I do not know which genius of industrial designer puts an unlockable adjustment wheel in just the position where it is inevitably going to get moved. Well whoever designed the viewfinder of the Sony AX-700 camcorder did just that. Not only does it take great care to pull the viewfinder to its open position, the wheel is so positioned that it catches on the sides of camera bags, on straps and on clothing. Much foul language is emitted when all I can see is a grossly out-of-focus image in the viewfinder. Three times in six days of use it happened to me recently.
I thought about trying to lock the wheel in place with sticky tape—as some users do—but sticky tape often comes adrift, especially in hot places, and if somebody else uses the camera then they have to adjust the dioptre setting to suit their eyes. Not only is the adjustment wheel unlockable, but it is also uncalibrated, so there is no way of knowing it has moved out of position or how far it needs to move to restore the setting.
I decided that instead of trying to tape the wheel in position I would put a mark on both body and wheel where I found optimum focus. This I did with a 0.7 mm white paint marker. Provided the paint sticks (so far so good) I can at least return the wheel quickly if it does get moved or if somebody else uses it. I could also use a different light colour on another position of the wheel to suit another regular user or even a different eye.
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| That's the eye (dioptre) adjustment wheel which gets moved accidentally |
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| ...and that's the index mark I have added across body and wheel |
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