How to use Kodak rangefinder for 35-80mm?

[steve_tsai3]

<p>Hi. I inherited a Kodak rangefinder, which looks like this:<br>

<img src="http://imagehost.vendio.com/bin/imageserver.x/00000000/kiler/ebay27614.jpg" alt="" width="640" height="480" /><br>

I mounted it on the flash shoe, rotated the dial and the only obvious thing happened was the angle between the "scope" and the camera changed. How do the distances indicated on the dial correspond to the things I see (What am I supposed to see, by the way? I didn't see two images lining up, no matter how I rotated the dial…) through the rangefinder? Any helps will be much appreciated.</p>

[yann1]

<p>It's supposed to be mounted on the retina cameras like the IIc and IIIc, it isn't a rangefinder, you set the dial according to the camera's focus, to see what the camera sees: When you turn the dial, the finder moves a little up or down right ?. 35 and 80 are for 35mm lenses and 80mm lenses. If you don't have the lenses, it's useless.</p>

[steve_tsai3]

<p>Now I finally know what this gadget is for… A mystery is solved! Thank you so much for the help. :^)</p>

[danny_wong2]

<p>It's call a viewfinder. Gives you the field of view for 35 or 80mm lens.</p>

[rick_keir]

<p>An external viewfinder can be very useful if you use an EVIL camera like the Olympus E-P1. LCD screens aren't very usable in bright sunlight. I used mine with the 17mm (34mm equiv) viewfinder on a trip to the desert, and even when I was using the 14-42 zoom it helped a lot - I learned quickly how to estimate what 14 and 42 were in relation to the view I got from the viewfinder. It would have been great to have this with the 80mm view.</p>