ME-1 Magnifying Eyecup

[rowanhall]

Just a quick review.

After hearing reports that this eyecup did not work well on the E300 I wavered in my decision to get this but thanks to a good price i figured what the hell and it is great.

Solidly built and fits snugly on the E300 viewfinder.

It does not affect the brightness of the viewfinder and (in my case) whilst wearing non pescription sunglasses (for testing purposes) does not crop any of the viewfinder.

It does add some magnification but is not the be all and end all of macro focusing tools

Overall a great and reasonably cheap addition to my e system

Feel free to ask questions

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[dalkons]

With the original eye piece on the E-300 (and later the EP-6) I had to wear my eyeglasses when shooting as I was unable to dial in the diopter. After switching to the ME-1, I was finally able to adjust the diopter to be able to see through the viewfinder without wearing my eyeglasses. I heard a lot of mixed reviews before trying the ME-1 and now am glad I did.

[Gary_Berg]

Does the ME-1 block your site of the exposure information on the right-hand side? Particularly if you wear glasses? I'm considering adding one to an E-500.

[rowanhall]

No the ME-1 does not restrict the view of the exposure information nor does it crop any of the viewfinder it is a simple almost perfect accessory for the E300 and i assume the e500 and e330 as well

[abuhannibal]

Agreed, I have one and use it, but one thing that is worth mentioning is that it is pretty much unusable if you're wearing glasses, or at least I find it to be so. I just take my specs off and hang them on my shirt when taking a shot.

[Luke]

This allows me to focus manually.
Without I failed most of the time.
Luc

[kanji]

I've been using the ME-1 on my E-500 for several weeks and it makes my camera that much better. It really improves the finder view for me. I can see the infor on the side and manual focusing,while not wonderful,can now be done. The only draw back is that the eyepiece assembly can be accidently slide off the camera when taking the camera in or out of the bag,or maybe just giving the eyepiece an upward nudge,it can be unmounted and lost,so use something to firmly secure it to the camera body.

[Ugh]

I puschased this eyecup recently. Can't comment on the use with eyeglasses, but I mostly agree with the preceding posts:
- it looks and feels solidly built (much of the eyecup's volume is taken up by the brass(?) casing that holds the lens).
- no noticeable aberration.
- it is a good help for manual focus (I use a 500mm f/8 mirror lens a lot) - although still a far cry from 35mm SLRs.
- no noticeable dimming of the viewfinder, have not once taken it off the camera (even for some star shots).
- the full viewfinder + LED's are visible, no cropping (dunno about eyeglasses).
- it protrudes a bit, and can accidentally come off when fitting the camera in a tight bag.

Overall, I'm more than happy with it.
(I'm using the eyecup on an E-500).

[Knight Palm]

The E-300 comes with the diminutive eyepiece called EP-3, which is a pain to remove and attach, if need to use the plastic eyepiece shutter cover. I therefore have replaced the EP-3 with the EP-5, which is a very nice eyecup and locks nicely on the E-300. It is the same as the standard one for the E-500, so it is produced in high volumes and therefore cheap. It provides some straylight shielding, but not as much as with the large eyecup called EP-6. EP-6 works better on the E-500 if needed.
Conclusion: I can strongly recommend the EP-5 for all E-300 users.

While getting the EP-5, I also invested in the ME-1, 1.2x magnifying eyecup, for use with macro photos and mainly with old manually focused OM Zuiko lenses. It is a high quality manufactured fine piece of mechanical and optical gadget, that does what it is supposed to do, so I'm using it for the dedicated purpose mentioned. It is easy to switch back to EP-5, for my normal photo. It is not that pricey in comparison to other offerings.
Conclusion: I can recommend the ME-1 for all E-300 users that use old manually focused lenses and for macro photo.

Nikon has a similar 1.17x magnifying eyecup called DK-21M.

Canon users seems to like the one from KPS which has 1.35x. It is a bit pricey when bought from a swedish website:
http://www.shiftlenses.com/Shop/Appl....php?MenuId=38

KPS website: with their Magnifier 1.35 Adapter set for OLYM PUS can be found here: http://www.kpsrd.co.kr/en/index_en.htm It looks like they have one model that fits both Nikon and Olympus.

J. Andrzej Wrotniak writes about "Viewfinder Accessories for the Olympus E-300 and E-500" here:
http://www.wrotniak.net/photo/oly-e/ex00-find-acc.html
"Four Thirds Sensor Size and Aspect Ratio - Does size really count?"
http://www.wrotniak.net/photo/oly-e/sensor-size.html

Olympus website with Optical Viewfinder Accessories:
http://www.olympus-esystem.com/dea/p...ter/index.html

[mistermike]

I bought this for my E500 and it did help some, though not nearly as much as I would have liked it to. I have read where it is unusable for those who wear eyeglasses. I do wear eyeglasses but have not found that to be a hindrance (progressive bifocals).

I still look into my OM-1 VF and lust...

mike

[.oldboy]

Just received mine from Amazon. Worth the price! I'm very happy with the magnification.

[rolfw]

I've used mine for a few months now and find it better than the original eye piece, but still find it a little wanting on magnification in certain scenarios. Over all though, it is reasonable value and I wouldn't be without it.

Have since purchased an angled viewfinder which has upto 2x magnification and this really does make a difference.

[arteacher]

I purchased one, tried it outside on my Panny L1 ,and returned it. The magnification was negligible and it let so much ambient light in, particularly if the source was behind or from the right that it made the viewfinder unusable. Purchased the E 6 eyecup instead and am much happier.

[ghenton]

I picked one of these up off of ebay, ($39 + $6). It is well built, fits my E330 like it was built for it. The magnification is small but noticeable. I do not have a problem with viewing readings in the view finder. I would buy it again as it does help with both manual focus and general viewing. The price is very good.
I also added a rubber eye cup to help seal out any back/side light. I would also recommend this piece. http://search.stores.ebay.com/Birthd...016827QQsofpZ0
cheap ($13 + $2) and functional. it does look a little dorky and sticks out quite a bit but it works.

GerryH

[marcof]

The main issue with the ME-1 is light falling in from the side. I took an eyecup from a telescope eyepiece (I had a spare, but orion optics for instance sells those for a few bucks a piece), modified it to fit the Me-1 circumference and voila:


I think Brian Mosley has posted a description of his eyecup on dpreview a while ago. He used the "harmonica" 7405 eyecup from orion optics I believe. I opted for the other one-sided cup.

[JohnMinnerath]

Could the OM Vari-Mag be adapted somehow to use it with the digitals?

[srf4real]

I picked up an ME-1 back in October but I've forgotten to post here how satisfied I am with it. The magnifying power is just enough for me (with excellent vision) to manual focus with confidence when doing macro work. Especially in combination with the 70-300mm where very shallow dof is the rule in close-ups, I have more successfully hit the target area of focus. I have not noticed any ill effects of light entry, although I do predominantly shoot in extreme sunlight situations.