Using External Finders for Wide angle lenses

enivre · 31st July 2007

Hi guys,

I was wondering do most of you with wide lenses use an external finder? I have found it rather difficult to toggle back and forth between the two to check on exposure and then framing.

I'm also a little worried that the finder will "drop out" because there's no locking mechanism on the hotshoe.

Any ideas? Thanks!
Erv.

haagen_dazs · 31st July 2007

when i use my 21mm vf for the contax g2, it fits very tightly
it shouldnt just drop out
i think continual practice will make toggling back and forth easy
for the contax 21mm finder, it has a cross hair for you to point and focus, half press and recompose
the finders do not adjust for parallex error but usually, for wide angle lenses, the shift isnt alot
just keep that in mind

chiif · 1st August 2007

I can understand it's kind of troublesome to toggle between the focusing finder and the view finder. What i usually do is (1) prefocus by estimating the distance, (2) bring up to the eye and make sure the exposure is correct, (3) do a final focus confirmation, which shouldn't be too far off and (4) bring my eye to the view finder to quickly compose and shoot.

If you are indoor using a fast film and lighting is pretty consistent, step 2 can be skipped.

That's why I prefer using lens that are not RF coupled with finder, for 15mm just set to infinity (1.5~2m) and shoot. For indoors, use a 400 or 1600 film and set to 1/60s. Result is simply stunning. I shot my wife's delivery using a 1600 film and simply love every shot of the 36 frames that I took.

For 21mm, 25mm, 28mm, just use my R4

enivre · 1st August 2007

Hm... What I'm doing now is actually cheating, I'm using my 25mm snapshot but w/o the viewfinder, I just look into the regular finder and estimate to shoot a little more than what I see in the finder.. haha..

Not quite accurate but saves 1 step esp. considering 25mm is still not that wide yet..

alternatve · 1st August 2007

I'm using an old camera with a seperate view and range finder. It's quite alright once you get used to it. You'll learn how to judge distances as well.

I'm trying to shoot without placing my eye on the viewfinder /rangefinder. Just guess range and shoot. makes for fast, unnoticed shots

enivre · 2nd August 2007

Okay... just need more practice I suppose.. as with everything else.. haha

31st July 2007	#1
enivre Member Join Date: Nov 2002 Posts: 1,695	Using External Finders for Wide angle lenses Hi guys, I was wondering do most of you with wide lenses use an external finder? I have found it rather difficult to toggle back and forth between the two to check on exposure and then framing. I'm also a little worried that the finder will "drop out" because there's no locking mechanism on the hotshoe. Any ideas? Thanks! Erv.

31st July 2007	#2
haagen_dazs Member Join Date: May 2002 Location: New YorkNew JerseyBoston Posts: 1,074	Re: Using External Finders for Wide angle lenses when i use my 21mm vf for the contax g2, it fits very tightly it shouldnt just drop out i think continual practice will make toggling back and forth easy for the contax 21mm finder, it has a cross hair for you to point and focus, half press and recompose the finders do not adjust for parallex error but usually, for wide angle lenses, the shift isnt alot just keep that in mind __________________ Regards, Mark Pang www.markpangphotography.com

1st August 2007	#3
chiif Advertiser Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Excelsior S.C #02-25 Posts: 2,371	Re: Using External Finders for Wide angle lenses I can understand it's kind of troublesome to toggle between the focusing finder and the view finder. What i usually do is (1) prefocus by estimating the distance, (2) bring up to the eye and make sure the exposure is correct, (3) do a final focus confirmation, which shouldn't be too far off and (4) bring my eye to the view finder to quickly compose and shoot. If you are indoor using a fast film and lighting is pretty consistent, step 2 can be skipped. That's why I prefer using lens that are not RF coupled with finder, for 15mm just set to infinity (1.5~2m) and shoot. For indoors, use a 400 or 1600 film and set to 1/60s. Result is simply stunning. I shot my wife's delivery using a 1600 film and simply love every shot of the 36 frames that I took. For 21mm, 25mm, 28mm, just use my R4

1st August 2007	#4
enivre Member Join Date: Nov 2002 Posts: 1,695	Re: Using External Finders for Wide angle lenses Hm... What I'm doing now is actually cheating, I'm using my 25mm snapshot but w/o the viewfinder, I just look into the regular finder and estimate to shoot a little more than what I see in the finder.. haha.. Not quite accurate but saves 1 step esp. considering 25mm is still not that wide yet..

1st August 2007	#5
alternatve Member Join Date: Dec 2006 Posts: 1,311	Re: Using External Finders for Wide angle lenses I'm using an old camera with a seperate view and range finder. It's quite alright once you get used to it. You'll learn how to judge distances as well. I'm trying to shoot without placing my eye on the viewfinder /rangefinder. Just guess range and shoot. makes for fast, unnoticed shots

2nd August 2007	#6
enivre Member Join Date: Nov 2002 Posts: 1,695	Re: Using External Finders for Wide angle lenses Okay... just need more practice I suppose.. as with everything else.. haha