tlr eye level prism advice

[roger_michel]

a friend of mine is considering adding an eye level prism to his

rolleiflex tlr outfit and asked whether i thought this was a good

idea. i personally have always found the eye level awkward to use on

a 'flex (not nearly as comfortable as eyelevels on typical MF slrs

somehow), but i thought i would ask others for their input. do

people find the prism to be a worthwhile accessory for HAND HELD work

with the 'flex (my friend does not use a tripod -- never!). what

kind of tasks is it best suited for? are there people who use the

prism more than they use the waist level? is focusing accuracy

compromised without the magnifier?? any info will be much

appreciated. thanks and happy holidays to all!!!

[victor_randin]

Using an eye level prism finder on the Rolleiflex TLR requires adding a pistol grip. It gets comfortable reportage fast shooting. But the Rolleiflex TLR loses its compactness, gets bulky and looking like a tank. For years I used the eye level prism not more than 5 times. I hate it.

[greg_jones1]

I have a Rollei TLR 2,8 E2, and picked up a prism thinking it was something I needed. I find that I rarely use it, primarily since it is quite heavy and adds considerably to the lug-around weight factor. It ruins the light-weight elegance of the Rollei TLR. Further, I think that at least for me, the added weight of the prism makes the whole camera more difficult to handhold at lower shutter speeds. Plus, there is the consideration that by using the prism, you are raising the camera higher to eye-level, and I personally find waist-level viewing on the ground glass to be best for composition.

 

And the prism does indeed make focusing more difficult. I tried brighter screens, but still not as good as the tried-and-true flip-up waist level magnifier.

 

I believe photographers who use the Rollei TLR for "action" such as weddings, shooting the dog, etc. probably benefit from a prism just like any other prism setup on a camera due to the "corrected viewing" it provides. The trade off is weight and dim viewing. My .02...

[mediumformat]

I bought a prism finder for my Mamiya TLR and hated it -- too heavy, bulky, awkward to use, etc. TLRs just don't seem to be designed for eye-level work, unless you use the built-in sportsfinder.

 

I shot one roll of film using the prism and decided to sell it immediately. I found it much harder to focus than looking through the WLF, even though the image was 2.5x larger in the prism.

[john_hicks___]

I found the prism on a Rollei TLR to usually be incredibly awkward; it almost requires the use of the pistol grip, which then leads to juggling the camera to wind it, plus the thing's very heavy.

[roger_michel]

thanks for the emphatic confirmation of my own sense of the beast. i will pass along the comments. again, have a very happy holiday.

[ken_burns1]

Roger:

 

I agree with everyone else so far. I had a Mamiya C330 with an eye-level prism finder. These types of cameras are really designed to be held at about chest level, and I found that holding them at eyelevel was very awkward. Maybe some sort of pistol grip attached to the tripod mount would help, especially if there is a trigger mechanism using a cable release. Or, maybe that would be even more awkward, I'm just not sure. I ended up using the waist level finder.

[tom_bowling1664874721]

I have the C330 and a Rolleiflex T and - if you have the nerve - they are quite fun to use inverted above your head, giving a kind of 6'6" view. Unless you're 6'6", when they'd give you a seven foot view!

[b.d.trabitz___]

It looks as if I am a majority of one. The eye level prism works for me both hand held and on a tripod. It gives the appearance of the scene as I view it standing erect. The waist level finder is at its most useful for portraits. My opinion FWIW

[mark_hubbard]

A Rollei TLR Prism without major separation of the glass elements has a market value of about $300 to $350. It makes the otherwise elegantly balanced camera top-heavy, and I find it useful only when I want an unusually high point of view and am using a tripod. I imagined I would use it much more than I have. For the price of the prism, a person can buy a perfectly useable "E."

 

Worse, I bought it when I owned an "E," without realizing that until I bought my 2.8 F 12/24 I wasn't going to be able to use it at all! Not all Rollei TLRs have removeable viewfinders.

 

Anyone want to buy mine for $350 after reading this thread? I didn't think so....

 

Mark Hubbard

Eureka, CA

[arthur_gottschalk]

I use prisms on my Rollei 6008i and Rollei TLRs without problems. In both cases I can focus faster with the prism than without. The 6008i has the handgrip, which helps. But I don't find it difficult to use the TLRs without the grip as well. You just have to get used to it.

[colmmccarthy]

I have an eye level finder for one of my Mamiya TLR's. It works great as long as you have an L or pistol grip for the camera body, otherwise forget it.