Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 1999/10/01
[Author Prev] [Author Next] [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] [Author Index] [Topic Index] [Home] [Search]A new pattern of bright-line viewfinder has appeared on the market here in the UK. Called the Helios, this Japanese-made finder has been designed for use with Fed and Zorki rangefinder cameras and displays the fields of the three most common Russian-cloned Zeiss lenses - 35mm, 85mm and 135mm. It looks like a black version of the 50mm SBOOI finder, with a metal and plastic body and a plastic foot. UK price is 13 pounds (around $20), though I’ve seen them at camera fairs for as little as five pounds ($8). Unfortunately, it’s not very good. The bright-line frames are very weak, and even weaker if you wear glasses. To make matters worse, with glasses I find it impossible to see the entire 35mm frame. If there is a special hell for incompetent designers of viewfinders who have ignored the fact that large numbers of people wear eyeglasses, the designer of this little device should be guaranteed lots of company (including the guys who developed the M6 finder). As the Leicaflex and Leitz 50mm SBOOI demonstrate, it IS possible to design a finder whose entire frame can be seen by spectacle wearers. Regards, Doug Richardson