building the contraption day 2

building the contraption day 2
Originally uploaded by valcox

Day 2 of building a ttv contraption for my mom.

I have my mom's Canon EOS 30D and 60mm macro lens on a temporary backbrace (shown on bottom) which I’m sizing it up to find the right viewfinder base camera for her.

The positioning of the lens on the Canon body poses a challenge, because it’s lower than I'm used to—this will make using an Argus 75 difficult because of the positioning of the viewfinder.

Note the (top photo) Nikon D70 with 60mm lens has about ¾” clearance from lens to back board. Her Canon EOS 30D with 60mm lens (bottom photo) has less than ¼” clearance.

I have a couple options in building this contraption, I can raise the Canon up off the base, or I can use a different viewfinder camera.

This much I know:
My mom wants a base viewfinder that’s very clean and clear (she's not into the dusty ttv's). She wants the total contraption lightweight and small because she uses this camera out and about when photographing people and events in Vermont. She wants to be able to remove the Canon easily and quickly when she doesn’t want to shoot ttv style.

This narrows my options a little, so I'm thinking about the Starflex viewfinder camera instead of the Argus 75.