In other words, just the kind of thing readers of this blog might like. The Supertrip is a very cheap, very flimsy fixed aperture fixed focus camera from the mid eighties with a slow and horrible flash. In my case I plumped for a broken Olympus Supertrip. – My choice for a donor was based on the following criteria 1: size – I wanted something about the size and weight of the Voigtlander 28/35 mini-finder 2: accuracy – calibrated with the 35mm lines on my M2 and 3] bright enough to see through comfortably with glasses. – In approximate order of cheap viewfinder niceness I’d put Olympus consistently at the top with Nikon/Canon second and Ricoh/Konica (more variable) in third. I guess they got better at granular cost cutting in the 90s. After that it’s noticeable that cheap cameras have commensurately cheap viewfinders. My guess is that they used pretty much the same components from high to low-end during this period. – Most P&S cameras from the eighties have viewfinders ranging from acceptable to quite good. But for those oddballs who don’t and need to buy one, here’s what I noticed. I’m sure most readers will, like me, have several large bags full of faulty or untested point and shoot cameras. Here’s how I did it… 1: Choose a donor camera Inspiration! What if?…Īnd so over the next weekend a DIY viewfinder was born. One day I was going through a bag of knackered old point and shoots looking for a decent donor lens to use on a cardboard camera I was making (as you do) when I noticed that nearly all of them had pretty good and small 35mm viewfinders. A DIY Solutionĭon’t worry though, there’s a happy ending to this tale that doesn’t involve saving money like some kind of adult. After a couple of failed Ebay auctions that reached nearly £200 (for a viewfinder!) I gave up on the Voigtlander and resigned myself to a long summer of saving. How frustrating then to know that it would only be usable with either a hulking great external finder or a seriously expensive little one like the gorgeous Voigtlander 28/35 Hamish also got me lusting after. In other words, exactly what I wanted for my iii. I love the Summaron: sharp, not clinical gentle but with good contrast, small but easy to use and built like nothing else I’ve ever owned. It lives on a bruised but still street-fighting M2. I’m no Leica collector (through poverty not inclination) but am lucky enough to own a beautiful 35mm Summaron 2.8 thread mount lens. Something better and wider would definitely be in order. It also has more flare than Frisco in 68. But it is what it is: an uncoated lens from the 30s, a bit fiddly and low contrast unless the light is just-so and not wide enough for my tastes in lots of situations. Sure, it’s gorgeous in its way, especially for portraits, and looks way retro-cool of course. The trouble is I was starting to get frustrated by the constraints of the old Elmar. Quite soon I was pocketing that Leica more than any other camera. No masterpiece and I damaged the negative but I do love the character of the Elmar for this kind of shot. Here’s an example from the first roll I took after the repairs. Thank you Hamish for inspiring her rebirth. This serviced Leica iii is the most rewarding little camera I’ve ever used (and probably ever will). At home, on weekend walks, in the pub, even at work to the amusement and (in just one case) jealousy of the whippersnappers I toil beside. Here’s a quick snapshot portrait (of the camera, not Peter).Īfter a few days clicking, winding, stroking, clicking, winding just for the joy of it I re-attached the ancient Elmar lens and promised to use the camera more. What a machine! And what a craftsman Peter is. And when she returned? Oh joy! Smooth, responsive, bright-eyed and renewed. So, inspired by Hamish and determined to give the old girl some love, I sent her off to Peter at CRR for a complete overhaul. Worse, when she did see the light just once or twice a year she’d often take revenge for my neglect by jamming half way through a roll, firing at random speeds or refusing to budge at all. There she was, eighty years old, sitting alone, dusty and neglected in the dark, brooding on past glories – a German aristocrat in decline. Third that I really should take more pictures with my beautiful old Leica iii. Second that he’s right about Barnack Leicas. First that Hamish is a darned good writer. Hamish’s 7 reasons you should own a thread mount Leica post from earlier this year left me with three main thoughts.
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