JDMvW Posted May 29, 2008 Share Posted May 29, 2008 Even with a tripod, there's really little alternative to "lying on your belly like a reptile". Carry a poncho to lie on. The right angle viewers can help, but most reverse the image from right to left. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jimstrutz Posted May 29, 2008 Share Posted May 29, 2008 Some right angle finders, even the cheap ones on eBay, keep right & left straight and even offer magnification of the image for easier focusing. Not that I'm an advocate. I prefer Live View, or simple P&G**. **point & guesstimation Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dan_fromm2 Posted May 29, 2008 Share Posted May 29, 2008 JDM, how can you say that? I mean, I HAVE a Spiratone Mirrotach and it works as advertised. We're not talking theory, we're talking practice. One caveat. As I've been saying, ready-made devices like the Mirrotach vignette with short lenses. But I use it in front of a 105 MicroNikkor for closeup shots, intend to use it in front of a 135 or 150 or even 180 on one of my Graphics in the same application. I've dry shot with a Graphic to work out how best to set up for a shot, need to make some bracketry to attach my 12" focusing rail to my Benbo 3 with the center post horizontal. No one told me it would be easy, and it isn't. Even so I'm looking forward to looking down while shooting at nearly ground level; going to ground level requires digging a hole for the Mirrotach; with the Mirrotach on the dirt the lens looks out of it perhaps an inch above ground level. There's no reason why a home-brew device with a large enough mirror won't work with a short lens. If the OP wants a ready-made device, though, he may be stuck. Cheers, Dan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
colin carron Posted May 29, 2008 Share Posted May 29, 2008 I went for the right angle finder and have used it a lot more than I expected. It is good for low level shots (thought the knees still get grubby), for critical focusing when using a telescope and also when taking shots of roof details in buildings. Recommended! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dan_fromm2 Posted May 29, 2008 Share Posted May 29, 2008 Which one, Colin? They're not all the same. My Nikon right angle finder isn't ast lovable as yours. When I put it on my Nikkormat shortly after I bought it, I had a hard time seeing the screen's microprisms well enough to tell when the lens was focused. AND I'd taken pains to focus the finder and hadn't knocked it out of focus. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jwallphoto Posted May 29, 2008 Share Posted May 29, 2008 If you're not getting down on your belly, you're missing half the fun of nature photography. ;) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JDMvW Posted May 29, 2008 Share Posted May 29, 2008 >>JDM, how can you say that? I mean, I HAVE a Spiratone Mirrotach and it works as advertised. We're not talking theory, we're talking practice.<< As I said (emphasis added) >>right angle VIEWERS<< The Mirrotach is a right angle lens attachment. The right angle viewers attach to the BACK of the camera at the viewfinder hole. My Spiratone right angle viewer most certainly reverses left to right. Since you're going to be on a tripod or copy stand, this doesn't matter much. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JDMvW Posted May 29, 2008 Share Posted May 29, 2008 Here's a picture of my rt-angle viewer<div></div> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dan_fromm2 Posted May 29, 2008 Share Posted May 29, 2008 JDM, just for you I took out FM2n, Nikon right angle finder, and the Mirrotach and hooked the bits together and looked at things. As I wrote, the Nikon right angle finder, which screws into the eyepiece, magnifies by 0.5x. Small image, low eyepoint, and somewhat dim. Tell us more about y'r Spiratone viewer. Magnification, brightness? As I wrote, the Mirrotach, which screws into the lens vignettes the ends of the image at focal lengths < ~ 70 mm. A wider mirror, as I suggested, wouldn't have this problem. And the view is as good as it gets with an FM2n, much brighter than with the right angle finder. Upside down and reversed. Its a pity that the OP has a digicam. If he were shooting film we could suggest any number of, in alphabetical order, Alpa, Canon, Exakta, Minolta (only one of them, IIRC), Miranda, Nikon, Praktina (?), and Topcon 35 mm SLRs with removable prisms. I'm sure there are others, I just can't rememver them. And then there are all of the 6x6 TLRs and many many 6x6, 6x7, and even 6x8 SLRs with waist level finders. All kidding aside, a right angle eyepiece attachment will probably do for the OP. With how both approaches work very fresh in my weakening little mind, I think he'd be better off with a mirror in front of his lens. But I may be prejudiced because my real application for the Mirrotach is ground-level macro with a press camera. Ain't no right angle eyepiece attachments for them. John, I've laid me down on a sleeping pad on sharp rocks in the Chihuahua desert to get closeup shots. The pad helped, but on the whole I can't recommend lying down on sharp rocks. Mud isn't as bad, but having been there and done that too I can't recommend it either. Cheers, Dan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
colin carron Posted May 30, 2008 Share Posted May 30, 2008 Dan, I bought a second hand Canon Angle Finder C off ebay. It was quite pricey (80 GBP as I remember) compared with the generic ones ..It does two magnifications and giices a correctly oriented image. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dan_fromm2 Posted May 30, 2008 Share Posted May 30, 2008 Colin, thanks for the reply. Mine definitely isn't as usable as yours. P'rhaps the approach is more viable than I thought. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JDMvW Posted May 30, 2008 Share Posted May 30, 2008 The Spiratone right angle viewer is very bright, seems to be close to same size. You have to remove the rubber eyepiece cover gizmo, of course, in order to mount it on the EOS cameras. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
craig_gillette Posted May 30, 2008 Share Posted May 30, 2008 You'll notice that the right angle viewer isn't much higher than the regular viewer, the advantage is in looking down, not forward, you still have to be on the ground to use it. I had one years ago and didn't use it much, not shooting a lot down there. Of course, you can go for the true gadget freak approach and use a tethered external screen of some sort. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
awahlster Posted May 30, 2008 Share Posted May 30, 2008 Rolleiflex 3.5E Xenotar flip open the top and set it on the ground or what every. Works every time. NICE big neg's too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2Oceans Posted May 31, 2008 Share Posted May 31, 2008 Victor, This is what I use. http://www.hoodmanusa.com/products.asp?dept=1018 With a Gitzo tripod with no center column it gets pretty low. Less than one foot. Good luck. Andy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chuck_sackman Posted June 4, 2008 Share Posted June 4, 2008 Read Image #2 http://www.daveblackphotography.com/workshop/06-2008.htm Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jim_cahoon1 Posted July 28, 2008 Share Posted July 28, 2008 I haven't read all the replies, but when I inquired about a right angle finder, for my D 300, and found out from my dealer, what Dan Fromm said is essentially true, I gave up on the finder and bought a copy of NIKON CAMERA CONTROL PRO 2. This program, installed on a laptop, allows "live view", from the comfort of your.....wherever you are. If you're in the studio, from your desk, and if in the field from your laptop, and quite possibly from a small palm type unit. I think the program can be had, for around the same price as the finder. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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