I spent nearly $300 on this one, a DW-3 finder, for my Nikon F3.
Now, I love shooting film, hence the blog and branding, but I really love shooting film on my F3.
The experience is sublime to me, and in many ways, as good as a therapy session (although I can attest to the fact that therapy is generally much cheaper than film photography). Nonetheless, I enjoy both as often as I possibly can.
Now, back to this DW-3 finder.
It’s amazing.
It’s magnificent, and it makes my shooting experience so much more difficult, more cumbersome… and more enjoyable.
When I had my Hasselblad, I always used the WLF — always — for everything.
Although I have a great prism for my F3, I can’t imagine the DW-3 ever leaving the F3, or at least not for long.
Sure, I can’t utilize the meter with the DW-3, which means I have to go old school with the light meter.
Sure, it’s probably harder to nail pinpoint focus, and this viewfinder, unlike the 500cm, is really tiny, and one can struggle to see through it in dimly lit scenes.
But I don’t care… it’s fun.
It’s awesome.
It’s cool.
And let’s face it, looking at that potential image through the ground glass is a crazy-cool experience.
And yes, it’s a crazy amount of money for a viewfinder, especially when the camera may only be worth $500, but I shoot film because I enjoy the process, every facet of it.
Every facet of the process, including the WLF experience.
And yes also to the fact that it’s not a practical accessory for a 35mm camera.
I don’t care about that, either. I just love it, and shooting film, for me, is entirely about love.
John Shoots Film 