Uh-oh... SWC and questions

[OAPOli]

The Biogon has an vertical FOV equivalent to 16mm in the 135 format. So you could use the 15mm Voigtlander or the 16mm VF for the Contax and visualize a square crop. There is also the Fotoman VF which accepts custom masks. It was inexpensive when I got mine but it doesn't look like it's available anymore.

You would need some sort of cold shoe extension to retract the VF. Not too hard to do.

 

[Pioneer]

My workplace is a nesting ground so they've charged me a few times over the years. A stern eye usually makes them think twice

My aunt had a gaggle of these birds and believe me, they really didn't have much respect for an 8 year old's "stern gaze."

 

[John Wiegerink]

My aunt had a gaggle of these birds and believe me, they really didn't have much respect for an 8 year old's "stern gaze."

When my sister and I were about 5 yrs old we would walk a farm field path to the neighbors house everyday to get a peppermint from the neighbor lady we called grandma. She had a pet goose that used to hide behind her chicken coup and wait for my sister and I to head for home. As soon as we got just past the chicken coup he'd come out flopping his wings and honking like crazy. He'd hit that field path running and flopping full throttle. We didn't stand a chance of out running him and he'd bite our butts until we reached our property and then he'd head back home. He'd never attack us going there, but would nail us on the way back. Yes, you could certainly feel the bite through our thin cotton shorts. I think we made his day. Oh, I think it made grandpa and grandma neighbors day too. At least he'd let us get the peppermint.

 

[Pieter12]

Having been the recipient of a few nibbles from those not so friendly teeth I can attest that they are not rare.

They make better guardians than some dogs.

 

[Sirius Glass]

When my sister and I were about 5 yrs old we would walk a farm field path to the neighbors house everyday to get a peppermint from the neighbor lady we called grandma. She had a pet goose that used to hide behind her chicken coup and wait for my sister and I to head for home. As soon as we got just past the chicken coup he'd come out flopping his wings and honking like crazy. He'd hit that field path running and flopping full throttle. We didn't stand a chance of out running him and he'd bite our butts until we reached our property and then he'd head back home. He'd never attack us going there, but would nail us on the way back. Yes, you could certainly feel the bite through our thin cotton shorts. I think we made his day. Oh, I think it made grandpa and grandma neighbors day too. At least he'd let us get the peppermint.

Proverbial "Bite in the @$$!

 

[Rayt]

I used one for street photography along side my Rolleiflex. For street photography I don’t need to compose with the viewfinder. After a while you will know what the lens sees. For street photography it’s usually 1,5 to 2m from the subject. For anything else I use the Voigtlander angle finder. The bubble level is the most useful accessory. I don’t like the Blad torpedo finder and never use it.

 

[John Wiegerink]

Proverbial "Bite in the @$$!

Yup, great watch dogs for sure. The neighbor on the other side had 5 geese and they were honkers. We used to play ball in their yard, but you always made sure to wear your shoes while playing ball there. Now my wife and I have a cottage on a small northern lake in Michigan and love it. Except we are over run with those foreign geese from Canada. Love my SWC, but hate them damn gooses.

 

[Arthurwg]

Dang, those viewfinders are not cheap.

In the good old days of yore, the finder was ALWAYS sold with the camera. Apparently sellers discovered that they could separate them and gouge customers for the much needed finder. The god of photography has reserved a special circle of hell for them.

 

[Sirius Glass]

In the good old days of yore, the finder was ALWAYS sold with the camera. Apparently sellers discovered that they could separate them and gouge customers for the much needed finder. The god of photography has reserved a special circle of hell for them.

Try Amazon, eBay, camera stores and KEH.com

 

[Dan Daniel]

In the good old days of yore, the finder was ALWAYS sold with the camera. Apparently sellers discovered that they could separate them and gouge customers for the much needed finder. The god of photography has reserved a special circle of hell for them.

This camera came from an estate cleanout. Very clean condition. I bet the finder was sitting right next to it and found its way to another box or to the dump out of ignorance, not malfeasance.

