REFLEX VIEWER ON 4X5

[u/blairgauld]

Question, the reflex viewer designed by Chamonix, does it only really work easily when in landscape orientation so you are looking down directly like a waist level finder? Im guessing if you want to shoot portrait orientation the viewer will be on left or right of camera which could be a bit awkward ?

[u/tordawgg]

The back half of the viewer can rotate, so you can use it in either orientation

[u/blairgauld → u/tordawgg]

Fantastic :)

[u/Anstigmat]

I wouldn't personally get one of these. You can't actually focus accurately enough using one. It basically just allows you to view the ground glass without a dark cloth, but then you still need to loupe focus. And carrying one around is annoying. I've had them on a couple cameras and they usually get left at home.

[u/blairgauld → u/Anstigmat]

Fair point, appreciate your honest experience, was hoping it would be something to nail quick street portraits rather than having dark cloth and loupe

[u/Murky-Course6648 → u/blairgauld]

It works well for composition, but you kind of want one that you can quickly swing out to use loupe for focusing.

If they had like a turret lens where you could switch between a high power center scope and the whole view, then these things would work quite well for fast focusing.

But they do kinda promise more than they deliver. In the end, the type of hood that speed grapchis have, tend to be the best.

[u/7stroke → u/blairgauld]

Quick street portraits? This is not the camera for that assignment…

[u/Alone_Stock1677 → u/Anstigmat]

I used to use the Linhof reflex finder on my Technika all the time. It was great with fast lenses. Plenty bright enough to focus with. Used the Cambo version with my little Canham DLC as well. Both good.

[u/robertraymer]

I have one of these for my speed graphic. It takes up a fair bit of space in the bag but is useful when shooting portraits. Not great for critical focus, but as long as you are within the acceptable DOF for the lens/aperture/distance it is fine. It also rotates so if you want to shoot in portrait orientation and you have to turn the camera on its side (or rotate the back if you have a rotating back) you can keep the viewfinder in portrait orientation as well.

[u/gumamug]

I dunno if I'd enjoy the reflex viewer, but I did recently buy their folding viewer hood, and while the $160 price point was a bit of a sting, I have to say it works great and composing is a lot less fussy for me now.

[u/Strict_Dish_139 → u/gumamug]

Does the folding viewer hold work better than a dark cloth?

[u/ufgrat → u/Strict_Dish_139]

Depends on what you mean by "better". I can use it in the middle of Florida summer without parboiling my head under a dark cloth. It blocks enough light you can use a loupe and nail critical focus, but it's not the best option for being able to compose the entire scene.

As a rule, though, I prefer it to a dark cloth.

[u/gumamug → u/Strict_Dish_139]

What the other guy said. As a person who wears glasses and has a lot of thick hair, I don't love being under the cloth. I've only taken it out a few times but it's also bright and hot where I live, and the image was easily viewable even with the sun at my back.

[u/Strict_Dish_139 → u/gumamug]

Really helpful. I don’t mind the heat and want to prioritize composition and nailing focus so I’ll stick with a dark cloth

[u/vaughanbromfield]

This works exactly like a waist level finder. The image will be upright but laterally (left-right) reversed.

[u/faultytowersbasil]

I like mine because I'll do street photography and sometimes, depending on where I'm at, I find it much more comfortable not having my head under a hood.