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#1
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Desperately seeking optics to augment a camera viewfinder.
I have a digital SLR and the viewfinder with
the manual focusing is pretty poor; especially in dim light. I need some form of optical system to hang off the viewfinder to enlarge the viewfinder field and so make the manual focusing easier. I already have one of the propriety right-angle magnifiers which improve the situation, but this is not enough. I need more magnification, and so can someone help me with some advice about adapting a small monocular or microscope or small telescope to do the job. I don't have to see the whole field, just the part I want to focus. Please help. |
#2
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Desperately seeking optics to augment a camera viewfinder.
In article ,
"Peter Jason" wrote: I have a digital SLR and the viewfinder with the manual focusing is pretty poor; especially in dim light. I need some form of optical system to hang off the viewfinder to enlarge the viewfinder field and so make the manual focusing easier. I already have one of the propriety right-angle magnifiers which improve the situation, but this is not enough. I need more magnification, and so can someone help me with some advice about adapting a small monocular or microscope or small telescope to do the job. I don't have to see the whole field, just the part I want to focus. Please help. Which camera are you using? |
#3
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Desperately seeking optics to augment a camera viewfinder.
Peter Jason wrote:
I have a digital SLR and the viewfinder with the manual focusing is pretty poor; especially in dim light. I need some form of optical system to hang off the viewfinder to enlarge the viewfinder field and so make the manual focusing easier. I already have one of the propriety right-angle magnifiers which improve the situation, but this is not enough. Maybe a split prism focusing screen like a Katzeye would be the way to go? It replaces the frosted screen that is currently in your DSLR camera. The focusing aide only helps for the central portion of the image, though. |
#4
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Desperately seeking optics to augment a camera viewfinder.
"Shawn Hirn" wrote in message ... In article , "Peter Jason" wrote: I have a digital SLR and the viewfinder with the manual focusing is pretty poor; especially in dim light. I need some form of optical system to hang off the viewfinder to enlarge the viewfinder field and so make the manual focusing easier. I already have one of the propriety right-angle magnifiers which improve the situation, but this is not enough. I need more magnification, and so can someone help me with some advice about adapting a small monocular or microscope or small telescope to do the job. I don't have to see the whole field, just the part I want to focus. Please help. Which camera are you using? I'm using an Olympus E500 with a "Varimagnifinder" right-angle viewfinder accessory. http://www.alanwood.net/photography/...ni-finder.html This accessory helps a lot, but more magnification is needed, especially in dim light. |
#5
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Desperately seeking optics to augment a camera viewfinder.
"dj_nme" wrote in message ... Peter Jason wrote: I have a digital SLR and the viewfinder with the manual focusing is pretty poor; especially in dim light. I need some form of optical system to hang off the viewfinder to enlarge the viewfinder field and so make the manual focusing easier. I already have one of the propriety right-angle magnifiers which improve the situation, but this is not enough. Maybe a split prism focusing screen like a Katzeye would be the way to go? It replaces the frosted screen that is currently in your DSLR camera. The focusing aide only helps for the central portion of the image, though. Thanx, I'll check this out. |
#6
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Desperately seeking optics to augment a camera viewfinder.
On 5/10/07 4:23 PM, in article , "Peter
Jason" wrote: I have a digital SLR and the viewfinder with the manual focusing is pretty poor; especially in dim light. I need some form of optical system to hang off the viewfinder to enlarge the viewfinder field and so make the manual focusing easier. I already have one of the propriety right-angle magnifiers which improve the situation, but this is not enough. I need more magnification, and so can someone help me with some advice about adapting a small monocular or microscope or small telescope to do the job. I don't have to see the whole field, just the part I want to focus. Please help. I don't understand how you can be helped much with a passive system. Conservation of brightness means that you will get a magnified image that is going to be as dim or dimmer than the unmagnified image. I can understand how a larger image might help a bit. What you really need, if you are serious, is an image intensifier. That could also have built-in magnification. Bill -- Fermez le Bush--about two years to go. |
#7
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Desperately seeking optics to augment a camera viewfinder.
"Salmon Egg" wrote in message ... On 5/10/07 4:23 PM, in article , "Peter Jason" wrote: I have a digital SLR and the viewfinder with the manual focusing is pretty poor; especially in dim light. I need some form of optical system to hang off the viewfinder to enlarge the viewfinder field and so make the manual focusing easier. I already have one of the propriety right-angle magnifiers which improve the situation, but this is not enough. I need more magnification, and so can someone help me with some advice about adapting a small monocular or microscope or small telescope to do the job. I don't have to see the whole field, just the part I want to focus. Please help. I don't understand how you can be helped much with a passive system. Conservation of brightness means that you will get a magnified image that is going to be as dim or dimmer than the unmagnified image. I can understand how a larger image might help a bit. What you really need, if you are serious, is an image intensifier. That could also have built-in magnification. Bill -- Fermez le Bush--about two years to go. I agree but there's always a lighted cigarette end, or reflection from furniture etc to assist. The auto-focus system is difficult because the flash has to be actuated for it to work, and sometimes it hunts for about 10 seconds. |
#8
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Desperately seeking optics to augment a camera viewfinder.
Peter Jason writes:
I need some form of optical system to hang off the viewfinder to enlarge the viewfinder field and so make the manual focusing easier. I make an item like that: http://www.truetex.com/canon_viewfinder_magnifier.htm However I don't know if magnification is going to help as much as you hope with focusing in low light. The basic viewfinder problem in cameras like your Olympus E500 is the compounding of beam-splitting (for the autofocuser) and prismatic-screen focusing, which severely degrade brightness. That's one reason the the viewfinder views are minifying instead of magnifying, to maintain some brightness after all the losses. If you can take the focusing screen out of your SLR, try doing so, and see how much brighter the viewfinder view is. |
#9
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Desperately seeking optics to augment a camera viewfinder.
Peter Jason wrote:
This accessory helps a lot, but more magnification is needed, especially in dim light. But more magnification is only going to make it look dimmer. Conservation of energy, and all that... Mike. -- If reply address = connectfee, add an r because it is free not fee. |
#10
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Desperately seeking optics to augment a camera viewfinder.
Peter Jason wrote:
I have a digital SLR and the viewfinder with the manual focusing is pretty poor; especially in dim light. I need some form of optical system to hang off the viewfinder to enlarge the viewfinder field and so make the manual focusing easier. I already have one of the propriety right-angle magnifiers which improve the situation, but this is not enough. I need more magnification, and so can someone help me with some advice about adapting a small monocular or microscope or small telescope to do the job. I don't have to see the whole field, just the part I want to focus. Please help. Shine a torch on the subject while you're focussing? |
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