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Micro-Visoflex III focusing screen


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Today I received a Micro-Visoflex III with interchangeable focusing screen (ground glass). I know there were also plain glasses for the Micro-Visoflex, But would someone know if there were originally other kinds of focusing screens as well, perhaps ground glass with focusing aids?

Lex

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Afaik, Leitz listed only the two screens you quote: I seem that at the times of the Minolta agreement they provided the capability to mount some Minolta screens ("XK" type ? or "XM"... ?) but do not know well which they were , nor how they were mounted (adapted ?).... unprecise infos, sorry... hope that someone else is better informed.

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I thought so too, Luigi, thanks anyway. Perhaps someone else knows more. I am also interested to know if that special vertical finder is different from the regaular vertical "chimney" finder.

Lex

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The only screens listed for the " Endo-Visoflex III" (16403) are the clear screen 16412 and the matte screen 16404. The eyepiece was special, 4x magnifying. The Micro-Visoflex was a Visoflex I with a rotating mechanism for a clear and a matte screen.

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Thanks Jaap, but isn't it usually called the Micro-Visoflex? Laney mentions a Micro-Visoflex I, but also II and III, apart from the Endo-Visoflex listed under Visoflex II. he also mentions the 5x magnifier, which looks different from the regular OTVXO/16461, but I wonder what else would be different.

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Well, actually I was quoting Dennis Laney in his "Accessory Guide" There he only mentions the Micro-Visoflex for the II, apart from the Endo-Visoflex which had a different arm on the II. It seems he is not above contradicting himself...;) Yes, the 5x magnifier is the same as OTVXO the "funnel" eyepiece, but that is the same for Viso III and Viso II. There is a special, fatter eyepiece mentioned for the Micro-Visoflex II . Apart from the technical specs of the mirror housings and the pentaprism that is without step for the Visoflex III all other accessories are shared between the II and the III.

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The special vertical magnifier/viewfinder for the Micro-Visoflex has the same kind of lock as the 90º finder of the Visoflex III has, whereas the regular vertical finder OTVXO doesn't have that. Other differences (apart from the outer appearance) are unknown to me.

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I thought so too, Luigi, thanks anyway. Perhaps someone else knows more. I am also interested to know if that special vertical finder is different from the regaular vertical "chimney" finder.

Lex

 

Yesterday night me too checked Laney...my memory sitill works... :o... indeed he mentions (with no great detail) the capability to mount Minolta XK screens (I thought XM, but discovered that they are the same camera - XM Europe - XK USA), and if you look some "collectors and historica" Minolta site, really XK had a huge number of screens for its intechangeable VF system: no strange that they could be someway adapted for the Micro/Endo Viso... dimensions and thickness are, I think, "normal" for a 24x36 reflex viewer... probably a proper frame is the only thing which was needed.

 

BTW... about screens for Viso...the Leica screens for R8/R9 can be mounted on the standard Viso II/III... I learned this time ago from a Dutch contributor to this thread... ;)

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But you have to trim off the tabs, and may have to change the shimming ;)

 

Yes... I remember your explanations... I did it with for my Viso II... I feared to make some mistake operating on the more precious Viso III ("mistake" = fear to see the small components sprouting and jumping allway round)... but all ended well...no loss, but in shimming I could have been more precise... :o

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This afternoon I used the newly arrived Micro-Visoflex (or Endo-V) and it was very nice to simply clean the ground glass. Later I cleaned the two vertical eye-pieces, but I think I'll have Will van Maanen clean the ground glass in my first Visoflex. First I have to compare it to the other one to see if that one is really clearer. I asked Solms about the focusing screens, both for the regualr Visoflex III and the Micro-Visoflex, but Ihaven't received a reply yet. For slowly moving insects the Viso and focusing on groundglass is ok (see my "Garden inhabitant" in Nature & Wildlife) but this afternoon I tried to catch bees, which was pretty hard with the old equipment.

Lex

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If you bend a used sensor swab a bit it is easy to clean the inside of the ground glass with Eclipse without taking it apart ( which is not difficult btw, well within the reach of the average DIY photographer, just a bit fiddly to assemble the spring-ballbearing-hat bits. And note the position of the short screw. ) The prism comes apart quite easily to clean the inside as well and presents no difficulties in reassembling.

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