Waist Level Finders, do you get used to them?

MattKing · Jun 10, 2018

I'm comfortable using them. I've been using them, off and on, for decades.
For scenes that have a bit of movement in them, it just takes a conscious effort to follow what I need to follow.
I've never tried to use them for most sports or anything else with a lot of movement.
They probably would be fine for golf!

narsuitus · Jun 10, 2018

abruzzi said:
did you acclimate to the mirror image, if so how quickly?

Decades ago, I only used waist-level view finders.

My first eye-level SLR (Miranda Sensorex) had a removable prism that could be replaced with a waist-level finder.

I took me a while to acclimate to the eye-level view finder.

David T T · Jun 10, 2018

I still have difficulties framing/composing photos with the RB67 at times, after years of using it for the vast majority of what I do. Or perhaps delays would be a better term. Still my favorite viewfinder by far!

Arklatexian · Jun 10, 2018

abruzzi said:
did you acclimate to the mirror image, if so how quickly?

Did you ever find yourself driving home from a shoot, veering into traffic?

(Ok, the last question isn’t really serious.)

I am left handed. Everything has been backwards all my life. I guess that is why I have had little if any problems with what you describe. Upside-down 4x5 ground glass images are somewhat different, however........Regards!

TheRook · Jun 11, 2018

Yes, I got used to it after about of week or so by simply practicing half an hour a day. You don't really need to actually take pictures to practice using a waist level viewfinder. Only after I developed the skills to frame the shot and adjust focus very quickly did I feel ready to start on my first roll of film.

Sirius Glass · Jun 11, 2018

abruzzi said:
did you acclimate to the mirror image, if so how quickly?

Did you ever find yourself driving home from a shoot, veering into traffic?

(Ok, the last question isn’t really serious.)

I never acclimated. I tried it for years. Never liked it. In fact it drove me to shoot 35mm slr until I bought the Hasselblad. I have the WLF I bought with my Hasselblad and it has remained folded up and stored ever since I bought it. The PME is way to go.

RalphLambrecht · Jun 11, 2018

abruzzi said:
did you acclimate to the mirror image, if so how quickly?

Did you ever find yourself driving home from a shoot, veering into traffic?

(Ok, the last question isn’t really serious.)

Yeah, you'll get used to them quickly;takes a few rolls; a lot lighter than the other finders too.

Ai Print · Jun 11, 2018

I suppose it varies from person to person but it does not take long for me to get into the reversed groove of a WL finder.

summicron1 · Jun 11, 2018

I suspect it is a personal thing, but the human eye/mind is an amazing thing.

When I first got progressive lenses instead of bifocals I was told that I'd spend about two weeks bumping into things and falling down stairs but then one day I'd put them on and everything would be right and normal and I'd never give it a thought.

And so it was.

I read of an experiment, years ago, where scientist types demonstrated this adaptability by having volunteers wear special glasses that inverted the world -- made everything they looked at upside down. Again, they spent a cupla weeks falling down stairs and so on, but then their minds figure out what was going on and suddenly the whole world looked right.

Until they took the glasses off, of course. Then it was upside down again.

Mainecoonmaniac · Jun 11, 2018

I shot my Mamiya RZ for many years with a waist level finder because prism finders were unaffordable. I finally found a used one on Ebay and it opened up a whole new world of composing with my RZ. I don't think or see "flopped".

Stephen Prunier · Jun 11, 2018

I had an RZ that came with the waist level finder. I added the prism finder and I was really happy. My exposures improved a lot. Well I sold that set up a year ago to pay for a Nikon D model. I had the RZ for 3 years and made money on it. But I missed the RZ and I purchased another set up this past spring. This time I got the RZ II with WLF. It takes some getting use too, but it's not a deal breaker. I think the more you do it the more comfortable you'll become with it.

Arthurwg · Jun 11, 2018

Always use a prism on my Hasselblad. It also has a very good light meter which helps. But I'm sure I could get used to the WLF if I had to.

Sirius Glass · Jun 12, 2018

Arthurwg said:
Always use a prism on my Hasselblad. It also has a very good light meter which helps. But I'm sure I could get used to the WLF if I had to.

