Yellow viewfinder?

[dedmozaj]

Hello,

Bought simga sa-7 body on a garage sale...all is well but the viewfinder is yellow! It has nothing to do with the lens. when you llok through the finder it looks almost as if there was an 85a filter on. Must be built in the body. never heard about anything like that before. Can someone enlighten me what's going on and what is it for.

 

[tc95]

I've never seen that either.....might be very dirty...or been in a house where someone smoked....can you try to clean it...with lens solution and a q-tip....

Tony C.....

 

[dedmozaj]

No no, it's not dirty. Its not the viewfinder glass itself, if you look it at it from some distance the glass is normal. Besides the body is in excellent condition. When you look through it it's not just yellow but it gradually turns into bluish violet closer to the bottom of screen. The focusing screen is also normal looking. There is definately some kind of a filter placed in the viewfinder sytem somewhere. The question is what is it for, since this does not affect the image. I might have heard something about filters like this for landscape photography in places where there is a lot of snow or something and its extreemely bright to keep the eyes from being damaged. But for sa-7 bought on a garage sale? I hope someone has an answer...I'm very curious.

 

[tc95]

Then it is probably a filter...like the ones you place on lens...look at the body...with the mount facing you...flip the camera over about 180 degree's...the mirror will be upside-down....then look at the focusing screen at this angle...does it show this....you may want to shine a flashlight thru the eye hole....to see...

I don't know why you would have it on there...any filter on the lens would be seen thru the viewfinder....but maybe it was for a special type of film....

I will ask around...can you take a picture of it and post it...??

Tony C.

 

[Robert Wallis]

Yellow viewfinder

I have the same problem with a couple of SA-9 cameras I had picked up from eBay. They were purchased at different times, and both have the deep yellow cast to them. Neither one is uniform in cast and hue/density changes across the viewfinder.

It's in the viewfinder only as it didn't affect the transparencies I was shooting.

I'm planning to send an email to Sigma support and see what they have to say about it.

 

[Robert Wallis]

Response from Sigma

I received a reply back from Sigma a few months ago. The short version is that they don't support the SA9 any longer and parts are no longer available. They've abandoned 35mm completely. Al I can do is shoot the cameras as is on the few times I'll need a film image. I bought one of the bodies specifically to use with the Sigma 15-30 zoom where I need an extremely wide view field. Every now and then I need to shoot the interior of my 10ftx10ft art fair display tent for updated booth slides (digital images now). For the application, I can shoot film and scan. I just need that extreme wide view in order to get details on the side walls.

 

[tc95]

Robert...Sigma makes a 8-16mm non-fisheye lens...there is a little vinyetting at 8mm..but it's really not that bad...I played with one at a store...and it's now on my short list of lenses I want...the 15-30 does the same thing on film at the outer-edges...





Hope this helps out...Tony C.

 

[Robert Wallis]

Thanks for the info. I already had the 15-30 to use with my SD10, and have the SD14 as of a year ago. While that was a decent angle of view, I needed an extreme angle. I found an SA9 in mint shape (except for the yellowing finder) for $95 on ebay with an inexpensive 28-105 lens. Back about 6 months ago I managed to snag another SA9 with a 70-300 lens, a 24-70 lens, and another Sigma 500 Super flash for $70. I figure I got the flash for a decent price and they threw the rest of the gear in for free

Anyway, that's when I figured out the yellowing viewfinders were an endemic problem with the SA cameras. I have had my eye on the 10-20 zoom and would probably get that, unless the 8-16 drops in price some. In the meantime, the few times I need the extra width, I just use the film camera with the 15-30 lens on it. Consider the application; I take a shot of an exhibit tent that is 10 feet square and need to be in close enough that the sides are visible and clearly show the framed photos hanging on the side wall. The 15mm setting on the Sd cameras just gets the job done, but on the film body it opens up very nicely. A little work in PS clears up the spherical aberrations and the perspective alignment from the camera position against the straight edges of the walls.

Given my choice, I would like that 8-16 but I've got to justify the expense right now. It's on the wish list