I see the finders on Ebay, easy enough. I'm willing to try freelancing the FOV as Rayt suggests for a bit and see what happens.

 

[John Wiegerink]

This camera came from an estate cleanout. Very clean condition. I bet the finder was sitting right next to it and found its way to another box or to the dump out of ignorance, not malfeasance.

I see the finders on Ebay, easy enough. I'm willing to try freelancing the FOV as Rayt suggests for a bit and see what happens.

You got nothing to lose by trying the FOV way. I often wonder where all those SWC finder went from the SWC cameras on eBay. Do people really separate camera from finder to sell on eBay? What is this world coming to anyway.

 

[Don_ih]

@Dan Daniel - when you want a finder, post a want to buy on here. As you've seen from the responses to this thread, some people have them but prefer the Voightlander. Someone may sell you one for a good price.

And @Arthurwg is right. There is common claim that you will get more for things you sell on ebay if you split them up. They tend to take longer to sell, but they do make more money. People don't sell on ebay to be charitable.

 

[Don_ih]

I often wonder where all those SWC finder went from the SWC cameras on eBay.

I'd say a lot of them have been lost.

 

[Rayt]

For street shots of people the subject is going to be in the center anyway to avoid wide angle effect so no finder framing will be a cinch. It’s the other stuff.

No finder grab shot in Bangkok

 

[John Wiegerink]

For street shots of people the subject is going to be in the center anyway to avoid wide angle effect so no finder framing will be a cinch. It’s the other stuff.

No finder grab shot in BangkokView attachment 416781

yes, with the 38mm Biogons angle of view you can use it as a street camera very easily by holding the camera like a waist level TLR and centering the bubble while aiming at your subject. Most of the time you'll find you have to be a little closer to your subject than you think.

 

[Rayt]

yes, with the 38mm Biogons angle of view you can use it as a street camera very easily by holding the camera like a waist level TLR and centering the bubble while aiming at your subject. Most of the time you'll find you have to be a little closer to your subject than you think.

The norm for me is 5 to 6 feet. The shot above was probably 6’. More important to hold it perfectly level. The built in is fine but kinda small and I shoot in low light so a large accessory level is more useful than a finder. And you’ll never hold it up to your eye anyway for such a shot. It’s a fun camera. This one was from 4 feet:

 

[John Wiegerink]

The norm for me is 5 to 6 feet. The shot above was probably 6’. More important to hold it perfectly level. The built in is fine but kinda small and I shoot in low light so a large accessory level is more useful than a finder. And you’ll never hold it up to your eye anyway for such a shot. It’s a fun camera. This one was from 4 feet:View attachment 416783

Yes, and being almost silent when you trip the shutter doesn't hurt for street use either. The lens is good enough so you can crop out many mistakes, but not all. Like you said above, keeping things level is very important unless you like weird distortion.

 

[Prest_400]

Fantastic Bangkok shots there!

I forgot to post, but wanted to contribute by sharing a link to a contraption of an upside down SWC set as dashcam. However, could not find it... Reddit things, but the shot was very neat.

OT but as I am very ordinary, call my P645 with a 35mm as budget SWC. Cost wise, and wider plus eases framing /s Brought it through Bangkok but didn't do any worthy street shots there with it unlike Rayt.
I did find the ultrawide very useful. On a previous trip, a 40mm equivalent was tight in some scenes.

Could a sort of Sportsfinder be built, akin to what the Gemini program SWCs used?

 

[Arthurwg]

The norm for me is 5 to 6 feet. The shot above was probably 6’. More important to hold it perfectly level. The built in is fine but kinda small and I shoot in low light so a large accessory level is more useful than a finder. And you’ll never hold it up to your eye anyway for such a shot. It’s a fun camera. This one was from 4 feet:View attachment 416783

Yes, exactly. Perfect street picture.

 

[Dan Daniel]

Thanks all.

A sportsfinder is what I am playing around with now. the issue is that you need to basically rotate your eye around the central point in order to register the full width, and it will always be partial as you try to see left to right.

I need some warmer weather to get out and see what really happens, etc.