Voigtlander Right Angle Viewfinder Review


Have you ever wanted to use your 35mm camera like a Rolleiflex? Well, now you can, sort of. The Voigtlander Angle Finder is a nifty little gadget that slips into the flash hotshoe of any camera that has one, and allows you look down to get a view of the scene in front of you. It takes different screw on attachments to replicate the viewing area of different lens lengths. Unfortunately, they only make 15mm, 21mm and 25mm ones. I use the 21mm attachment with my Voigtlander 21mm Skopar lens. The Angle Finder offers an incredibly bright view of the scene before you, and handily enough comes with a small leather pouch that holds not only the angle finder, but the standard 21mm hotshoe finder that came with my 21mm Skopar.

So what good is it if you've already got a normal 21mm viewfinder? Well, there are a couple upsides that, for me, justify the $300 pricetag (that's for the viewfinder itself plus the 21mm lens attachment). One is that, as D.B. had told me, there's a level of abstraction that comes from looking down to frame a scene in front of you. It's a very different feeling from looking through a normal viewfinder. Whether or not this actually helps my composition remains to be seen. Second, it's very handy for street photography. When you're looking down into the viewfinder, rather than at a person, they tend to remain much more comfortable. Unless you happen to be going for eye contact, then the right angle finder offers a great means of capturing people in a more relaxed, natural state. Most of the time they think you're just fiddling with the camera, rather than taking their picture.

****

Update: I've sold this piece of equipment. Why, after such a great review? Well, for the price I paid for it I just wasn't happy with the way it was holding up. The eyepiece seems to suck in dust and debris at an alarming rate, and I decided to sell it before it became completely unuseable.

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