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tromboads · 04-30-2013, 06:54 PM

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Originally posted by jon404

......And, back to viewfinders, Graphic users had a wireframe finder, for fast sports pictures. Later on, Kodak made a much smaller one for the Retinas... and it is metal, very well-made, and goes in the hotshoe of a K-01. KEH has them from time to time under 'Kodak Retina Prisms and Viewfinders'. Again, don't bother with it (or any hotshoe finders) for telephoto... but for wide-angle, it's great! Folds flat on top of the camera when you're not using it.

Now that's a good idea!! I forgot all about them!

Originally posted by Docrwm:

I appreciate your guidance and correction. Its good to have folks around to help newbies like me with thread etiquette.

Oh so glad I could help

jon404 · 04-30-2013, 07:01 PM

@docrwm -- yes, the loupe is expensive. But isn't that relative? We will spend thousands for the cameras and their lenses, but so little on all the other bits and pieces that really help. I'm thinking about flash equipment here, mostly... and then getting a good polarizer, a rock-solid tripod, and so on. I don't know if I am expressing this properly -- but I think these accessories are more important than we usually give them credit for.

Docrwm · 04-30-2013, 07:30 PM

Originally posted by jon404

@docrwm -- yes, the loupe is expensive. But isn't that relative? We will spend thousands for the cameras and their lenses, but so little on all the other bits and pieces that really help. I'm thinking about flash equipment here, mostly... and then getting a good polarizer, a rock-solid tripod, and so on. I don't know if I am expressing this properly -- but I think these accessories are more important than we usually give them credit for.

In general terms I do not disagree with you. As I said, if the K-01 were my primary camera I might consider it. However, a camera with an optical viewfinder is the established and preferred alternative and I happen to have a K-5. As for good gear, I agree. I also believe in being frugal. So, I have an AF540 that cost me $250, a Manfrotto 055XPROB that cost me $61, and so forth. I believe that some of my most useful contributions to this forum have been my Alerts on sales on good equipment in the Pentax Price Watch - PentaxForums.com forum, because I value rock solid equipment but not sky high prices.

Transit · 05-06-2013, 06:16 PM

So, what is the opinion of you folks with various optical finders ?
Do you use it much, all the time, never ?
cheers
Pete

Docrwm · 05-06-2013, 06:29 PM

Originally posted by Transit

So, what is the opinion of you folks with various optical finders ?
Do you use it much, all the time, never ?
cheers
Pete

Occasionally, when I want to conserve power, don't want the LCD on, or have the 01 on the camera and I know what the FoV is through the viewfinder for it.

jon404 · 05-06-2013, 07:41 PM

There is one other alternative, which I used today. Had to, actually; my son gave me a Sony RX100 on the weekend, and... it doesn't have a hotshoe! But in bright light you can just line up the subject with the end of a finger on the top surface. Works sort-of-OK at wide-angle; maybe that's why Sony made it 20 MP, extra space for cropping/correcting.

In practice -- I used the metal folding Kodak Retina finder on my K-01 for about a month before I bought and attached the Hoodman loupe. The Kodak finder was very good, and you could adjust it for close-up parallax, not that I ever did. The others I tried, like my old Olympus VF-1 optical viewfinder, were OK at wide-angle, but increasingly inaccurate as the focal length increased. What the Kodak finder really did -- since it had no lens -- was let you keep seeing the subject as it came toward the viewfinder cut-out area. This was superb for tracking fast-moving subjects.

What you'll find -- when you use any of them -- is that at wide-angle (or close to it) -- you'll put the subject in the center of the frame -- and it will sort of be there on the photo. Forget about accurately composing an image. But for fast action, with your spot-focus point is pre-set to the center of the screen, you'll get the picture of the centered subject, and take pot luck with what lies outside the center.

sven84 · 05-08-2013, 12:11 AM

these ones look like they might be nice and discreet, 28mm and 40mm (close to the DA15 and DA21)

They have 10 in stock, but only for AUS & NZ.

And you get both for the price.

28mm 40mm 2X HOT Shoe Optical Viewfinder FOR Olympus Panasonic Sigma Sony L162 | eBay

Transit · 05-08-2013, 04:57 PM

Thanks for that outline jon404.
The Retina frame looks interesting, I'll start fishing on the local auction

sven84 thanks for the link, I'm within postal range

cheers
Pete

matoqui · 05-17-2013, 07:10 AM

I use a tele-wide OVF made for a Yashica 35. I find it useful with the 18-55 kit lens. The "tele" marks seem to correspond to a FL ~ 45mm; the "wide" marks to about 30mm. Outside the wide marks you can see a scene that roughly corresponds to a FL ~ 18mm. I did had to adjust the screws of the OVF a little to get it aligned with the lens.

