Jonathan-sv
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I was trying a 50mm Canon f1.4 lens on a Leica IIIA and the lens is so big it blocked part of the built in viewfinder. I had a Voigtländer Kontur viewfinder sitting around and put it on and I was quite pleased with how the two worked together. For those of you unfamiliar with the Kontur, it shows a white frame on a black background when you look through it, and by keeping both eyes open, the white frame shows what a 50mm lens would capture (for the one I had) together with your other eye.
One problem with the one I have, though, is that the black film (or whatever) is damaged so that there are also white spots and scratches. I have been thinking of making a new one, probably by scanning the original mask, cleaning the image, reversing it to a black frame on a white background, printing it, and then photographing it with a suitable magnification to produce a mostly black piece of film with the transparent fiame.
Has anyone ever done this?
A more complicated question relates to the different models that Voigtländer made. One of them, relatively rare, had a frame for 35mm lens on a 35 mm camera. I have considered making an image with 2 sets of frames, one for the 50mm lens and one for the 35mm lens. Then one would see both frames superimposed on the image from the 'other' eye. What I don't know is whether the optical system of the Kontura is the same for the 50mm and 35mm versions.
A more cosmetic quesion relates to the appearance of Kontur. There are the remains of leather glued around the circumference of the metal ring around the lens, which appears to be only metal on the pictures of the Kontur I can find on-line. I can remove this easily enough, but the question is whether I should replace it not.....
One problem with the one I have, though, is that the black film (or whatever) is damaged so that there are also white spots and scratches. I have been thinking of making a new one, probably by scanning the original mask, cleaning the image, reversing it to a black frame on a white background, printing it, and then photographing it with a suitable magnification to produce a mostly black piece of film with the transparent fiame.
Has anyone ever done this?
A more complicated question relates to the different models that Voigtländer made. One of them, relatively rare, had a frame for 35mm lens on a 35 mm camera. I have considered making an image with 2 sets of frames, one for the 50mm lens and one for the 35mm lens. Then one would see both frames superimposed on the image from the 'other' eye. What I don't know is whether the optical system of the Kontura is the same for the 50mm and 35mm versions.
A more cosmetic quesion relates to the appearance of Kontur. There are the remains of leather glued around the circumference of the metal ring around the lens, which appears to be only metal on the pictures of the Kontur I can find on-line. I can remove this easily enough, but the question is whether I should replace it not.....
