Universal Waist Level ViewfinderA bubble level on steroids
A few weeks ago (September 2024), I bought the Universal Waist Level Viewfinder from a Chinese company called Reflx Lab. I didn’t know much about them, but it arrived fairly quickly and was well-packaged, so I’m happy with that, 0 complaints. It was an impulsive buy—there was barely any information about the product, except for a comment I read on Threads, so I just jumped on it. Honestly, it was a bit of a crazy decision, but I LOVE waist-level finders and tiltable screens on digital cameras, so I fell in love with it right away. As I get older, I’ve become less inclined to kneel down with a film camera to get those low-angle shots, so I thought this could be a nice addition to my gear.
Yashica FR with the waist level viewfinder on it. Looks cool, right?
Universal Waist Level Viewfinder specs
According to the Manufacturer's Website:
- Made of aviation aluminum, a sturdy and durable material
- Compatible with almost any camera with a hot/cold shoe
- Convenient for snapshots from a low camera position
- The bubble level ensures a precise horizontal measurement at any time
- Please note that you cannot focus through this viewfinder.
Specifications:
- Weight: 28g
- Dimension: 20mm x 35mm x 28mm
- Viewing Angle: equivalent to a standard lens of 50mm (left/right reversal)
I haven’t bothered to weigh or measure it, but I guess the product’s listed dimensions are accurate. The build is indeed metallic, it's lightweight, and feels pretty sturdy. I’ve already dropped it on the floor, and I can confirm it’s still intact 😄. It has a hole for a small wrist strap, but at first glance, I’m not sure about the placement... it seems a bit questionable. I think the strap might get in the way of the viewfinder. I haven’t tried it yet though, so I could be wrong.
As is common with other waist-level finders, like those on TLR cameras, the image is flipped left to right. If you're not used to it, it can take a little while to adapt, and it's always a bit awkward for composing.
As expected, this little gadget is completely disconnected from any focusing mechanism, so a viewfinder like this is useful when zone focusing, where you estimate the distance manually or, if your camera has autofocus, you just take a leap of faith and trust that the autofocus is locking onto the point you want.
It's not a big viewfinder, but the image doesn't feel too small—it's large enough to see without any difficulties. It's extremely bright, which to me is one of the best features of this finder: it's clear and very luminous. It's easy to get reflections on the image, but you can simply shade it with your hand, so it's not a big issue. Talking about luminosity, note that as bright as it is on top, it’s just as bright from the front. So if you're planning to use it as a stealthy street photographer with light above you, it’ll reflect on the front—so yeah, you’ll definitely be noticed 😄. Plus, you can even wave hello—your face will be visible on the other side!
Viewing angle
I didn’t look into it too closely before buying, I read that it had a 50mm viewing angle, which isn’t exactly the field of view I would have preferred—something like 35mm would have been much more useful to me. I don’t usually use a 50mm lens for zone focusing, as it can be prone to errors. But well, I thought I could live with it.
The image projected onto the top is a square, with horizontal and vertical rectangles forming a cross. I read somewhere that this design is for both horizontal and vertical compositions, which makes sense. So I thought: a horizontal 50mm view combined with a vertical 50mm view creates, more or less, the equivalent of a 1:1 crop of a 35mm field of view, right? Take my money!
Sadly, it’s not. I ran a few tests, and the view is actually more like a 1:1 crop of a 50mm. If you plan to use the cross to compose, you’re looking at a field of view equivalent to something closer to 75mm than a 50mm. So, what’s the point of the cross-shaped mask? I have no idea—it doesn’t make much sense to me. I would’ve preferred an unobstructed square view without the corners being blocked. Upon closer inspection, there’s a bit of chaos in the proportions. The 'square' isn’t really a square; the horizontal rectangle is very close to a 16:9 ratio, while the vertical one is (more or less) 2:3. They could have refined it better, to be honest.
Parallax errors
Like any other external viewfinder, it has parallax errors on the Y-axis. However, I’m also noticing some parallax on the X-axis with my Fujifilm X-A3, which puzzles me a bit since the hot shoe seems to be aligned with the center of the lens. Interestingly, when I look through the Yashica FR used in these images, I don’t seem to have that issue, so I’m not entirely sure what’s going on. I’ll need to run more tests—maybe I’m seeing things that aren’t actually there. I’ll try to provide an update on this issue soon.
Conclusion
Do I regret it? Mmm… not really. But the field of view issue was a big disappointment. So right now, I see it more as a visual guide to avoid crooked horizons and make sure you’re pointing where you want to in low-angle shots, rather than a real aid for composition. So, to me, this viewfinder is pretty much what I said at the beginning: a bubble level on steroids.