Viewfinder + Light Meter for Canon Rangefinder Camera

thingiverse

This is a re-housing of an inexpensive light meter (Cooldark V102) and the viewfinder elements from an old 35mm film point-and-shoot camera (Canon Sure Shot Owl), mounted on the cold shoe, with some extra braces to support the underside of the light meter. It was designed specifically to fit a Canon V-series or Canon P rangefinder, allowing the viewfinder selection dial to still be seen. However, it would likely fit other rangefinder cameras if the top surface of the cold shoe is flush with the top of the camera. The viewfinder from the Sure Shot Owl has frame lines for 35mm focal length, and is especially bright and high magnification (around x0.7). Because I wanted to use the viewfinder with my 50mm lens, I replaced the original outer optical element with a 34.5mm diameter, double-concave element with a focal length of about -61mm. This approximately corrected the field of view to match a 50mm lens. I made this because my Canon VL2 viewfinder window is a little scratched and very low contrast in bright sun, so an external viewfinder would be helpful. I also wanted to add a light meter, so I figured the most elegant solution would be to combine these. I still use the "RF" setting on the VL2's adjustable rangefinder, which gives a magnified view to improve the visibility of the rangefinder patch. The shooting method is: first check exposure with the light meter, then focus with the built-in rangefinder, then compose with the external viewfinder. It sounds complicated but it's actually an enjoyable experience (assuming you are into manual/mechanical cameras). I used Hatchbox wood filament, which uses something around 30% wood particles. It sands easily and takes a stain, which creates a reasonable facsimile of wood. If someone wants to make this, they need: 1. A Cooldark V102 light meter (sometimes under different names, just google V102 light meter), around $50. 2. A sacrificial Canon Sure Shot Owl point and shoot film camera, preferably broken (around $12 from Ebay) 3. A 34.5 mm diameter concave or double-concave lens with a focal length of around -61mm (check surplusshed.com, $5 to $10). This is the hardest part. If your element is a different size, or you want to retain the original 35mm frame lines, you will need to modify this design. If the element is smaller, you can just use a spacer ring. 4. Ten tiny screws, size 000, about 1mm diameter and 3mm long. The V102 meter comes with some, but you'll need a few more.