Rollei 6000 Question: Which Prism?

[christiaan_phleger___honol]

Aloha All,

 

The question is of prisms for my 6008i, which one!? What are the main

differences between the 45 and 90 prisms? From the literature and

pictures ( I have no dealer of Rollei within 3500 miles of me!) the 45

prism looks like an older design, like a carryover from the TLR days

and while the 90 looks like a newer design, the eyepeice looks narrow

and small to me. Any comments on these two are most helpful.

 

Aloha!

[wayne_crider4]

I own the 90 degree finder but not the 45. I like it since I can raise the camera

to eye level, or even higher when standing on a box, or angle the camera

down for close shots easily. It seems, to me at least, that the 45 finder is used,

or was used, by alot of wedding photographers and fashion photographers. I

shoot landscapes and flowers so the 90 makes more sense for me.

[edward_s_carmick]

I find the 90 degree prism is the hardest to focus of all the Rollei viewfinders. It has a tiny eyepiece and has a lot of barrel distortion. It does have a variable diopter ring. The 45 degree prism is easier to use and because of the ergonomics and weight of the camera I find it sits well on my upper chest. The folding finder is quite good especially with the proper accessory dioper lens. The best view of all is the special magnifying chimney. I have had them all and have kept all of the except the 90 degree prism which I got rid of rather quickly.

[mr._kenny]

the detachable base/3x loupe chimmney finder rocks. it's the brightest and the lightest. plus you can flip it out of the way for easier waist level use. also you can detach the loupe and use it by itself on slides and contact sheets, which is nice. <br />

the 90 finder is pretty bad, i find, but i don't own one, it's not a prism at all, it's a group of mirrors -- porroprism.<br />

the 45 is cool for using the rollei at eye level, which is sometimes great but always laborious, especially with heavy and/or slow lenses. eat your spinach, the 45 is also far heavier than the other two.

[thomas_diekwisch1]

... and then there is of course also the elusive V-finder which is a little bit of everything: fixed, allows for both vertical and horizontal position, as well as rigid normal magnification viewing. It's light as well. If can still find one. Anyway, I guess they are not for your regular application even though I can't see why not.

[wim_van_velzen]

I have got a 45 degree (it says 6006, but works fine on the 6008 as well) and I like it a lot! I use it for wedding and landscape. Actually, I never use my WLF since I have this prism.

<p>

I have no problem looking through this prism, even when the camera is just a feet above the ground. A thing, I cannot imagine to do regularly with a 35mm slr or a 90 degree prism.

<p>

Why do think it is old?

<P>

<a href="http://www.fotografiewimvanvelzen.nl">Wim</a>

[siu_fai_au1]

There are two different 90 degree prism. The older one that looks very similar to the 45 degree and the new one you mentioned. Most people seems to like the older one better.

[b_kosoff]

I've owned both the 45 and 90 degree prisms. First off the 90 isn't a prism, it's

mirrors, and it's dark, distorted and like looking through a 3/8" pipe. The 45 is

a real prism and it's bright, undistorted and far easier to use.

[john_banister1]

I got an older style 90 degree finder after I was taking pictures from

the tower in Astoria, Oregon, and with the lens just above the

railing, I had to climb up on the railing to look down into the waist

level finder. Everything I've read from people who've used both

suggests that the 45 degree prism is optically better, and I still

prefer the waist level finder when I can take pictures with the

camera physically lower, but of the three, only the 90 degree finder

would keep me from having to climb the railing.

[erik scanhancer]

The 45 degree prism finder can be used with spectacles and is

of very good quality. Forget the 90 degree mirror version for the

reasons mentioned. It is a design mistake. Only the old version

might be interesting since this is a true prism too, although very

heavy.

 

Even Rollei people aren't very happy with the modern 90 degrees

version, but keeping the old one along with it would create fuzz,

so they skipped that one from their catalogue. Pity.

[jim_chow]

I prefer the waist level finder...plenty bright, compact, weighs close to nothing, and best of all, costs you nothing!

[timberwolf1]

The older 90 prism is great. It is fine with eyeglasses. A 90 is what you want for

weddings if you are a candid shooter. If you are only interested in tripod work, then

the 45 is for you. You cannot follow a moving object with a 45 as well as a 90. I am

sure that the 45 was made for comfort in regards to tripod usage. If I had to choose

only one finder, I would choose the older 90. I do weddings professionally. The

brightness of the finder is more a function of the screen used.