What is a Torpedo finder?

At the Camera Collectors web site is an advertisement for a "Leitz

VIDEO Torpedo Finder". Anyone know what it is? <a

href="http://66.70.210.234/ShopSite/LeicaAccessories.html">This is

the URL<a/>

The Torpedo name came from the enlongated form of the

Leitz finder. VIDOM was the code word for it used by Leitz.

6 different versions were made. Frames were for the lenses 35mm-135mm. Hope this helps.

A ship.

 

:-)

Hi

 

i understand this is the finder that Henri Cartier Bresson favours!

HCB is now very old and uses a point and shoot.

Chris is wrong!!! The torpedo finder is NOT the same as the VIDOM. The torpedo finders (there are a variety of them) were made (mostly) from 1931-1932 in small numbers and were replaced by the VIDOM ( a much more common item). Most torpedo finders were black paint over brass although a few later (and very very rare) units were chrome.

 

Torpedo finders vary according to which combination of frames they showed, the most common being VISOR (? I believe it had 3 frames for 35-50-135 lenses). Others had four frames (35-50-90-135. The VIDEO (the one being offered) is a rare variation which also includes the 105 mm frame (for the Mountain Elmar 105/6.3 introduced in the early 1930s).

 

The value of these finders varies from roughly $ 250 (for a beat up but useable black finder with the most common focal lengths) to over $ 1000 for the rarer variants. The VIDEO is a prettyu uncommon variant. Others include VIFUR, VIUNA, etc.

 

Note that the torpedo finders produce and image that is reversed from right to left, like the rest of the Leica "universal" finders.

 

The later VIDOM finders are much more common and generally run from about $ 75 to $ 150 depending on condition and rarity (the early black paint/nickel versions are worth more than the later all chrome versions.

I should add one thing. There has been some confusion about which codeword corresponds to which frames. The VIDEO should correctly refer to a finder that has the 105 mm frame. But some people use this to indicate the more common finder with the 90 but no 105. I suspect that is the case with the finder pictured, since it was offered for $ 180, which is much less than the truly rare torpedo finder with the 105 mm frame.

Bless you, Mani.

even if this is the 90mm version, that is a great price for this item.

Roger. Yes, $ 180 is a good price for a torpedo finder even of the most common variety, as long as the glass is reasonably clear so you can see through it. If I didn't already have one, I'd buy at that price. I haven't ever seen one offered for less.

 

These finders were designed by Oscar Barnack himself. They go well with a very early black and nickel model C or D Leica camera.

If I am wrong about the Torpedo finder, so are all the Leica books that are being sold throughout the world! The VIHOO was a later 35-135mm finder that is the most commonly found at the $50-$100 price range.

 

I have a large collection of Leica books that will be sold dirt cheap if this is wrong.

Whoops!! I meant the VIOOH was the later version. Typo mistake. Lager's Vol III refers to the VIDOM as the last of the Torpedo finders.

Chris, you are most certainly wrong. Just look at the pictures in your books. This is NOT a VIDOM finder. It is an earlier finder introduced before the VIDOM, the earliest of which was 1933. This one was from 1931 or 1932. The VIDEO is NOT a VIDOM type finder. All of the VIDOM finders had parallax correction and had parts that were chrome or nickel. The VIDEO is all black.

 

I repeat, this is not a VIDOM. Nicht VIDOM.

 

:-)

Okay, I never stated that the finder in the photo was a VIDOM, I just added that the Torpedo finder got it's name from the way it looked. The VIDOM is a Torpedo finder. Yes, the VIDEO and VISOR were early Torpedo finders. I'm going off to drink now.

Thanks for all the interesting responses (I think I'll pass on this, since I don't need it).

I bought a silver chrome Leitz "torpedo" finder in good condition at Naniwa Camera, Kobe today. Its frames are 3.5, 5.. 7.3, 9. 10.5, 13.5. Don't know its acronym. I want to learn how to use it. Anyone with experience? Will post photo tomorrow.

I tried one back in the 1990s, and could never get used to the reversed image, which, as I recall, wasn't very bright either. FWIW there are usually a number of these offered for sale on the big auction site.

Alex, I have a VIDOM finder with the same markings as yours and use it on a IIIg. It was designed for LTM camera with interchangeable lenses bodies prior to the 1950's introduction of the M 3 and later M series camera bodies. To use it, slide it into the camera body accessory slot. The number markings on the top of the VIDOM correspond to the focal length of your mounted lens. Rotate the ribbed chrome ring until the black index mark slots into the number matching your mounted lens focal length. Set your lens f stop and shutter speed. Now focus on your subject. Next read the distance to subject off the lens barrel. Finally correct for parallax error by moving the VIDOM lever at its base to match your lens to subject distance setting. Looking at the subject through the VIDOM's black outlined image, operate the shutter release. Note that the VIDOM parallax correction will only be accurate at the numbered lever settings, so others will only be an approximation as accurate as your practice and usage.

 

I like using it, especially with a 35 focal length lens as the framing is quite accurate even if the parallax correction is not always perfect. Where it has also come in handy is I have a Canon f3.5 100 LTM lens and the VIDOM setting at 105 is my best way to frame shots without an actual 100 Canon viewfinder. It is a little fussy to set up, but it does work well as there is nothing in the viewfinder except the image. It'll mount in any Leica accessory shoe.

Edited February 19, 2018 by christopher_a._junker|1

Leica VIDOM Universal Optical Finder - Image Library

To correct my above post: Mine is an Imarect finder; however the markings are as describe for a VIDOM. The parallax lever and eye piece surround match an Imarect. Perhaps it is a transition design. Functioning is as above.

Thanks for all the information, Christopher and JDMVW. No need for me to post photo of the VIDOM as everyone either knows what it looks or can find a photo of it on the Net. The trick is seeing the world upside down as I shoot. Disconcerting the first day. More fun today. HCB said it helped him frame better. I'm sensing that. I am using it on the Fuji X-E1 with a Fuji autofocus 35/1.4 (=50). Closeups are tricky--more so than with other external finders I've used. The VIDOM is wonderfully clear. Nothing I've shot is worth posting yet but I am having fun. Thanks again.

Kind-of like shooting a TLR with only the waist level finder with everything reversed. Been years since I shot with a Rolleiflex and would probably take some getting re-used to today.

 

A fun way to get into the “feel” of a period camera alright. I’m afraid though, if it was me now, I’d spring for an Imarect finder, LOL.

I was about to start questioning my sanity as I have a "pointy" external finder and I remember it being correct left to right. It seems as though mine is an "Imarect" VIOOH. I know that's a totally different matter from what's being discussed here, but mine seems a good match for my IIIc with a 35mm lens.

 

I use TLRs occasionally still and WLFs on SLRs all the time, but I don't know how I'd do with a reversed eye-level. The WLF changes my perspective somewhat and helps me to mentally shift gears to everything being laterally reversed.

The Imarect may be a marketing contraction for "Image Erect". The first time I ever saw the finder in use was by my father on his Leica IIIc with the f3.5 35 Summaron lens. That would be in the early 50's. It has seen a lot of use.

Like Mr. Von Weinberg's link indicates, "Torpedo" viewfinders are typically single magnified and just One or Two frame views.

Typically less expensive than the Leitz/Leica offerings, the Zeiss made units are amazing in their choice of materials & overall quality.

 

 

Edited February 22, 2018 by Gus Lazzari