faint frame lines in SHOOC 135mm viewfinder?

[ironringer]

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Could users tell us if Leica "bright-line" viewfinders suffer from very faint (almost invisible) frame lines?

My SHOOC 135mm viewfinder (in minty condition) has extremely dim frame lines. It is unusable, and I depend on my reliable VIOOH vari-frame viewfinder instead.

Is this a "lines fade as they age" problem, or is that how (bad) the bright-line viewfinders are?

And, can the frame lines be repaired so the viewfinder is usable?

[luigi bertolotti]

Well... I have SHOOC (and SGVOO SBOOI etc...  )... don't know its age  (but >40 years by sure) and its framelines are good and well visible... I think it's a matter of wear due to age, too many "rough" cleanings etc... finding the right lab maybe they can be "retouched"... but SHOOC isn't rare nor costly... is it worth ?

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[spydrxx]

Like Mr. Bertolotti, mine is crisp and bright, so I think yours has deteriorated considerably despite its "minty" exterior condition. Same for my 50 & 90 finders. You probably could have it "touched up" (you might give Youxin Ye or DAG a call), but it probably would be less expensive to secure one with brighter lines on the big auction site.

[Shac]

My SHOOC's the same as the previous 2 members as is my SGVOO. Hope you'll be able to get it "fixed"

[ironringer]

Silly me, mea culpa.

At a camera show today, a vendor showed me that if you look through the brightline viewfinders from what I thought was the wrong/black side, the frame outline is sharp and clear. I was looking through my SHOOC 135mm viewfinder from the small/silver end, because this is how it is always shown on its box and in catalog illustrations. I have never seen a picture of a camera with the SHOOC mounted in the accessory shoe.

How does everyone else know that you are supposed to mount these viewfinders with the black side toward the eye? Are there any instructions for these accessories, showing how to mount them on the camera?

 

[luigi bertolotti]

  Happy end.... it's true that the orientation , from a first look, can be set vice-versa... maybe happened to me too (but don't remember... was  30 years ago around...  )  and  to some other notable forum members too... http://www.l-camera-forum.com/topic/75347-stupid-fool/

 

(indeed, one can understand it's the wrong orientation looking at the effect of parallax adjustement and reasoning about...  )

 

It's not easy to find Leitz doc with pictures of finders like this mounted on a body : I have this old scan taken dunnowhere...

 

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Edited October 26, 2015 by luigi bertolotti

[Matlock]

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I think the clue is in the orientation of the engraving.

[luigi bertolotti]

I think the clue is in the orientation of the engraving.

 indeed...

 

Funny enough, it has came to my mind that did exist a finder (the multifocal VIOOH) that in amilitary version HAD to be mounted reversed (for 13,5 cm lens only)... 

 

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military

Edited October 26, 2015 by luigi bertolotti

[ironringer]

As others observed, I obviously had not given much thought to the visible "clues" on how to orient the 135mm viewfinder: position of the hinge pin and tilting for close distances, and the engravings that are best read from the back of the camera.

I think I was so happy with the performance (and accurate framing!) of my old VIOOH multi-finder, that I was not thinking when I mounted the SHOOC on my IIIg. I mounted it the way it looked best to the user, not as it was designed to work. My fault, and I should have known that a Leitz product is made to work well. In fact the image is bright, clear and large, with a very visible frame outline.

I assume that my 90mm SGVOO viewfinder should be mounted the same way - matte black side toward the back of the camera.

Here are pictures of the SHOOC, and the SHOOC mounted INCORRECTLY, perhaps a bad thing to demonstrate.

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[ironringer]

Mr. Bertolotti, could you explain why the military VIOOH should be reversed when used with a 135mm lens? It looks the same as the standard VIOOH, unless I miss some detail in your pictures.

[luigi bertolotti]

If I remember well (the topic is covered by James Lager in tis book on lenses) the VIOOH was modified so that the (military) operator could see a vertical pivotal line at the half of the viewing window (with 13,5 cm Hektor lens) ... a sort of "composition/aim aid" ... I think that to see clearly this added line (probably engraved or painted on the glass of the VIOOH) the sight had to be made reversed to the usual optical path (by principle, the same reason for you must mount the SHOOC as discussed above. too see clean the frame)

[Antonio Madureira]

After read about somewhere, I tried and can confirm that the view of the reversed VIOOH (adjusted to 9cm or 8,5cm) covers almost the entire field of normal position view, adjusted to 13,5cm, but with greater magnification.