Viewers for 6x9 cameras
VILNTFLUID
combination. I presume the Horseman viewer is binocular?
I have not seen either the Arca or Horseman viewers but consulting the Arca
catalogue it seems that Arca has several viewers including a binocular viewer,
a semi rigid viewing bellows, and a floppy bag viewing bellows. I saw a
similar bag bellows on a Linhof TK23S and it had a small magnifier in it. I
didn't use the camera formally but playing with the viewer I was surprised how
easy it was to evaluate the ground glass and thought it would be a very
suitable replacement for the dark cloth and focus loupe.
Anyone willing to share field experience with the binocular viewer and/or
either of the bellows viewers from Arca? Linhof?
Keith
Daniel Bereskin
to the rear of the camera is elasticized, and is constructed such that it can be
used both with 4 x 5 and 6 x 9 format frames. The viewing end has a frame onto
which a binocular ocular can be removeably attached. It is very easy to use, and
far superior in my opinion to a dark cloth. It is easy to pack, and the leather
can be wrapped around the binocular for protection in the camera bag. The only
catch is that you may need to fuss a bit with the bag leather to make sure it
doesn't block any part of the image, but that's not really hard to do. The
magnification is all my old eyes need for focussing. The image remains the same
as if you were looking at the ground glass, inverted and right to left, i.e.
there is no mirror in this system. Horseman makes a collapsible binocular viewer
that is quite big, somewhat delicate, with a mirror and a binocular, but I
thought that the viewer discussed in relation to the Ebony was their very slick
monocular telescopic viewer which, like the Linhof equivalent, can be adjusted to
cover a fairly wide range of lenses. One of the elements has a silvered mask,
dimensioned either for 6 x 9 or 4 x 5, i.e. you need to choose the viewer for the
appropriate format, you can't switch between them with one viewer, although in a
pinch you can use one for both formats for rough framing. The mask ocular is
removeable, but it is hideously expensive to buy one for each format, like about
$300 for the mask element alone! In effect, it's like the Linhof monocular
viewer except nicer to use, but sadly expensive. It attaches to the camera by
means of a foot of non standard size, hence you need the shoe onto which the foot
engages in order to removeably attach the viewer to the camera. The viewer
enables you to frame the image and there is an anti-parallax adjustment but you
still must study the ground glass for accurate framing and focussing, i.e. the
viewer is not coupled in any way to the camera focussing rack. Both the AS and
Horseman solutions are neat, but have their limitations, not the least of which
is cost!
Brian Ellis
returned it. It is very light and compact so it's much easier to carry in a
back pack than the reflex viewer. However, I didn't like having to squint
through the small round hole to view the ground glass. One of the pleasures
for me of 4x5 and 8x10 photography is viewing and working with the image on
the ground glass. Squinting through the round hole largely eliminated that
pleasure and reminded me too much of 35 mm photography. That, however, is
obviously a personal preference. The bellows worked very well and for
someone who wants to back pack, and really can't stomach a dark cloth (even
the BTZS type hood), I think the Linhof bellows would be a very viable
alternative.
"VILNTFLUID" <vilnt...@aol.com> wrote in message
news:20010127233411...@ng-fk1.aol.com...
VILNTFLUID
You said a lot and I am not sure I grasped the entirety of it.
Let's see if I can paraphrase some for you to acknowledge.
The AS bag bellows has a an elastic border so that it can fit over the rear
standard or back. The viewing end is just a "hole" without a magnifier or
ocular of any sort. There fore this is just a GG shade. For more money you
can buy a frame or mask that fits on the viewing end of the bellows? Then you
might want to buy an ocular that magnifies and fits to this frame? Can you use
the ocular without the mask/frame?
The Linhof solution I saw integrated the bellows onto a hinged GG cover. ONe
could insert a roll film holder or easily inspect the entire GG by just
swinging it away. This seems superior to the AS method. What does one do with
the AS bag bellows when inserting a film holder or attaching a RF holder?
You mentioned the Horseman binocular but not the AS one. Are they similar or
even the same (OEM)? Horseman reputedly makes the RF holders for ARCA. How
big and unwieldy is the binocular viewer and how much more cumbersome to carry
and use than a bag bellows viewer?
I am not aware of the Ebony telescopic viewer. I will go to their webpage.
People I have heard from report using the Horseman binocular viewer with a back
modified by Ebony.
Sorry for all the questions.
