's what happens when supply is less than demand...
 
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