Frame Finders: More Accuracy.

[jcgoodman]

<p>I like using the Leitz Frame-Finder, but as it was designed for sports and action photography, with the idea of keeping the subject in the centre of the frame, the finder is not so good for exact composure of shots - the edges of the frame seem to "wander" if the eye is not centered on, and positioned close to, the rear sight. This is especially so when the 35mm lens is used - the front frame of the finder being turned back nearer to the rear sight.<br />A slide-in mask of almost-clear plastic, with central hole and red lines ruled with felt-tipped pen, has been found to be of help in more reliably defining the field of view - in this case the field of the Elmar 3,5cm lens.<br />A clear, or coloured plastic could be similarly employed. A slightly green plastic can be used, with the added advantage of it serving as a Landscape Viewing Filter for Black and White photography.<img src="http://www.photo.net/photos/jcgoodman" alt="" /></p><div></div>

[jcgoodman]

<p>Above is actually the Rear View - here's the Front View:</p><div></div>

[jcgoodman]

<p>The Plastic Mask, removed:</p><div></div>

[SCL]

<p>Sorry, but to me that is an ugly looking solution to a problem which most people make an accommodation for. Out of curiosity is this something you're selling or promoting?</p>

[jcgoodman]

<p>Not a commercial proposition from me - although smart, well-produced versions could possibly be of interest, if someone produced them. The item illustrated was quickly made up for field use.</p>

[SCL]

<p>Congratulations on ingenuity.</p>

[mukul_dube]

<p>Ingenious.</p>

[Robin Smith]

<p>I don't really understand how the red lines help? Are you saying that you cannot see the edge of the main frame when looking through the peep-hole? Why not use a conventional 35mm optical finder like the ones from Leica or Voigtlander? A sports finder was never designed to be accurate. I guess I don't understand why life has to be made so complicated.</p>

[Jeffrey L.T. von Glück]

<p>I have several of these frame finders—some Leitz and a few Kodak Retina—but because I wear eyeglasses, can never get my eye close enough to the rear sight to be of much help, except maybe the 90mm field of view. Neat little gadget you made nevertheless.</p>

[jcgoodman]

<p>I first used the Frame Finder in the 1970s, in the UK, taking B&W landscape photographs in the middle of winter - dark, gloomy vistas, not all that interesting when viewed through the usual small optical Leitz pre-war finders. There is a certain "something", too, at being able to see a view with 100% of the available light, and at life-size - an advantage of the non-optical frame-finder. (I must here confess that ancient Leica equipment has been my choice of gear - irrationally life-complicating perhaps, but loads of fun, and with plenty of astonishment at what can be achieved with this old stuff).<br>

During the brighter seasons, I used a green Wratten filter in the front frame, as an aid in judging the masses of highlights and shadows in a view.</p>

<p>Frame Finder attached, I would often come across some building or monument, or group of people etc that I would photograph, and now and then find that I had lopped off the tip of a church steeple, or sheared off a chunk of Stonehenge when framing rather tightly. This was way before digital photography, and the losses would be discovered only after returning to London, and extracting the developed negative from my Rondinax tank. (I later took a Rondinax tank, and small bottles of chemicals - Emofin 2-Bath - with me on excursions and developed en-route!). The plastic aiming-guide was born, out in the West Country.<br>

...and that's how I began to press the Frame Finder to its Outer Limits!</p>