Auxiliary W.A. viewfinder for Speed Graphic?

[Reid Gray]

I apologize if this has been addressed already (I've searched here and elsewhere but had no luck). I shoot a Speed handheld in New York City, where the considrable security guard population seems to think tripods are illegal (like any good New Yorker, I don't mind a vehement argument, but I'd rather take pictures). My 135 Optar is well suited to this close environment, but recent hikes in the Grand Canyon made clear the usefulness of something in the 90mm range. My question is whether there is an auxiliary viewfinder that would approximate the view through a lens of about this length. I wouldn't want to haul a tripod around when hiking either, so ground-glass viewing is out. I understand there are finder masks to be used with longer lenses, but I suspect there's no wide-angle glass that can be similary affixed to the stock finder when shorter lenses are used--which probably wouldn't work with the parallax adjustment anyway. I can rig a wire piece to clip onto the sports finder, but I was hoping Graphlex had come up with something more elegant, since they seem to have thought of everything. Thank you in advance for any suggestions.

 

[BrianShaw]

"... but I was hoping Graphlex had come up with something more elegant, since they seem to have thought of everything."

I one thought this was true, but I have never seen a WA viewfinder either! It seems logical, though, so maybe we both are lacking some important knowledge. Have you checked www.graflex.org?

 

[Reid Gray]

"... but I was hoping Graphlex had come up with something more elegant, since they seem to have thought of everything."

I one thought this was true, but I have never seen a WA viewfinder either! It seems logical, though, so maybe we both are lacking some important knowledge. Have you checked www.graflex.org?

I had searched graflex.org with various search terms, but I just took another look using my preferred approach (randomly poking around), and I found a remark from wlewisiii that the sports finder automatically corrects for the mounted lens, which of course makes sense. I'm sure it's accurate enough for my purposes, and if it's off by much I'll just keep that in mind when shooting (especially up close, where I'm guessing parallax will be more of an issue, but I don't mind making sure I get more than I want when the negatives are this large). Sorry this didn't occur to me before I asked a dumb question. Thanks for nudging me back to where the answer was lurking.

 

[Fotoguy20d]

Since 90mm on 4x5 is about equivalent to 28mm, you might try looking for a 28mm viewfinder. There are a lot of the old Leica LTM finders around and not too pricy, but I think they only go to 35mm at widest. Apparently they made a 28mm one for M but it would cost more than the camera you'd be putting it on.

 

[Bill Mitchell]

Yes, there is an optical WA viewfinder attachment, which drops into the regular tubular finder just like the ordinary masks do, and is quite close to the actual field of view of a 90mm lens. I'll try to find mine and post a picture (but it disappeared into a huge pile of boxes when I moved 3 years ago, along with my 90mm Angulon). They come up on ebay occasionally.

 

[Bill Mitchell]

Uh, sorry, but I just realized that I can't post a picture on APUG.

 

[Reid Gray]

Since 90mm on 4x5 is about equivalent to 28mm, you might try looking for a 28mm viewfinder. There are a lot of the old Leica LTM finders around and not too pricy, but I think they only go to 35mm at widest. Apparently they made a 28mm one for M but it would cost more than the camera you'd be putting it on.

Thanks; good idea. Come to think of it, I have a Leica universal finder for my IIIf, although it too only opens to 35mm. I agree about the cost of the 21-24-28.

 

[Reid Gray]

Yes, there is an optical WA viewfinder attachment, which drops into the regular tubular finder just like the ordinary masks do, and is quite close to the actual field of view of a 90mm lens....

I guess Graphlex did think of everything after all. Thank you; I'll keep my eyes open for one.

 

[juan]

The wire sports finder adjusts for focal length automatically. If you take a look, you'll see the front wire is on the lens axis and the rear peephole is on the film plane - thus it automatically compensates. Will that automatic adjustment work for wide angle? I don't know, but I'd suggest setting up the camera on a tripod, then taking a look at the ground glass and compare what you see to what you see through the sports finder.
juan

 

[Reid Gray]

I'd suggest setting up the camera on a tripod, then taking a look at the ground glass and compare what you see to what you see through the sports finder.
juan

Thank you. I can do this to check closeup parallax also. Even though I almost always shoot handheld, I love the fact that the ground glass is there to provide the final word on what the negative will look like. Right now I'm guessing that if the sports finder isn't an exact match for a wide-angle lens, it'll just mean that I'll get more on my negative than I thought when taking the shot, which would be fine. But the beauty of being able to check the glass is that, once I've decided on a lens, I won't have to rely on that guess. If the match isn't close enough, I can look for the viewfinder attachment Bill Mitchell mentioned.

I appreciate all the info and suggestions.

 

[darinwc]

personally I hate using viewfinders as they are allways dim and squinty.

the wire frame finder works well. But after you get a feel for the angle of view, just point and shoot.

 

[BrianShaw]

I guess Graphlex did think of everything after all. Thank you; I'll keep my eyes open for one.

Well, I'll be a ...

I guess even an old dog can learn something new.

Graflex DID think of everything!

http://www.geocities.com/antjam65/GraflexInfo.html

 

[Reid Gray]

Well, I'll be a ...

I guess even an old dog can learn something new.

Graflex DID think of everything!

http://www.geocities.com/antjam65/GraflexInfo.html

And I just learned how to spell "Graflex" (apologies for mangling the name all week).

Thanks for the chart, pictures and all. That should make it easier to be sure I'm getting what I want if I decide the wire finder's not close enough, or parallax looks like an issue, but from the sound of things the wire view would probably be good enough for me, and I could factor in any differences mentally.

 

[Steve Smith]

Though probably not as wide as 28mm some of the viewfinders on single use cameras are of a wider view than a standard lens. I assume the manufacturers of these cameras think that they need to be wide angle to make it easier to take snaps of groups of people.

One of these could be easily cut out and made into a separate viefinder for little or no cost. Again, comparing it to the ground glass view would show any similarity in viewing angle.


Steve.

 

[Reid Gray]

I like this single-use-camera idea. It has strong budgetary appeal.

I always assumed they went with wide angles on those things because the resulting depth of field means no need to focus. But sometimes I think it's just because people in point-and-shoot snapshots expect to look big-nosed and moonfaced.

 

[rwbill]

There are some useful instuctions on DIY wide-angle viewfinders adapted from single-use cameras on a Russian camera site:
http://jay.fedka.com/index_files/Page358.htm