Xmas Posted July 11, 2011 Share #21  Posted July 11, 2011 Advertisement (gone after registration) Hi  On my rescently serviced M3 the frame lines and then rfdr patch appear as you eyes dark adopt down to starlight.  If it is so dark that the subject image is not visible in finder then using both eyes still allows a framed shoot, if you can see subject with left eye.  A 0.9 MP finder image may be detectably brighter, all multi coated.  Noel Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Advertisement Posted July 11, 2011 Posted July 11, 2011 Hi Xmas, Take a look here Brighten Viewfinder. I'm sure you'll find what you were looking for!
Washington Posted July 11, 2011 Share #22  Posted July 11, 2011 James, Well, the fellow says he has a problem so I just take him at his word…. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
giordano Posted July 11, 2011 Share #23 Â Posted July 11, 2011 Betalights (tritium lights) last much longer than luminous tape. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Washington Posted July 11, 2011 Share #24 Â Posted July 11, 2011 Thanks John, I have to look into this! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Washington Posted July 11, 2011 Share #25  Posted July 11, 2011 John, I have seen gunsights with bright dots but never knew what it was. Tritium lighting is highly regulated and is now in the process of it’s use being discouraged completely. Tritium exit signs are being replaced by LED signs. I read the clean-up precautions for a broken Tritium sign and it’s like a mini- nuclear disaster. This stuff is bad radioactive news! And, for a pile of other reasons, it is unsuitable for the OP’s use… take my word for it. The glowing tape has all the advantages: it’s simple, thin and flat, gives off a gentle even glow across the entire frame…. oh, yeah, and it’s really, really simple. p.s. I know you can still buy small Tritium items: but that does’t mean they are good. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
ho_co Posted July 12, 2011 Share #26 Â Posted July 12, 2011 ... I've been looking into a M3 or M5 for a second film body.... M5 has the best frame illuminator of any M, because of the extra window at top edge of the body, just above the standard illuminator window. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
scrubs Posted July 12, 2011 Share #27 Â Posted July 12, 2011 Advertisement (gone after registration) Don't know about the frame lines, but for the focusing patch you could try a little trick I used to do with my old Yashica rangefinder that had a terrible focusing patch, in anything other than bright light. Â Cut a small peice of black tape (or similar) the same size as the focusing patch and place it on the centre of the view finder window, so it is in same position as focusing patch. It will take a few attempts at positioning and trimming of the tape patch to get the exact size right, but when you have it you will know and not notice it is there. now you will be able to see the patch in the darkest of enviroments It's very effective - the only down side being - you will have to focus solely by The broken line method. Â a similar method may be applied for frame lines too if your nifty enough with the scissors! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Washington Posted July 12, 2011 Share #28  Posted July 12, 2011 Howard and Scrubs, No disrespect: but what you are saying has nothing to do with the OP’s problem Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
giordano Posted July 12, 2011 Share #29  Posted July 12, 2011 John, p.s. I know you can still buy small Tritium items: but that does’t mean they are good.  They're good all right. Nothing beats them for compact, long-lasting low-level light. Photoluminescent stuff is OK for short periods after it's been "charged up" by exposure to bright light, but after a few hours in the dark (e.g. a camera case) it's useless.  As for safety, I've no experience with big things like emergency exit signs (though here's an explanation of how dangerous they aren't), but I have absolutely no qualms about using small tritium light sources (e.g. 12mm x 2mm) as long as they're reasonably well protected from strain and impact. Even if one does break, the minute amount of tritium it contains disperses rapidly; it's less of a worry than the mercury in a compact fluorescent bulb. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Washington Posted July 12, 2011 Share #30 Â Posted July 12, 2011 Great, then you design the unit to hold one of these in front of the framing window. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
earleygallery Posted July 12, 2011 Share #31  Posted July 12, 2011 Pretty simple, any way to brighten the lines and patch in viewfinder of a M for low low light shooting? Some of my uses are not as simple as measuring distance only. I have a M6 and M8 the former being brighter in low light. I've looked around and have not seen this talked about, which usually means it's not possible but maybe someone has a trick up their sleeve;)  Thanks for reading....  Reading back the OP I don't think anyone has come up with a solution, perhaps because there isn't one. Not the OP wants the framelines AND RF patch to appear brighter - even an M9Tit can't do that.  Perhaps the OP could explain his problem in some more detail? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
