Broken 21mm Finder Mount

eleskin · 10-15-2009

I just pulled off my Voigtlander 21mm Finder from my M8 Hot Shoe and the mount under the finder came apart due to the plastic being cracked. Anyone else have this problem?

The mount should be metal, not cheap plastic. The finder itself is great, but the mount sucks! Should I Epoxy it together, or try to get a replacement part to screw in? Can I get a better part that will not break like something made out of metal?

rxmd · 10-15-2009

If you have all the pieces and it's a clean breakaway, epoxy it together. Screwing something in the finder isn't going to make the finder's plastic itself more solid, so the next time just your screw will break out. I ended up gluing a foot from a flash socket adapter underneath it.

ZeissFan · 10-15-2009

Depending on the type of plastic, super glue can work. Super glue melts certain plastics, which can create a better bond. But you'll need to test it to see if it's that type of plastic that melts.

Otherwise, you'll want to use a contact cement or epoxy. And if that were mine, I would sand down the bottom once finished and bond a small piece of metal to it that is equal in thickness to the same amount that's been sanded down.

rxmd · 10-15-2009

Quote:

Originally Posted by ZeissFan

Depending on the type of plastic, super glue can work.

Using super glue aka cyanoacrylate around a finder is a fundamentally bad idea, because the fumes from the glue may fog the optical parts. In forensics cyanoacrylate fumes are used to emphasize fingerprints on glass, nothing I'd want happening near my finder.

saturnales · 10-15-2009

I did a new base for mine usign epoxy...

Mablo · 10-15-2009

I broke mine too some time ago. I never found the small broken piece so I made up a classic photog DIY solution. I cut a small strip of plastic out of a film canister and yank it between the flash shoe and the vf mount. It's ugly but it works.

drewbarb · 10-15-2009

I've broken the plastic feet off of a couple of CV finders, too. A couple of years ago, I had a friend with a machine shop make me a new one out of brass. He did a really nice job; he got some offset into the mount, pinned the thing to make seating a snap, and put in steel sleeves for the mounting screws. He even cut an angle off the front left side to fit snug into the Leica accessory shoes. I did put out some feelers to see if there was any interest in doing a bunch of these, which would have really helped defray the cost, but the project never got anywhere beyond the one piece- which made it mighty pricey, but it works like a charm. Here are some bad digi snaps of the thing. And yes, I know I should have cleaned the optics of the finder before I shot the pics, but I was more interested in showing the foot than anything else here.

dexdog · 10-15-2009

I would probably search out a cheap finder with a metal foot on eBay, cut the thing apart with a Dremel tool or a hacksaw, and epoxy the foot to the CV finder.

excellent · 10-15-2009

Quote:

Originally Posted by drewbarb

I've broken the plastic feet off of a couple of CV finders, too. A couple of years ago, I had a friend with a machine shop make me a new one out of brass. He did a really nice job; he got some offset into the mount, pinned the thing to make seating a snap, and put in steel sleeves for the mounting screws. He even cut an angle off the front left side to fit snug into the Leica accessory shoes. I did put out some feelers to see if there was any interest in doing a bunch of these, which would have really helped defray the cost, but the project never got anywhere beyond the one piece- which made it mighty pricey, but it works like a charm. Here are some bad digi snaps of the thing. And yes, I know I should have cleaned the optics of the finder before I shot the pics, but I was more interested in showing the foot than anything else here.

Looks awesome.

Al Kaplan · 10-15-2009

I've been using a 15mm CV finder for years with nary a problem. My 21mm CV finder's foot sheared off within weeks! I think it as to do with the weight and momentum of the lens/camera combination. A Bessa L with a 15 dangling from a strap isn't going to impact anything with much force. Put a chromed brass mounted 21/3.4 Super Angulon on an M3 body and it can generate a lot of force as it slams into anything solit.

Hey Stephen! Howzabout a nice discount for replacement 21mm finders? $128 is a bit steep! Hell, make 'em BRIGHT RED to match the free red dots that Leica supplies.

eleskin · 10-16-2009

I once used J&B weld to patch a hole on the bottom of my Volvo 240, and it is still holding, so why not use it for the finder repair. I did, and filled the little hole inside the mount. Result: better than before, and solid as steel!!!

