45 degree viewfinders

[YellowEye]

Hi
Anybody here have experience with 45 degree viewfinders for DSLR's?

Did you get used to it pretty quick, did you like it?

How does it do for vertical wide angle shots?

[DecidedlyOdd]

I've had the Nauticam one for several years, first using it with a Canon T2i DSLR (smallish optical viewfinder) and now with an Olympus E-M1 (larger electronic viewfinder).

First I have to say that the magnification is really, really nice and I'm not even farsighted (yet). Looking through the unmagnified viewfinder practically feels like looking through a front door peephole now. It's really hard to go back.

Lining the camera up while looking through the 45 degree angle viewfinder definitely takes some getting used to, but to me it's definitely worth the learning curve.

I've found it's easiest shooting in landscape orientation, probably because I just do that more frequently already. When rotating the viewfinder into portrait orientation mode, it does take me a moment to line the subject up again because of the 45 degree angle.

Wide angle is also easier for me than macro, just because with wide angle I can pretty quickly see where I'm looking in the scene. Macro is a bit harder, especially with a more telephoto lens, because I only see a small (often out of focus at first) section of the scene at a time.

The major upside of the 45 degree angle compared to a straight/180 degree viewfinder is that it's easier to get down low closer to the bottom. I've found this really helpful for shooting macro locally since it's quite common to find critters laying on the sand. My dive buddies say my trim is better when I'm diving with the viewfinder as compared to using the back LCD (comparable to a 180 degree viewing angle) since at the 45 degree angle it's easier to naturally look down rather than completely straight ahead.

Although I haven't really tried it much, it's supposedly also easier to shoot over/unders in wide angle with the 45 degree viewfinder since it gets your entire head out of the water.

[YellowEye]

Very cool! Thanks for the info!

[YellowEye]

I got myself a 45 degree viewfinder for my God's Pocket trip. Verdict? I absolutely love it!

I've only used it for wide angle so far (mostly portrait orientation). I got used to it probably after 20 shots, and I don't think I could go back to without one now . I'm looking forward to trying it with macro soon!

Thanks!

[Scubie Doo]

Great info YE, I may have to take the plunge did you install it yourself? It is in an Ikelite housing correct?

[YellowEye]

Hey Scoob!
Yes, it is the ikelite viewfinder with the ikelite housing.
It was very easy to install < 5 min.
Do check it out!
-Eric