I could but really did not like it. Having a prism improved my composing and photographs.

mshchem · Jun 12, 2018

I tend to use 45 degree prism on Hasselblad and Bronica SQ-AI. Always, Always ,use WLF on RZ67 II. I know this sounds nuts, but WLF is easier (for me ) with a rectangle instead of a square focusing screen.

Slixtiesix · Jun 12, 2018

Always liked it from the very first moment I tried it. I prefer it over prisms. The WLF was one of the reasons why I went MF.

GLS · Jun 12, 2018

Never liked using it very much on my Hasselblad. Ever since I got my PM45 the WLF has been sat in a cupboard.

Old_Dick · Jun 12, 2018

Not a problem for me.

abruzzi · Jun 12, 2018

95% of my shots are static subjects so right now, its not hard,but I'm kind of like a ball in a pinball machine--bouncing back and forth, overshooting, until I zero in on where I need to be. Composing moving subjects is tough for me.

I will say I like everything else about the WLF, especially the feeling of looking-at my image, instead of looking through a periscope to the object on the other side.

abruzzi · Jun 12, 2018

mshchem said:
I tend to use 45 degree prism on Hasselblad and Bronica SQ-AI. Always, Always ,use WLF on RZ67 II. I know this sounds nuts, but WLF is easier (for me ) with a rectangle instead of a square focusing screen.

Does the RZ67 actually mask the image to align with the back? I've never used one, but I kind of expected it just displayed a 7x7 square with crop lines. Is the RB67 the same?

MattKing · Jun 12, 2018

abruzzi said:
Does the RZ67 actually mask the image to align with the back? I've never used one, but I kind of expected it just displayed a 7x7 square with crop lines. Is the RB67 the same?

With the RB67 Pro S there are cropping guides that change their appearance when you rotate the back.
I expect the same applies for the Pro-Sd and the RZ67 models.

choiliefan · Jun 12, 2018

My mom gifted me a Mamiya C33 when I was in HS in the early 70's so got used to the WLF early in life.
Still prefer it (or a magnifying chimney finder) to a prism mainly because of the lighter weight and brighter viewing.

dynachrome · Jun 12, 2018

A WL finder is handy for certain close-up work. When do I mostly use it? When I carry a Bronica SQ-A with one lens (80 or 65)and a 120 back. It's reasonably light, more versatile than a TLR and still gives me a nice 6X6 image. As someone else mentioned, with an RB camera the chimney finder is brighter and lighter. I do, however, sometimes use an RB hand held with a WL finder.

Luckless · Jun 12, 2018

I sometimes find myself caught out slightly when switching between my regular Pentaprism SLR and waist level finder on my TLR, especially when carrying them both to photograph sports. What seems to especially get me is adjusting level on the TLR, as I'm prone to both rotating the wrong way, and then promptly over-correcting my error, because why wouldn't I make things harder on myself in such cases?

However for the most part I don't find it to be that bothersome, and consider myself lucky to be able to quickly switch between my SLR, TLR, and large format view camera. I find the key is to slow down and make small slow adjustments to start with till my brain clicks over to the different view space before trying to move quickly.

And when tracking with the TLR's waist level finder I tend to try and visualize where I am in the space as much as I am looking through the viewfinder - Kind of picturing it as if I'm looking down on myself from behind, and rotating from the waist to roughly point the camera in the direction of what's going on. I'm sure the volume of video games I've played over the years has warped my mind's ability to process spaces in interesting ways.

NJH · Jun 12, 2018

It is properly freaky when you do suddenly get used to the left right flip. In my case I really struggled at first and actually gave up on WLF for a while. Then I was practising one day and kept telling myself no move the camera in the other direction. Then it happened. I have no problem at all with following movement or composing with the WLF now, if you tell your brain long and hard enough to rewire it does eventually do as instructed.

Sirius Glass · Jun 12, 2018

When I used a WLF on the field taking sports photographs, no matter how many months or years I used it, I missed a lot of shots going the wrong way. That is never a problem with the prism.

Waist Level Finders, do you get used to them?

MattKing

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Waist Level Finders, do you get used to them?

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