Right angle finders?

Donald Qualls · Mar 18, 2022

I saw a video from Steve O'Nions last night, showing off a right angle finder he had on his Nikon FE -- lets you use the camera, in either horizontal or vertical, with a look-down chimney finder equivalent, which (among other things) greatly eases low viewpoints with otherwise eye level viewfinders.

So I went to eBay, and found that apparently none of the available versions will fit my Nikkormat FT2 or FTn bodies. These don't, as far as I can see, have a removable eyepiece or bezel ring on the viewfinder. Are there any right angle finders that would fit this generation Nikkormat?

bdial · Mar 18, 2022

According to my old Nikon F Nikkormat handbook, one existed which fits both F's and Nikkormats. It doesn't give the model number though.

It's referenced in the index as "Angle Finder".

BobD · Mar 18, 2022

I recently sold a RAF that fits both the FE/FM series and it also fits my Nikkormat FTn. The box said it was for Nikon FM and Nikkormats.

My Nikkormat FTn does have a removable ring around the eyepiece which must be removed to attach the finder. It is larger than the ring on the FM/FE cameras but the threaded part is the same size.

Donald Qualls · Mar 18, 2022

Hmm. Those are the same ones and fit list I was seeing on eBay. Maybe I need a friction tool to remove the ring on my FT2.

JerseyDoug · Mar 18, 2022

Everything you ever wanted to know about Nikon right angle finders: https://www.nikonusa.com/fileuploads/pdfs/RtAngleFind_050511.pdf

I have a DR-4 right angle finder that works with my F6 and a DK-13 adaptor that makes it work with my late (round eyepiece) F.

Donald Qualls · Mar 18, 2022

Well, I bought a DR-3, which that chart says is compatible with "Nikkormat series", as did the seller as well. Now I just need to figure out how to get the bezel ring off the eyepiece (= how to get a grip on it without damaging it with pliers etc.).

John Koehrer · Mar 19, 2022

rubber stopper or rubber jar opener.I believe it's an internal thread once the ring is removed.

gone · Mar 19, 2022

Heat expands, you might have to put the 'mat in the oven. You probably actually could, those cameras are going to be working in the end times, along w/ the cock roaches. My usual method of getting things apart is to place a tiny drop of a very light oil where it can seep onto the threads, then tap the bezel all around the edges w/ the wooden handle of some sort of kitchen wooden spoon. Let it sit, give it some more taps, etc. It will come off, it just needs time.

BobD · Mar 19, 2022

Alcohol might help too if something sticky has gotten into the threads and dried. I have successfully loosened too-tight filters, screws, collars and other threaded parts this way.

250swb · Mar 20, 2022

Once started the eyepiece will unscrew easily. Apart from the other suggestions cited maybe a cable tie wrapped around the eyepiece tightly may give enough purchase to shift it? I've watched Steve O'Nions video and enjoyed agreeing with him on every point because I also use a DR-3 for landscape photography when I'm using a tripod (with F2, F3, FM2n). Gone are bent double poses, or wet knees, and it gives a bit more flexibility to where to position your tripod, difficult spots don't need to be avoided. You'll also probably find horizons are easier to get level if you aren't peering into the viewfinder from odd angles.

If it doesn't come with the finder the DR-3 also has a plastic adapter so it can be used with later cameras that have the rectangular plastic viewfinder window, for example the F301.

Donald Qualls · Mar 20, 2022

Well, on closer examination, I see that the inside threads are exposed, so whatever would be in them originally is long gone. Looks like I'll have to check my big bag of parts and parts bodies to see if there's a spare one in there, or consider lifting one from one of my FTn bodies. Or I might leave it as is, I've been using the camera without the "eyepiece" ring.

250swb said:
If it doesn't come with the finder the DR-3 also has a plastic adapter so it can be used with later cameras that have the rectangular plastic viewfinder window, for example the F301.

The likelihood of my getting a later Nikon is pretty slim. I have the FT2 and FTn bodies and the bag of parts because someone offered me the lot for next to nothing. No lenses, had to buy a few (and now just got the 500 f/8 mirror lens).

ic-racer · Mar 20, 2022

Just a caution, if you have or get a Nikon F6. This is not clear in the manual, but to unscrew the lens on the viewfinder the viewfinder shutter has to be closed. If one does not close the shutter, something will probably break trying to unscrew it.

millardmt · Mar 20, 2022

Donald Qualls said:
I saw a video from Steve O'Nions last night, showing off a right angle finder he had on his Nikon FE -- lets you use the camera, in either horizontal or vertical, with a look-down chimney finder equivalent, which (among other things) greatly eases low viewpoints with otherwise eye level viewfinders.

So I went to eBay, and found that apparently none of the available versions will fit my Nikkormat FT2 or FTn bodies. These don't, as far as I can see, have a removable eyepiece or bezel ring on the viewfinder. Are there any right angle finders that would fit this generation Nikkormat?

I used to use angle finders extensively on my Nikomat FT2 (and on various F2's too). But I found I was perpetually breaking the plastic eyepiece surrounds into which the finders were threaded. It was only after-the-fact that my favorite Nikkormat service man -- the late, great "Nikon Smith" (Pete Smith) of Florida -- *and* a Nikon F2 guru (Sover Wong), both counseled me *NEVER* to use an angle finder of any kind.

I'm sure everyone can imagine the mechanical strain these types of finders are able to exert -- but, really, I wanted to emphasize how poorly considered was Nikon's decision to market these diabolical devices in the first place!

Marc

JerseyDoug · Mar 20, 2022

I first used a Nikon right angle finder on an early (square eyepiece) Nikon F using the Nikon "Eyecup Adaptor." After breaking several of the adaptors I gave up doing that and didn't use a right angle finder on another Nikon until I got the F6. By that time I had been using a 90º finder on a Leica Visoflex for several years and found the built-in diopter adjustment to be indispensable. I borrowed the DR-4 from a dealer to try on the F6. I liked it so much that I bought the finder and have used it regularly with no issues.

Nicholas Lindan · Mar 20, 2022

I have a Nikon DR-3 I use on an FM2 with no issues -- but then the FM2 doesn't have one of those funky plastic surrounds around the eyepeice.

The nice thing about the DR-3 and other RA finders is that they can be used in portrait orientation. Using a waist-level or 6x chimney finder in portrait orientation is a non-starter.

Donald Qualls · Mar 21, 2022

The threaded eyepiece surround on my FT2, at least, is either metal or cunningly plated and matte finished plastic. Feels like metal to me.

Obviously the leverage of the right angle finder requires significant care not to bump it, grab it to adjust the camera angle, etc.

250swb · Mar 21, 2022

Donald Qualls said:
The threaded eyepiece surround on my FT2, at least, is either metal or cunningly plated and matte finished plastic. Feels like metal to me.

Obviously the leverage of the right angle finder requires significant care not to bump it, grab it to adjust the camera angle, etc.

Do you mean the viewfinder eyepiece, which is metal, or you've already unscrewed that, in which case you are talking about the top shell of the body without an eyepiece? The eyepiece needs to be removed before the DR-3 can be screwed on.

Donald Qualls · Mar 22, 2022

On my FT2 (which I got along with two working FTn bodies and a biggish bag of parts for next to nothing), there was no screw-in piece. I presume that's missing. The DR-3 (which came in yesterday's mail) did in fact screw right into the exposed threads. I'm not sure what's so fragile here, though -- the knurled thread ring on the DR-3 is metal, as is the thread ring in the top shell of the camera body. If something here is prone to breaking, it's probably the DR3 optical tube where it passes through the captive knurled ring.

Right angle finders?

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