TTArtisan 35mm Viewfinder Short Review

I wanted a more discreet external viewfinder for my 35mm rangefinder lens and would have liked to get one from Leica or Voigtländer, but those are very expensive.

Why would you need an external finder even for a digital camera, you might ask. Well, some of those cameras don’t have a viewfinder of any kind —only an LCD on the back. In certain conditions, an external viewfinder can be just the thing you need.

The TTArtisan 35mm external optical viewfinder is a relatively compact accessory designed to work with vintage and modern digital cameras. The build quality seems reasonable, but I haven’t owned it long enough to judge its durability. The price is very affordable, especially compared to the viewfinders offered by Leica or Voigtländer.

TTArtisan 35mm Viewfinder Specs

Per TTArtisan’s webpage, the finder has 35mm framelines, high light transmission, is super light at 25g, has a soft rubber eyecup, and is made of aircraft aluminium with an anodized finish. It also sports a universal cold-shoe mount. More to these things further down.

Viewfinder attached to Zeiss Ikon Contax II

The Universal Cold-Shoe

Having a universal cold-shoe and being designed for vintage cameras suggests that the shoe fits. But this may not be so. The bottom of the viewfinder’s foot is just a bit too thick, and the stem just a bit too wide for my cameras, in one word: bummer. The finder fits on my SLRs and digital cameras. I don’t want to use it with either of them. It did not fit any of my rangefinders, the cameras I want to use it with.

What to do. Returning it was not an option, since I had already thrown out the packaging. I decided to file down the bottom and the stem. I didn’t have to do much, and it didn’t take long either. It looks a bit rough now, but it is not very noticeable. I’m not sure if the foot part is made of aluminium; it feels more like plastic to me. It was so easy to grind it down with a file. Anyway, the viewfinder fits now.

When in Use

The viewfinder is bright and large. The framelines look just gorgeous on the TTArtisan website. When I look through my viewfinder, attached to the camera, I only see lines in this brilliant white when I look at something bright, maybe. Most of the time, however, they look grayish, or I can only see parts of them — sometimes nothing — more like in the attached image. How the framelines appear depends on the scene I’m looking at and the angle I’m viewing through the viewfinder. This is not to my liking.

I own a 25mm Voigtländer viewfinder that came with the Voigtländer SC Skopar 25mm f/4 lens, and the viewing experience is better. My vintage Zeiss and KMZ viewfinders are not as bright, but very consistent. You know which frames belong to the focal length. With the TTArtisan 35mm viewfinder, I have two sets of framelines. One small, one large. I assume the larger is the 35mm frame. Why have the smaller one? Please tell me if you know.

While it has a rubber eyecup, it is not overly soft. It will prevent your glasses from being scratched, but it is not pliable. You can say it does what it is supposed to. It also serves as a lint magnet.

35mm Viewfinder with partial framelines and a partial self-portrait

The Verdict

Altogether, I am a bit disappointed. I hoped this inexpensive yet well-made TTArtisan viewfinder would be an excellent accessory for my vintage rangefinder cameras: Mir (1956), Zeiss Ikon Contax II (1936), and the two Kievs, IIa (1956) and 4a (1963).

Pros:

• It is inexpensive and well-made.
• Good optical quality.
• It will likely fit modern cameras.
• It has a bright and large view.

Not so great:

• It may not fit your vintage camera’s cold or hot shoe. So you have to work on it until you can use it.
• The framelines are not always clearly visible, which makes me question the use of the viewfinder.
• No parallax adjustments for 1m, 3m, and infinity. At 35mm, this may not be a big deal, but my KMZ finder has those settings.

Overall, I hoped for a better experience. But that’s just me. You may not experience any of the issues I mentioned above, or they may not be important to you. All I can say is that I do prefer the usability of my vintage viewfinders. The view isn’t as bright or as large, but I can see the framelines clearly at all times, and there are options to adjust for parallax. That’s what the viewfinder should be all about.

Most of the photos were taken with my iPhone 15 Pro Max. The partial self-portrait was realized with my X-E3 and the Brightin Star 35mm f/0.95. The camera in those photos is my Zeiss Ikon Contax II; the lens is the Zeiss Opton Biogon 35mm.