David queried:
I need to find a magnifying right-angle viewfinder for ME Super and ZX-5.
The Refconverter-A seems to be rare and expensive. I've heard that an
Olympus Varimagni will fit over the Pentax eyepiece and work just fine.
Can someone confirm (or deny) this?
Fred replied:
'Tis true. The OM Varimagni fits just slightly more snugly than the
Pentax, but it works quite well. (It does give a mirror image, unlike the
Godfrey further elucidated:
I obtained an Olympus VariMagni unit and find that it fits the MX and
*ist DS viewfinder eyepieces *perfectly*. Here's a picture:
http://homepage.mac.com/godders/ds-w-olympus-varimagni.jpg
It is very crisp and clear, the two magnifications are both useful.
Compared to the Refconverter A, the only disadvantage is that it
doesn't correct the image for left-right reversal. I purchased mine
as NOS for $134, with box and case. KEH.com had a few in EXC
condition used for around $90.
I find this to be a brighter, clearer, more useful right-angle finder
used with the *ist DS than the Canon Angle Finder C with the Canon 10D.
Godfrey
I offer an alternative:
There is a Seagull Right Angle Viewfinder from China. It offers clear 1x &
2x images that are corrected left-right (no reversal). It is well
constructed and comes with a passle of adapters to enable its use on post-K
Pentaxes, Nikons, Canons, etc. The Pentax adapter fits it to my MX and D. In
the 1x mode, I can still read the viewfinder data as well as see the image.
The Seagull is available as a Buy-it-now from several shops on e-Bay for
well under $100 including shipping and insurance.
Larry in Dallas