Mounts perfectly on my M8!!!

Way to go J&B weld!!!

Bill58 · 10-16-2009

JB Weld (epoxy) it back together. It'll hold just fine.

ZeissFan · 10-16-2009

Quote:

Originally Posted by rxmd

Using super glue aka cyanoacrylate around a finder is a fundamentally bad idea, because the fumes from the glue may fog the optical parts. In forensics cyanoacrylate fumes are used to emphasize fingerprints on glass, nothing I'd want happening near my finder.

Hopefully, you're not going to build a tent around it and then heat the super glue. Yes, I also watch "Forensic Files."

If you take reasonable care, super glue can be effective with certain plastics.

rxmd · 10-16-2009

Quote:

Originally Posted by ZeissFan

Hopefully, you're not going to build a tent around it and then heat the super glue. Yes, I also watch "Forensic Files."

Well I don't.

I know the effect from building scale models with transparent pieces. I used Super Glue on those exactly once.

drewbarb · 10-17-2009

I had the problem of the element with the brightlines in my CV 21mm finder rotating in the mount and not being straight; I solved this with a drop of super glue on the edge of the glass to hold it into the plastic body. I haven't had any trouble with it moving- or fogging- since. Should I be concerned about using super glue in my finder like this? Are you guys suggesting it's likely to off gas and fog at some point?

grainhound · 10-17-2009

Cosina should supply a replacement foot, since it's easily broken. I was quite surprised that when mine broke I found I'd have to buy a new finder instead of the cheap piece of plastic that broke. I tried the flash shoe idea but, to skip a fairly long story, bought a replacement. After a while the framelines rotated, as they did for drew. I super glued that element in, but discovered too late that I hadn't got it exactly straight. I now have a Zeiss. I would not buy another C/V finder; they're too expensive.

CNNY · 10-17-2009

I would try plastic solvent cement from a model shop. It doesn't glue, but 'welds' the plastic back together. It is better than glueing. Probably as strong as super glue without the fog issue (which I had once on an old finder I fixed).
If applied sparingly it can do a very clean job.

eleskin · 10-18-2009

I must say my repair is holding up superbly! In fact my finder is better now than before in that the J&B weld made the foot much stronger by reinforcing the weak area i the foot where it is not solid. J&B Weld converted the foot into one very solid piece that is almost as strong as metal. J&B Weld was much easier to work with in that it is a more solid material, and does not run like super glue. Clean up was very easy. Any J&B Weld that oozed out when I pressed the foot in place onto the finder was easily cleaned up with a knife and paper towel.

If I had a finder that did not break, I would consider using J&B Weld to reinforce the plastic foot to make it one solid piece instead of the weaker hollow plastic that it is now (Stephen from Cameraquest, please tell Voigtlander they need to make the foot more solid to avoid the problem I and others have had).

Al Kaplan · 10-18-2009

The way mine is broken, together with having a missing piece, I really need a complete new foot. I'll have to go through my collection of dead flash units and perform an amputation..

Ronald M · 10-18-2009

Get the old metal Leitz finders. I never broke one of those, buy they have become somwhat pricy.

I managed a full set from 21 to 135.

Al Kaplan · 10-18-2009

I had an old Leitz finder with a chip missing from one corner of the front lens. It didn't affect looking through the finder though. Someplace or another it fell off the camera and I never found it. The optics of the VC finder beats the Leitz glass!

I just found a dead Vivitar 2000 flash so I guess it's time to pick up some J&B Weld and schedule surgery.

Mablo · 10-18-2009

Al, I would be interested to read the story after your surgery. I might have to do the same operation.

Al Kaplan · 10-18-2009

It looks to me like Cameraquest should be the one to be offering replacement feet for a couple of bucks. There are two screws holding the top and the bottom of the finder housing together. It appears that there are another two screws attaching the bottom half of the housing down onto the foot. Replacing the foot should be a five minute job with a small Phillips screwdriver, and the foot would probably cost less than the J&B Weld that you wouldn't be needing to buy.

Any comments from Cameraquest on this? Can we buy replacement feet? Would the same foot fit both the 21 and the 15 finders?