Keith
Åke Vinberg
I'm sitting here with the Horseman catalog printed 11/97... there are a
couple of different viewers listed, but only one that fits 6x9:
#22551 Angle Viewer: Plastic "box" fits over the GG, attaches somehow. Other
end of the box has a monocular reflex finder that rotates for both portrait
and landscape format, so that the ocular points upward when viewing. The
ocular is at a 70 degree angle. Seems like a fairly light unit, if you can
live with looking at a reversed right-side-up image with one eye only. Oh
yeah, and the price - $325 at B&H.
Ĺke
"Daniel Bereskin" <bere...@home.com> wrote in message
news:3A73D3B0...@home.com...
Daniel Bereskin
intended only for use with the binocular. The outer end of the bag terminates in
a metal frame, into which you can removeably attach the binocular, which
essentially is rectangular in shape, with two lenses of course. A rubber light
shield also can be attached, making the assembly look like a pair of goggles, thus
restricting the
light entering your eyes to that which comes from the ground glass.
That's essentially what the outer end of the thing looks like, except that instead
of planar lenses, you have magnifiers, one for each eye. The goggle
assembly, which holds the binocular lenses, attaches to the rectangular frame on
the outer end of the leather bag. The pieces are sold separately, as I understand
it, and conceivably one might be able to use the bag without the binocular, but I
never thought about doing that until you mentioned it, and think that would be
impractical,
because of you would have no focussing aid. There is no point in using the
binocular
assembly without the bag, because its way, way too expensive-you could get a cheap
pair of magnifying glasses for a fraction of the price! I always remove the bag
before
inserting the film holder. If you didn't, there could be a risk of light
leakage. I'm not familiar at all with the AS binocular viewer, sorry I can't
help. The Horseman foldable binocular viewer I saw works OK but my impresssion
was that it was fussy to attach, and flimsy in construction-a lot of thin metal
that could easily get bent out of shape. The Horseman monocular though is a
beauty-I use mine only as a rough framing guide, to help choose the right lens, (I
pretend I'm a Hollywood director), and I do the careful framing and focussing on
the ground glass. I'm not aware Ebony makes a viewer. My impression was that the
other chap simply
had Ebony install the shoe on the top of his camera, for receiving the foot at the
bottom of the monocular viewer. I haven't checked, but conceivably B & H has a
photo. You might be able to get a better idea of what I'm trying to communicate
from the fstopshere site, as they have a catalogue of AS stuff. Hope this
helps. If you wish, and I get a chance, I might make digital photos of the
various bits for you to see. Let me know.
The VILNTFLUID wrote:
> Daniel
> You said a lot and I am not sure I grasped the entirety of it.
>
> Let's see if I can paraphrase some for you to acknowledge.
>
> The AS bag bellows has a an elastic border so that it can fit over the rear
> standard or back. The viewing end is just a "hole" without a magnifier or
> ocular of any sort. There fore this is just a GG shade. For more money you
> can buy a frame or mask that fits on the viewing end of the bellows? Then you
> might want to buy an ocular that magnifies and fits to this frame? Can you use
> the ocular without the mask/frame?
>
Ian Brocklebank
bag, but I have also made an adapter plate so that I can use the Arca-Swiss
binocular viewer.
The A-S binocular viewer has to be about the best piece of kit I have ever
bought. It is particularly neat compared to, for instance, the Sinar
equivalent, as the tilt on the mirror is obtained by a single hinge in the
main body, rather than a separately-tilting mirror inside a big rigid box.
It also makes focussing delightfully easy, even with wide field lenses.
Apparently, the theory is that if you use both eyes, your irises open up to
take in as much light as possible, whereas with only one eye to the viewer,
it will not open up so much. It works. I hardly ever use the camera without
this now. It's worth bearing in mind that focussing in 6x9cm is much more
critical than in 5x4 in, so all help is a good idea.
A couple of weeks ago I had a rare situation where I wanted to use the
Linhof bag, so I took it out and found the foam rubber in the bag had
perished. I phoned Linhof & Studio here in London and was told a new bag
(bag only, mind you) would be £94+VAT. I make that about US$145+tax for a
bit of cloth, and it doesn't even have "Linhof" written on it! I don't think
I will bother with it again. Besides, if you use tilt and want to adjust the
focus as you go, with one of these floppy things you need three hands, and
Linhof don't make an extra one of those at any price.
Go with the A-S binocular magifier, it's worth every penny it will cost.
Ian B
"VILNTFLUID" <vilnt...@aol.com> wrote in message
news:20010127233411...@ng-fk1.aol.com...