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04-30-2013, 06:54 PM	#16
tromboads Veteran Member Join Date: Apr 2012 Location: Melbs Photos: Gallery Posts: 1,240	Staff note: This post may contain affiliate links, which means Pentax Forums may earn a small commission if a visitor clicks through and makes a purchase. If you would like to support the forum directly, you may also make a donation here. Originally posted by jon404 ......And, back to viewfinders, Graphic users had a wireframe finder, for fast sports pictures. Later on, Kodak made a much smaller one for the Retinas... and it is metal, very well-made, and goes in the hotshoe of a K-01. KEH has them from time to time under 'Kodak Retina Prisms and Viewfinders'. Again, don't bother with it (or any hotshoe finders) for telephoto... but for wide-angle, it's great! Folds flat on top of the camera when you're not using it. Now that's a good idea!! I forgot all about them! Originally posted by Docrwm: I appreciate your guidance and correction. Its good to have folks around to help newbies like me with thread etiquette. Oh so glad I could help

04-30-2013, 07:01 PM	#17
jon404 Veteran Member Join Date: Dec 2012 Photos: Gallery Posts: 696	@docrwm -- yes, the loupe is expensive. But isn't that relative? We will spend thousands for the cameras and their lenses, but so little on all the other bits and pieces that really help. I'm thinking about flash equipment here, mostly... and then getting a good polarizer, a rock-solid tripod, and so on. I don't know if I am expressing this properly -- but I think these accessories are more important than we usually give them credit for.

04-30-2013, 07:30 PM	#18
Docrwm Veteran Member Join Date: Sep 2010 Location: Somewhere in the Southern US Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 12,285	Originally posted by jon404 @docrwm -- yes, the loupe is expensive. But isn't that relative? We will spend thousands for the cameras and their lenses, but so little on all the other bits and pieces that really help. I'm thinking about flash equipment here, mostly... and then getting a good polarizer, a rock-solid tripod, and so on. I don't know if I am expressing this properly -- but I think these accessories are more important than we usually give them credit for. In general terms I do not disagree with you. As I said, if the K-01 were my primary camera I might consider it. However, a camera with an optical viewfinder is the established and preferred alternative and I happen to have a K-5. As for good gear, I agree. I also believe in being frugal. So, I have an AF540 that cost me $250, a Manfrotto 055XPROB that cost me $61, and so forth. I believe that some of my most useful contributions to this forum have been my Alerts on sales on good equipment in the Pentax Price Watch - PentaxForums.com forum, because I value rock solid equipment but not sky high prices.

05-06-2013, 06:16 PM	#19
Transit Pentaxian Join Date: Aug 2007 Location: Whanganui NZ Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 4,624	So, what is the opinion of you folks with various optical finders ? Do you use it much, all the time, never ? cheers Pete

05-06-2013, 06:29 PM	#20
Docrwm Veteran Member Join Date: Sep 2010 Location: Somewhere in the Southern US Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 12,285	Originally posted by Transit So, what is the opinion of you folks with various optical finders ? Do you use it much, all the time, never ? cheers Pete Occasionally, when I want to conserve power, don't want the LCD on, or have the 01 on the camera and I know what the FoV is through the viewfinder for it.

05-06-2013, 07:41 PM	#21
jon404 Veteran Member Join Date: Dec 2012 Photos: Gallery Posts: 696	There is one other alternative, which I used today. Had to, actually; my son gave me a Sony RX100 on the weekend, and... it doesn't have a hotshoe! But in bright light you can just line up the subject with the end of a finger on the top surface. Works sort-of-OK at wide-angle; maybe that's why Sony made it 20 MP, extra space for cropping/correcting. In practice -- I used the metal folding Kodak Retina finder on my K-01 for about a month before I bought and attached the Hoodman loupe. The Kodak finder was very good, and you could adjust it for close-up parallax, not that I ever did. The others I tried, like my old Olympus VF-1 optical viewfinder, were OK at wide-angle, but increasingly inaccurate as the focal length increased. What the Kodak finder really did -- since it had no lens -- was let you keep seeing the subject as it came toward the viewfinder cut-out area. This was superb for tracking fast-moving subjects. What you'll find -- when you use any of them -- is that at wide-angle (or close to it) -- you'll put the subject in the center of the frame -- and it will sort of be there on the photo. Forget about accurately composing an image. But for fast action, with your spot-focus point is pre-set to the center of the screen, you'll get the picture of the centered subject, and take pot luck with what lies outside the center.

05-08-2013, 12:11 AM	#22
sven84 Junior Member Join Date: Mar 2012 Posts: 25	these ones look like they might be nice and discreet, 28mm and 40mm (close to the DA15 and DA21) They have 10 in stock, but only for AUS & NZ. And you get both for the price. 28mm 40mm 2X HOT Shoe Optical Viewfinder FOR Olympus Panasonic Sigma Sony L162 \| eBay

05-08-2013, 04:57 PM	#23
Transit Pentaxian Join Date: Aug 2007 Location: Whanganui NZ Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 4,624	Thanks for that outline jon404. The Retina frame looks interesting, I'll start fishing on the local auction sven84 thanks for the link, I'm within postal range cheers Pete

05-17-2013, 07:10 AM	#24
matoqui Senior Member Join Date: Jul 2009 Location: Puerto Rico Photos: Gallery Posts: 115	I use a tele-wide OVF made for a Yashica 35. I find it useful with the 18-55 kit lens. The "tele" marks seem to correspond to a FL ~ 45mm; the "wide" marks to about 30mm. Outside the wide marks you can see a scene that roughly corresponds to a FL ~ 18mm. I did had to adjust the screws of the OVF a little to get it aligned with the lens.