david_fields1 Posted March 10, 2005 Share Posted March 10, 2005 Any one ever use one of these with there old X-700's, XD-7/11's, etc - or ANY other brand? Can they make shooting at 15th a sec. better (stiller) for the added support of the camera held tight at your gut and strapped 'round the neck looking downward opposed to afront? I frequently shoot at f22/15thsec. and am lucky most of the time without a tripod but... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
david_bedell Posted March 10, 2005 Share Posted March 10, 2005 David, the angle finders aren't that big. You'd have to have a tremendous (and I mean tremendous: like you couldn't fit behind the steering wheel of a car) beer gut to hold the finder to your eye and have the camera on your body. ;-) They do help if you can sit the camera on a ledge, the floor, etc. What kind of photos are you shooting that require f/22 and slow shutter speeds? I know you don't want to hear it, but that's real tripod territory... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
david_fields1 Posted March 10, 2005 Author Share Posted March 10, 2005 David, I'm shooting Kodachrome64 early a.m./p.m. I didn't make my question clear - I was thinking of holding the camera at about/above waste level pressed against bod, and looking down into the finder from above - like a Haassleblad I guess... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bob_gentile Posted March 10, 2005 Share Posted March 10, 2005 "... I was thinking of holding the camera at about/above waste level pressed against bod, and looking down into the finder from above..."<p> -----------------<p> Don't think that would work. It'd be <em>almost</em> like holding your camera at arm's length in front of you and trying to look through the normal viewfinder. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fmueller Posted March 10, 2005 Share Posted March 10, 2005 Right angle finders are not waist-level finders. You have to hold the finder close to your eye to be able to look through it - just like a regular SLR finder. The only difference is that you can look into the finder from above rather than behind the camera. If you camera is close to the ground, that's obviously an advantage. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
david_bedell Posted March 10, 2005 Share Posted March 10, 2005 "looking down into the finder from above - like a Haassleblad I guess..." Ah, here's the rub: The right angle finders work like the eye-level pentaprism in the camera itself, not like waist-level finders in a TLR or Hasselblad. You have to place your eye right at the eyepiece of the finder in order to focus and compose. Trying it out just now, I can brace my elbows against my body very firmly when keeping my eye to the angle finder. The camera body is not pressed against my torso. Whether this would be better than your current technique...maybe, maybe not. If you want a waist-level finder for your Minolta glass, you're going to have to get an XK. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sknowles Posted March 11, 2005 Share Posted March 11, 2005 What David said is true for Minolta's cameras, the XK is the only one with interchangeable viewfinders including a waist level finder. Regular right angle finders require viewing through an eye piece, and is mostly used for macro/closeup or replication work photography require precise focusing. The waist level finder with the XK, like the plain prism finder don't have metering requiring full manual operation and external exposure readings, but unlike the plain prism finder the view is vertically correct but reversed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bjmarkowitz Posted March 11, 2005 Share Posted March 11, 2005 I have one that you can strap to a post or use as a table top tripod or brace against your chest. It workks great. Got it at b&H Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bjmarkowitz Posted March 11, 2005 Share Posted March 11, 2005 Forget my last post...I thought you were talking about something else...Didnt hit me till after...Sorry! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
david_fields1 Posted March 12, 2005 Author Share Posted March 12, 2005 AH! Waist-Level-Finder, that's what I meant!!!! Thank you all for your responses.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
christian deichert Posted March 14, 2005 Share Posted March 14, 2005 Another alternative that's still Minolta, yet cheaper than an XK, is going with an Autocord...of course, it's medium format, but it's supposed to be a great camera and the 75mm fixed, "normal" lens has a good reputation. Twin lens reflex cameras are ideal for street photography, because they're designed to work with WLF, and few people recognize them for what they are nowadays. I went with a Mamiya C330f with 55mm, 105mm, and 180mm interchangeable lenses, but the Mamiya is pretty big; if you only need a normal lens, the Autocord should be fine. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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