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Viewfinders - Ricoh vs Voigtlander

E

edvatza

New Member
I've been scouring the forums (this and others) for information on a viewfinder that I can use with my GXR (28mm) and GRD IV. The answers I have found only lead to more questions for me.

First off, I have been using both cameras without a viewfinder for my street work for a little while and have been happy with the results. So I am not even sure I "need" a viewfinder. But I am feeling like I "want" one. And I always use the viewfinders with my DSLRs.

Second, I am finding about half (it seems) who swear by a OVF like the Voigtlander, Leica, etc. And the other half (of course) swearing by an EVF. So every time I think I am leaning strongly one way, the next article sways me in the other direction. Is one better than the other or are they just different?

Third, I think I have narrowed my choices down to the Voigtlander or the Ricoh. The Ricoh is an EVF, isn't it? Is there another in that price range that i should be considering?

Fourth, I believe I can use a 28mm viewfinder with both the GXR and the GRD IV. No problem here, right?

And finally, if I add a 50mm lens unit to my kit, what becomes of the viewfinder. Can a 28mm viewfinder be used with a 50mm lens? I have seen virtually nothing on this leading me to think no.

I know this has been discussed several (many) times before so I apologize for the redundancy. Any and all comments will be appreciated.

Ed
 
hi Ed.
OVF and EVF are two different beasts. The optical ones are separate for each focal length with small exceptions like Voightlanders Zoomfiner 15-35 which is very expensive. There are some multifocal finders on market for old Kiev, Contax and Leica cameras, expesive too. You have a problem with using 28 finder on GXR because the shoe is placed off a the center and further not paralax corrected for close distances. The best is to put it on and check with LCD. Ricohs 28 finder works better on GRD because it`s ment for it. Ricoh makes a 21-28 finder too. for GRD moders with wide converter. the old and modern Leitz finders are expensive ones and Zeiss ones even more so.
You can use 28 finder with 50 lens of course if you can figure the 50mm area inside the finder which is next to impossy. Ricoh makes an EVF finder under name VF-2 which is the best option if you want to use any focal lengths, it gives you the image the sensor sees at any distance. It has some advantages over OVFs. It can be used upright for low shot and not to forget can show you the picture in B/W which no OVF can. Stanislaw
 
Hallo Ed, here my self-built oversight viewfinder (from a damaged roll film camera) for a rough overview :cool:
Christian
 

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Hi Ed,

I use the Ricoh GV-2 (made by Cosina I believe) on my GRD4 and quite like it with the following caveats: 1 - it shows roughly 90% only of the frame, 2 - it's no use for macro because of the off-set. I also find where I want a truly level picture, I'm better of using the LCD screen and level display. The good thing with the OVF is that it works for me without my reading glasses and is great in bright light. THe GV-2 is listed by Ricoh as an option with the A12/28 just bear in mind what Stanislaw has said about off-sets.

Wiener kindly allowed me to try his GXR with the EVF...if were buying a GXR I would go for the EVF (but it won't work in your GRD). The dioptre correction on the EVF worked well for me and I could read all the shooting information more clearly than I could on the screen (without reading glasses). The display is hardly HD but I thought it was fine for framing and checking the focus.

I know what you mean about need and want!

Richard
 
Thanks for the info, folks. Much appreciated. I was in NYC today and stopped in B&H to pick up another (third) battery for the GXR. I wanted to talk to them about a viewfinder but the place was way too busy. Your info is very helpful. I'm still not sure I need a VF (O or E). I'm finding I am very comfortable working with the screen.

But like I said in my OP, it's not need; it's want! :)

Ed
 
One more thing Ed about the usefulness of finders be it OVF or EVF. Should you take pictures in extreme bright environment like snow and beach with sun behind, you won`t see anything on LCD. It`s nice to have finders for such occasion. However there`s one neat trick for such situations for GXR . You have to set MENU-SHOOTING-FOCUS ASSIST-ON then go to SETUP-FOCUS ASSIST SELECTION-MODE2. Now you can see the scene contours outlined in white a bit like inversed black and white drawing. Ricoh GXR is wonderfully configurable which is one of it`s strong points. Stanislaw
 
One more thing Ed about the usefulness of finders be it OVF or EVF. Should you take pictures in extreme bright environment like snow and beach with sun behind, you won`t see anything on LCD. It`s nice to have finders for such occasion. However there`s one neat trick for such situations for GXR . You have to set MENU-SHOOTING-FOCUS ASSIST-ON then go to SETUP-FOCUS ASSIST SELECTION-MODE2. Now you can see the scene contours outlined in white a bit like inverse black and white drawing. Ricoh GXR is wonderfully configurable which is one of it`s strong points. Stanislaw
 
Thank you all or the information, specs, details, etc. It was like a crash course in viewfinders.

My kids got me a couple of Amazon gift cards for Christmas so I just used them to order the Ricoh VF-2 EVF for my GXR. I still don't think I will use it in all situations (a strange thing for me to say since I use my viewfinders 99.9999% of the time with my DSLRs) but it will come in handy in some circumstances.

Again thanks for taking the time to answer my questions.

Ed
 
After reading a Ricoh GRD IV blog from a gentleman in Hong Kong, I decided to buy a 21/25mm Voigtlander viewfinder with my new IV.
I am from the old school of looking through a viewfinder with my film cameras. My first encounter with digital was with my Canon S95 and the three inch screen, which I felt was unnatural. I tried the Flipbac attachment with the mirror, more to protect the screen than being able to view from another angle. Did not find that satisfying or useful, but it is still attached.
I tried hip shooting a few times but found it was a waste of time, the pics always came out askew or cutoff from the main target. Although I did buy the GRD mostly for the instant snap mode, I don't care if people see me bring the camera to my eye to snap a picture. I will try hip shooting again, maybe with more practice I will get better.
One thing I noticed about the Canon S95 is that from a distance you cannot distinguish it from a cell phone that everyone seems to carry. The GRD will be the same, who will know what I have in my hand?
One of the so called markers of urban (street) photography, is the ability to remain invisible, not to be noticed. I believe the key to being invisible is that if you like the people you are taking pictures of, you will not be noticed. People pick up bad vibes easily and you are likely to be more noticed if you have any animosity towards the people you are shooting. In every person I see myself might apply here.
Here is the link to the Hong Kong Ricoh shooter:
http://alanala.wordpress.com/tag/viewfinder/

He has lots of good stuff to say and show. Enjoy....
 
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