This
system is great
for directing
long range artillery
fire as it was
originally designed
to do but makes
camera work
frustrating
because what
you see is hardly
ever what you
get. This is
because you
are not looking
through the
lens, but from
off to the side
- through a
separate lens
other than the
camera's lens.
Although the
view finder
lens and the
camera lens
are very close
to one another
(approximating
what each other
sees) the closer
a subject being
photographed
is to the camera,
the more the
subject will
be moved out
of frame - even
though the subject
is well centered
in the view
finder. This
problem is called
parallax. To
compensate for
this divergence
in viewing angle,
an adjusting
knob (or lever)
is provided
to correct the
angle of the
viewer lens
to correct for
parallax. Certainly
an improvement
but still time
consuming and
it's just another
headache for
the cinematographer
to contend with.
When your first
roll of film
comes back from
the lab with
everything off
center, even
though you framed
everything properly
and artistically
in the range
finder - you
will understand
why the "reflex"
system was developed
and why you
will swear you
will never use
a range finder
ever again.
