Stiff neck using Arca-Swiss binocular viewer

[sandy_sorlien]

Hi,

I've been using the Arca binocular viewer with my 6x9FC and it kills my neck to hold my head in the required position. The amount of tilting of the viewer that's possible seems to be a peculiar angle for looking into the ground glass. I wish it could be a straight-on viewing situation. (That would aslo get the camera itself highter, so I wouldn't need to use as much rise.) I do not want to go back to using a dark cloth if at all posssible, but I have a old neck injury from swimming and this angle really exacerbates it.

 

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Any brilliant ideas for changing the angle?

 

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Thanks.

[scott_jones2]

I use the Horseman folding viewer which has a tilting mirror which

sometimes makes the viewing easier.I don't know if it can be made to

fit your camera. Another option that Paul S. told me about is the

Horseman DIRECT viewer which does not flip the image right side up,

but does allow direct binocular magnified viewing straight on the axis

of site of your camera. He said that he uses this much more now than

the reflex. Again I don't know if it can fit your camera, but if not,

perhaps S.K. Grimes can make a converter.This would solve all neck

bending problems for you.

 

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I share your glee in not having to use a dark cloth anymore. Sandy, I

will send you privately some pictures of the device that Paul sent

me...

[glenn_kroeger]

Sandy:

 

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For angles where the binocular viewer isn't comfortable, you can use

the viewing bellows. It has a binocular lens like the viewer and you

can use the same rubber eyecup. Of course, the image will now be

upside down! You can snap out the binocular lens in order to use a

loupe directly on the ground glass. It attached to the groundglass

with an elastic band.

[armin_seeholzer]

Hi Sandy

 

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As Glenn already stated I have also the bag bellows made from very soft

leader. But for example yesterday I had a hi camera possition so i was

taken the bino 180° in the other direction against the floor works also

very good if you have the camera about 45° against the floor or even

lesser.

Hope it helps for better times for your neck now!

[stefan_dalibor1]

Can't comment on the bino, but I use the Arca viewing bellows w/ rubber eyecap for almost every shot - it's a nice piece of equipment, but please keep in mind that you'll have to support it with one hand (or it will sag down).

I have some vague plans about seaming flexible wires into the bellows to make it self-supporting, but haven't found the time to work this out.<br>

The Linhof viewing bellows is pleated with foam and self-supporting, but it's only mono and probably won't fit an Arca. I'm under the impression the viewing bellows could be designed better by Arca, but probably they sell so many bino viewers (even Linhof seems to make an adapter for the Arca 6x9 bino viewer for their M679!) that they don't bother...

[john_hennessy1]

This is an older thread, so I hope some one notices my question and

answers:

 

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When using a binocular viewer such as the Horseman, do the viewer and

the back move independantly of each other? In other words, is the

viewer always in the same position regardless of whether the back is

vertical or horizontal?

 

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The answer must be yes or everyone would have a very stiff neck using

one. Thanks.

[ellis_vener_photography]

Most of my experience with binocular reflex viewers is with the

Arca-Swiss one. That viewer is hinged at the base and you tilt the

viewer over a wide range of angles to get maximum brightness

on different areas of the screen. the longerthe lens theless this

needs to be done. This is equivalant to moving your head when

directly viewing the groundglass except that you cannot move

your head from side to side. of the other two bino reflex viewers I

have briefly worked with, Touo and Sinar, this is also the case.

[jennifer_waak]

I can't speak for the Horseman, but for the Arca the answer is Yes.

When I flip my back from from vertical to horizontal I remove the

viewer from the groundglass surround and re-position it so I'm still

looking down into the viewer.

 

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Sandy, I just went downstairs to play with it to see if it could be

modified fairly easily (not that I would want to given the price,

but...). Anyway, as I tilted it through it's various possible angles I

realized that the subject got brighter and darker (about halfway

provided the brightest image). This led me to the conclusion that the

mirror really needs to be approximately 45 degrees from the ground

glass to work best. So, the short answer seems to be that mods are not

possible -- or at least something I wouldn't want to attempt given the

price of the viewer. Your best bet may be going to the viewing bellows.