New 21mm CV finder foot from Gandy

[colin jackson]

In January I posted a thread about my 21mm. CV crumbled finder foot and got several interesting

suggestions. I ended up contacting Steve Gandy from whom I bought the lens and he requested some

replacement feet from CV. I got my new foot in the mail 3 days ago at no charge. It took 4 months and

in the meantime my friend Glenn S. had made me a wonderful brass foot with his jewellery skills and

tools. Steve Gandy did stand behind his product in this case, however, and in the event that others out

there have failed CV finder feet, I suspect he might have a few spares around if you want to contact

him. The fit is very tight in the MP shoe but slides nicely into the M3. I think it was multiple tight

cycles in the MP shoe that killed the delicate plastic foot. The new plastic foot now becomes a backup

for Glenns new CV 15mm. in case he has problems with his. It seems those CV feet are the achilles

heel of the great CV lens line . My suggestion: treat the CV finder feet like the delicate plastic that they

are or find a friend like Glenn. Failing that, contact Steve G. who has earned my respect as a distributor

of these great little lenses.

[jtk]

Another way of putting that is "CV finder feet continue to be made improperly, of plastic."

[scott squire nonfiction]

I'd far rather break the replaceable foot of my finder than tear the hotshoe out of the top of

my camera in the event of impact. Good design puts the weak links in the right places. Just a

thought.

 

Having said that, good design also takes into account normal use, and if the MP shoe caused

this one to break, why, that seems like a problem to be sure.

[jack_lo_..._t_o]

S'funny. Last month the foot crumbled on my 25 Skopar, I emailed Gandy about it and he replied "I don't stock parts." I ended up making one out of the foot of an antique flash unit I had on display. Got very lucky with my eyeglass repair kit screws an a 1/16" drill bit Looks funky but it works.

 

Problem with mine was that one side was solid plastic and the other side was in two parts, very fragile.

[vivek iyer]

Jack, Like Colin, now that your 25mm viewfinedr foot is fixed, expect a replacement in a few months. :-)

[steve-walton]

Scott Squire could have a point here. By implication it seems that Leica cameras could be rather better constructed than CV accessories...;)

 

(Nice place, Seattle)

[jtk]

That Ms at risk from metal viewfinder shoes seems new info. Maybe that's why the best digicams lack shoes.

[colin jackson]

The finder optic head actually screws down onto the plastic stalk that holds the foot with 2

rather tiny screws. I seriously doubt that the M body would give before either that

connection gives way or the bonded connection to the brass shoe gives. I feel reassured

that there is enough weakness left between the finder and the shoe to cover an significant

impact to the finder.

[andrew robertson]

"I'd far rather break the replaceable foot of my finder than tear the hotshoe out of the top of

my camera in the event of impact."

 

Canon's lenses are designed to shear away at the mount with enough force and leave the

body intact. That way you can switch to a different lens and still use the camera. I wouldn't

be surprised if this is very common among other camera manufacturers as well.