Searching for 5cm finder!

[André E.C.]

Someone has an extra 5cm finder to sell?
I need one to my Kiev 4a.

Don`t need to be very fancy!

Cheers

André

 

[eumenius]

Hello Andre,

oh my. And what's happened with the built-in Kiev viewfinder, eh? The only Russian-made VF including 50mm focal length was a VU, a turret type... I wonder if some fixed-length finders for 50mm were ever made?

Cheers, Zhenya

 

[Roger Hicks]

Dear Andre,

I'd go for the Soviet-era turret. It usually costs less than the (admittedly delightful) Leitz 5cm, which is the only 5cm I have ever owned.

Cheers,

Roger

 

[David H. Bebbington]

Voigtländer makes a nice 5 cm finder, too - they can be found on e-bay for about £50 new (which may be more than you want to pay!).

Regards,

David

 

[Roger Hicks]

Dear Andre,

I've just realized -- I DO have another 5cm finder, a 'real' (pre-Cosina) Voigtlander. The only catch is that you can't see through it -- by design. It's a black front mask with a white frame. You look at that with one eye, and at the overall scene with the other eye. The brain superimposes the brightline on the scene. Sounds weird but works really well, especially in poor light. Some people, apparently, can't use them but I find them fine.

I'm pretty sure I have two, but I'm not sure where. If you're interested, I'll try and find my second best one. They're not worth a fortune, maybe a tenner (currently $19.50 or about 15 euros). But I can't guarantee I'll find it!

If you find one elsewhere, be aware that if it says '35mm' on it, this means (as far as I am aware) that they are for the 35mm format with a 50mm lens, not for 35mm on 35mm.

Cheers,

Roger

 

[David A. Goldfarb]

I used to have a Kontur finder just like Roger describes, and I really liked it. Since you're not looking through any kind of optical system other than your own eye, there is absolutely no light loss, and I could frame very accurately with it. The "35mm" finder (yes, it's confusing, and yes, it's for the 35mm format with a 50mm lens) will also work on 6x9 with a 105mm lens.

 

[André E.C.]

Thank you all for your answers so far.
Starting by the Voigtländer Kontur, yes, I took that option in consideration and I like the concept, what I don`t like is the fact I always need to focus on the camera range finder and then frame on the other. Lazy? Maybe I am, but...!
AS for the KMZ turrets, I have looked to many, they seem fine, parallax correction, optics for 28mm, 35mm, 50mm, 85mm and 135mm, not bad, but also not that good and the reason is simple, I wasn`t able to find one "right side"( for Contax/Kiev) construction, the ones I`ve seen are "left side" (Leica/Fed/Zorki) construction and I`m worried with the turret obstructing my rewind button. It would be ridiculous to take the turret off each time I rewind film.
The original ones from Zeiss are rightly built, but of course, they are very expensive.
Well, gonna keep looking but certainly I would prefer the Leitz 5cm, it`s small and well built, maybe one cross my path at a reasonable price.
As I´m planning to use a 50 alone with this kit, a smaller 5cm seems a perfect choice.

Once again, thank you all for your input.

Cheers

André