Canon viewfinders for the F-1n

[dave olson]

I had occasion to pick up two of Canon's two other viewfinders recently. One is the speed finder, an interesting finder. The entire viewfinder image is viewable from 60mm away. A feature is that the head will swivel 180 degrees to allow for waist level viewing, and a flash hotshoe. I can think of macro applications where this will be useful. The one drawback is the added weight, versus the AE finder or the eye level finder FN. The other finder I bought is a waist level chimney finder. It has a large eyecup for blocking all side light, it also provides a 6X magnification and a diopter correction from -3 to plus +5. Both are pristine and came in their own plastic cases.

 

[dynachrome]

I have two or three Speed Finders for the mechanical F-1 cameras and one for the New F-1. They are indeed handy for macro work. If you want a really heavy finder, try the Action Finder for the Nikon F or F2 or the even heavier one for the Bronica ETR series cameras. You can get quite a workout carrying around a camera with one of these. I once spent a day walking around Montreal with a Mamiya 645 1000S with a meter prism and the right hand motor winder. I was also carrying four lenses. I slept well that night but my shoulder and arms were sore. The rig, even with one lens attached, was too heavy to hang on my neck. I took delivery today of a second 28-85/4 New FD. I like the lens too much to only have one. I enjoy using it on a New F-1.