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[OM] Re: OT Angle finder modding and e*ay seller jinfinance

Subject: [OM] Re: OT Angle finder modding and e*ay seller jinfinance
From: Moose <olymoose@xxxxxxxxx>
Date: Fri, 19 Jan 2007 18:13:09 -0800
Back to this old thread, I just received three items from jinfinance.

The transaction couldn't have been smoother. I did a BIN on one, then 
contacted him about a couple of other items, one of which he didn't have 
on the 'Bay at that time. He gave me attractive prices on the extra 
items and a good break on combined shipping.

He shipped immediately after I paid and it took four days to get to CA. 
Package had seen some less than gentle handling, but sealing and packing 
were ok, as were the items.

As to the items:
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The four way focusing rail looks identical in pics to the one Adorama 
sells for more than three times the price. It's nicely finished and will 
certainly do the job for any thing up to MF. Build quality is not up to 
the Oly rail and the movement isn't as smooth. On the other hand, it's 
pretty good and allows for very precise placement. And I don't take 
pictures while it's moving. And Oly never made one with left right 
action. I suppose one could combine two rails with two stages......

Rating? If you must have very fine machinery and flawless movement, C+. 
If you want something that does the job of fine placement of your camera 
in two dimensions with ease, a winner, A. Value, A+
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The angle finder is pretty much what I expected. Well enough made of 
plastic, it gives a nice clear, correct left/right view through the 
finder. Diopter correction range isn't specified - I received no 
instructions - but it accommodates my -4.5 or so right eye. It's a long 
range with much twisting, which allows easy fine tuning. Eyecup folds 
down to allow seeing the full frame with glasses on at 1x.

Compared to the Oly Varimagni? Build quality is Yugo vs. Rolls. 
Usability? Well, how much is correct left-right image worth to you? It's 
worth a lot to me, and the plastic wonder has it. Optical quality isn't 
great, but good enough to see what you are shooting at 1x and good 
enough to very finely focus your camera lens at 2x. And it doesn't make 
my eyes go funny after staring through for a few minutes.

Biggest weakness is the camera coupling. It's a generic thingie, with 
adapters for different cameras. I only asked for Canyon EOS 
compatibility and got two different adapters, one of which fits the 5D 
and 300D. In the double plastic slide-on connection, there is more play 
than I would find ideal. I may simply glue the adapter to the finder to 
tighten things up.

Rating? Beauty and truth, C-. Practical tool, B-. Value, B+
----------------------------------

Remote shutter release for 5D is a cheap piece of plastic that cost 
almost nothing and does what it is supposed to. Push lightly for AF/AE 
set/lock. Push/complete push for shutter release. Push and slide forward 
to lock shutter open in B for long exposures. Has a socket in the side 
that I think will accept an extension cord. What's not to like? Oh, I'll 
bet I can use the socket to connect to the receiver of Polaroid RF 
remote I have!

The focusing stage I think would be suitable for almost any use. The 
other two are quite acceptable for the very occasional use they may get. 
I've seldom used the Varimagni and remote releases, but wanted to have 
the flexibility available. For serious use, I'd go with the OEM models.

Moose

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