My Yashicaflex twin lens reflex camera has reached the end of the road now that the shutter release has failed. Given the problems of film availability and processing it hardly seems worthwhile fixing.
But I am in love with the waist level style of photography that the twin lens reflex made possible. I have always thought this was ideal for candid street photography. I have searched for digital equivalents and there seem to be none.
However a number of compact cameras have flip out LCD screens that can tilt into the horizontal position.
So I want to know whether anybody has used this feature to practice waist level photography and whether this is really a practical alternative to the twin lens reflex cameras of yesteryear.
Answer
I've used a canon powershot N and added a rectangular piece of wood (8X6x5,5cm) changing this camera into a Rolleiflex lookalike.
New
I've added a level on top for better composing. Although there are cheaper levels the black finish makes it look good. I've also replaced the plastic wrapping around the thread with a metal casing.
For me this change works very well.
- Handling improves radically.
- My fingers surround the shutter ring easily without losing stability.
- By having the LCD screen turned up constantly, it's much easier making compositions.
- It's also inconspicuous when photographing people.
The Powershot goes for €200 at the moment in the Netherlands making it a cheap waist-level camera.
After I made the first N-grip from wood, my son made this year a 3D-model and had it printed.
The results are shown below. Printing makes the whole proces quicker, cleaner and it looks great too. You have nothing more to know of woodworking. Knowing how to tape things together is enough.
Instead of one waist-level camera, I've got four now. I even have a white one printed.
I've created a google drive account with the 3D-files for the N- and the N2-model. You can download them at: https://goo.gl/hywb39
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