Big Viewfinder

Minolta F35 Big Finder image by Andrys Stienstra (Image rights)

Several camera-makers sold 35mm point-and-shoot compact cameras with a large, bright galilean viewfinder in the 1990s. The large VF was important enough to the makers that they made reference to this feature in the names of their cameras. The big finder might be helpful to a user wearing spectacles; perhaps an elderly tourist. Many of these were made in China (for the branded sellers, not by them).

Not all 'Big Finder' cameras are equal: some are fixed-focus, others auto-focus. Most have a wide-angle lens, somewhere between 28 and 35mm. One or two have a zoom lens. Canon's Prima BF Twin has two interchangeable lenses in a sliding panel! Many of the cameras, but not all, have motor film advance and rewind. All of the examples seen have a built-in flash; some have a red-eye reduction function, and maybe the option not to use the flash. Inevitably, some have a date/time imprint function.

Many of the cameras share common cosmetic features, as in the example pictured, suggesting they may be from the same maker:

• A shallow domed front around the lens
• A cosmetic feature (or perhaps a finger-grip) on the front right body, emphasising the curve of this dome
• An arched top over the VF, continuing the same curve
• A slider control in a slot below the lens, for the lens cover.

Examples

• Bell & Howell BF 905
• Canon Prima BF (BF35 in Japan, Snappy LX in the USA)
• Canon Prima BF-7
• Canon Prima BF-8
• Canon Prima BF-80
• Canon Prima BF Twin
• Exakta BF-3 AF
• Fujifilm Clear Shot BF
• Jazz 502
• Minolta AF50 Big Finder
• Minolta F35 Big Finder
• Minolta Vectis 100 BF
• Olympus Trip XB3 'Big Finder'
• Polaroid 200 Bf
• Premier BF-95
• Premier BF-200
• Premier BF-300
• Vivitar BF-5
• Vivitar Big View BV35
• Vivitar BV40
• Vivitar BV50
• Vivitar EZ Point 'n Shoot Big View