Those types of cameras are exclusively used with ground glass focusing/previewing.Ĭurrently, the optical zoom viewfinder is the newest release and is now commonly used on modern cameras. This display is usually non-existent on big plate cameras. You will rarely find film cameras that are not equipped with a viewfinder by their manufacturer, like those repro cameras.ĭigital cameras however have a viewfinder on the LCD display, there is also a provisional viewfinder that is found on the cameras back. It is called the viewfinder because it shows the photographer the area/view that will included in the photograph - it “finds” the “view” and shows it to you. The need for extension tubes became non-existent, with the technology the recent generation of cameras could easily focus, judge framing, and judge exposure. On the other hand, compact digital cameras and DSLRs can easily focus on the objects that are up close. These tubes were used to take photographs of close-up objects and as you might predict, it was pretty challenging to judge focus using it.

The idea itself was quite new and revolutionary.Ĭompared to the photography folks, TTV photography and Filmography were quick to adapt and learn digital cameras and those EyeTap Devices.īefore digital photography descended and became used worldwide, photographers would often use “extension tubes.” The reason behind this was the sudden emergence of compact cameras and the 35mm SLRs.īack in the day, people still felt weird with the sole idea of taking an image while looking through their new viewfinders. Unfortunately, they became less popular since the 1960s and 1970s. They were quite popular during the mid 1960s, the viewfinder type can be easily found in TLRs and pseudo TLRs. Then there was the clear square type of viewfinder. It was then followed by larger viewfinders that made “Through the Viewfinder” (TTV) photography more popular and appropriate in the late 19s.

In the 20th century, the waist-level viewfinders that were inside those box shaped cameras were growing more common.

Director viewfinder