tdtaylor Posted July 12, 2011 Share #32  Posted July 12, 2011 John, I have seen gunsights with bright dots but never knew what it was. Tritium lighting is highly regulated and is now in the process of it’s use being discouraged completely. Tritium exit signs are being replaced by LED signs. I read the clean-up precautions for a broken Tritium sign and it’s like a mini- nuclear disaster. This stuff is bad radioactive news! And, for a pile of other reasons, it is unsuitable for the OP’s use… take my word for it. The glowing tape has all the advantages: it’s simple, thin and flat, gives off a gentle even glow across the entire frame…. oh, yeah, and it’s really, really simple. p.s. I know you can still buy small Tritium items: but that does’t mean they are good.  Used trillium in exit lights in movie theaters for many years, but you have to get special permission from the local jurisdiction. And yes, they are rapidly disappearing. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Xmas Posted July 12, 2011 Share #33  Posted July 12, 2011 Hi  I think we have a web gossip problem, I've tried my M3 and it does not need brighter frame lines in starlight or irregular street light they seem to be too bright, rather then too dark to see...  I'll now have to compare my M6 and M3, just in case the M6 is brighter. The M6 has never given problems at night, cept very occassional patch flare. I use the M6 for the 28mm frame...  Noel Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Washington Posted July 12, 2011 Share #34 Â Posted July 12, 2011 Guys: Did the OP want the focus patch brighter too??? Oh dear that's what get for reading while I'm asleep.... never mind. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
earleygallery Posted July 12, 2011 Share #35 Â Posted July 12, 2011 Yes - as I said, I don't understand the 'problem'. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Washington Posted July 12, 2011 Share #36 Â Posted July 12, 2011 Solution: Klieg lights at forty paces. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnloumiles Posted July 12, 2011 Author Share #37 Â Posted July 12, 2011 Hi everyone, Â Thank you for all the feedback. Just to clarify this is mostly a focusing issue not a framing although I wouldn't mind illuminated frame lines in certain situations as well. Â Earley- I actually ran into this problem shooting yesterday. Pitch black is not the problem. Shooting at dusk where light is barley coming through the window illuminating the human form is where I'm running into the issue. Focusing on someones face or body part is difficult under these circumstances. Â If you want to see what Im talking about click here for the most recent shot I took under these conditions (there is nudity). Â Â Interestingly enough I was trying different methods and just out of curiosity I slid a Ipod nano in front of the illumination window and there was the perfect amount of glow on the brightlines and focus patch. Holding it there while focusing is another story all together. I might investigate further with this type of illumination in a smaller form. Â Bill Henson is one of my favorites and I'm sure this would be an issue he would run into time to time if he were using an M. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Washington Posted July 12, 2011 Share #38 Â Posted July 12, 2011 Yes, what you want for this purpose is an EVEN gentile glow across the whole window. A point source light would give annoyingly uneven frame hot spots. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
scrubs Posted July 12, 2011 Share #39  Posted July 12, 2011 Howard and Scrubs, No disrespect: but what you are saying has nothing to do with the OP’s problem  Like I said in my post - the tape trick will indeed make the focus patch appear brighter, maybe not the most elegant solution, but certainly temporary and an interesting experiment never the less and the same principle applied to the frame lines would also make them brighter too. unless I am missing something here also Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Washington Posted July 12, 2011 Share #40  Posted July 12, 2011 I think you misread my plan. It’s NOT for the little split-image focusing window: if you put anything over that you will see no patch in the viewfinder at all. The industrial tape I was speaking of…. and attached a product info page ….. according to 3M: glows for six hours!!! And, I mentioned the tape could be attached (facing inward naturally) to a simple slide on over the top little mount where by it can be slipped on and off the camera body by just pulling it up and off. It then is easy to ‘’recharge’’ with a lightbulb in a jiffy. This is elegantly simple! It is just for making the frame lines glow a bit! The problem is finding this stuff in small pieces.. 3M sells 150’ rolls. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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