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Horseman Direct View Bino Reflex


michael_allen6

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Hi All, I'm am aware of the folding model that horseman offers but I'm

interested in the "Direct Viewer" do to the 45 degree angle and limited

compositioning. (I'm verticaly challanged and hate standing on my tip toes) I'm

using an Ebony SVTE and was hoping some one out there has used this

device.

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The viewer is quite nice, but to my knowledge it fits only on Horseman cameras, so you probably will need a custom adapter. I have one made for my Toho camera - nothing dificult, but it takes a skilled machinist.<p>

Using the viewer is quite nice to get an overall impression of a framed shot with the builtin loupe. But for critical focussing work (Scheimplug applications!) I have to remove the viewer's loupe and use a conventional one. Still, the viewer is useful for shading off light as a dark cloth replacement (if it's too hot, or if there are so many people around that I feel uncomfortable sticking my head beneath the cloth).<p>

However, although much less bulky than a mirror viewer, the direct bino viewer is still quite large to pack - this conflicts with the whole purpose of the Toho camera (packing as light and small as possible for a LF monorail), so I find I tend not to carry the viewer in the field. Maybe I'll have an adapter for my Arca F-Line made someday and the viewer sees more usage then...<p>

Keep in mind that the direct bino viewer is discontinued by Horseman since at least 1.5 years, so you'll have to get one used - this was not so easy when I bought mine in spring 2003 (Robert White was very helpful). AFAIK Sinar wide angle bellows can be combined with a bino loupe, so that might be a possible replacement.<p>

My summary: the Horseman direct viewer is a useful gadget for those that <b>really</b> dislike dark cloths and prefer direct ground glass inspection over mirrored images - but I'm still not sure wether the viewer is really <b>better</b> than a dark cloth, and it's more and heavier to pack in the field.

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