Low profile EVF?

[Ian Anderson]

In a recent post Andrew touched on something which I think could be missing in the low-end film-making marketplace, that of a discreet eyepiece-only EVF. Off the top of my head I can only think of the Bomb EVF for RED as an example of the sort of thing I mean.

 

I'm currently looking at options for an EVF for my FS700 that will allow me to use a shoulder rig, and whilst I like some of the features of offerings by the likes of Zacuto, Alphatron and Kinotehnik the size of them along with the loupes put me off a bit. Am I just being ultra-fussy here or does anyone else share the same view?!

 

I'm probably going to ride it out until after NAB before pulling the trigger on something, but if anyone had any suggestions or any experiences they could share with EVFs for FS700's or similar I'd love to hear them.

 

Thank you all!

[Hans Punk]

I can only vouch for the Zacuto EVF, and for me it is superb.

 

Very lightweight and great battery life and has some great customizable aspect options,

including preset Anamorphic un-squeeze for 1.33 /1.5/ 2x.

 

I have the 'Flip' model, which s great for both close and near-distant monitoring, as the attached loop can

be flipped out of the way of the LCD. I could be wrong, but I think that this is probably the most compact

thing out there that can be used as an eyepiece-only configuration for a shoulder rig...at least in the 'lower'

price range.

 

This may be of interest...but looks like they are having a re-think on releasing anytime soon.

 

http://store.redrockmicro.com/EVF

[Ian Anderson]

Hi Hans,

 

Thanks very much for your reply. Can I ask, do you use a top or rod mount for your Zacuto EVF? And it's solid as a rock on there? I hear expanded focus doesn't work from the FS700 (for any EVF even), does the Zacuto one have any similar sort of feature for checking focus?

 

Gotta say though, that RedRock EVF that you've found would be the ideal thing for me if it was up to scratch. And available too, obviously!

[soupkitchen]

Unless this is too late, I recommend the Kinotehnik one. The mount is also so well thought out.

 

I have only used the LCDVFe and the Alphatron and I found the lag on the Alphatron to be enough to be distracting. Also unless you spring for a proper mount like the solid camera one, be ready for a world of frustration as magic arms just won't hold as well as you want them to.

[Ian Anderson]

Hi Toby,

 

Thanks for your advice. I'm definitely leaning towards the Kinotehnik purely because of the ease of mounting. Am a little worried about the size of the loupe on the front of it though, I think the Cineroid is a smaller eyepiece but again I'd have to find a suitable mounting solution.

 

Also, it's so close to NAB now, I may as well hold out in case anything snazzy turns up (Red Rock MicroEVF maybe?).

 

Thanks!

[soupkitchen]

Ha, yep. I got to the stage where I couldn't be bothered waiting for another NAB to roll around.

[Hans Punk]

Hi Hans,

 

Thanks very much for your reply. Can I ask, do you use a top or rod mount for your Zacuto EVF? And it's solid as a rock on there? I hear expanded focus doesn't work from the FS700 (for any EVF even), does the Zacuto one have any similar sort of feature for checking focus?

 

Gotta say though, that RedRock EVF that you've found would be the ideal thing for me if it was up to scratch. And available too, obviously!

Sorry for the late reply...If you are still looking, I agree that the Kinotehnik looks like a great match for the fs700.

Really good review here:

 

https://vimeo.com/45198287

[jonpais]

I'm going through the agonies of purchasing a Panny GH3. Reason being, the lack of focus peaking while shooting video and no zebra stripes. Initially, I was going to just pick up the camera, along with a Lumix 12-35mm f/2.8 for around $2,500, but since reading in these pages how good the Zacuto Flip EVF is, I'm wondering: should I get the Zacuto and the Panasonic 20mm f/1.7 pancake lens instead? You see, I'm limited to around $2,500 and it's going to be a long while before I can purchase anything else... I'm really confused at the moment! I've been using a Panasonic TM900 for the past year, but I really like the image quality I see coming from these SLRs and MFT cameras. I plan on doing narrative work and documentaries.

[Jon de Zwaan]

I'm going through the agonies of purchasing a Panny GH3. Reason being, the lack of focus peaking while shooting video and no zebra stripes. Initially, I was going to just pick up the camera, along with a Lumix 12-35mm f/2.8 for around $2,500, but since reading in these pages how good the Zacuto Flip EVF is, I'm wondering: should I get the Zacuto and the Panasonic 20mm f/1.7 pancake lens instead? You see, I'm limited to around $2,500 and it's going to be a long while before I can purchase anything else... I'm really confused at the moment! I've been using a Panasonic TM900 for the past year, but I really like the image quality I see coming from these SLRs and MFT cameras. I plan on doing narrative work and documentaries.

Buy only what you really need if you're on a tight budget. I would recommend buying lenses over additional accessories like the Zacuto EVF. Zebra stripes and focus peaking are nice features, but won't make you a better filmmaker. Learn to read the histogram and practice with focusing. You could choose to buy a Varavon GH3 loupe instead, if you're really having trouble getting the focus right. It's a lot cheaper and keeps your rig compact.

[jonpais]

Buy only what you really need if you're on a tight budget. I would recommend buying lenses over additional accessories like the Zacuto EVF. Zebra stripes and focus peaking are nice features, but won't make you a better filmmaker. Learn to read the histogram and practice with focusing. You could choose to buy a Varavon GH3 loupe instead, if you're really having trouble getting the focus right. It's a lot cheaper and keeps your rig compact.

Hi Jon, thanks for your response. I checked out the Varavon, it definitely looks like a good solution, for focusing anyhow, and I like that it can be rotated for easy viewing... Maybe you're right - I'd much rather spend my money on glass than a cumbersome device, no matter how well made. It seems almost insane for a hobbyist to pay $800 (for a Zacuto Flip EVF) to compensate for what Panasonic should have already included in the GH3 (zebras and peaking) - that's 2/3 the price of another body, and nearly enough to get what I think may well be my next purchase - one of the Nokton f/0.95 lenses...

[jonpais]

I live in Vietnam and am about to pick up the GH3 in Kuala Lumpur. I've been thinking - wouldn't an LCD external monitor (something like the Swivi) make more sense than a loupe? I've read in the forums that the GH3 screen automatically changes brightness and that there is no way to disable this function. What good is a perfectly sharp picture if it isn't exposed correctly? An external monitor would have consistent brightness and could easliy be changed according to the lighting conditions. I've also read that the shoe mount has come loose on some cameras, so a monitor that attaches to the tripod screw might be preferable. Anyone experience problems with the screen brightness fluctuating while using one of these loupes?

[jonpais]

Okay, I guess the answer to my question is no! Anyhow, I've since learned that going into the setup menu and selecting *1 or *2 rather than A will prevent the screen brightness from changing according to the ambient light. But so far no one has been able to answer my question about manually adjusting screen brightness. On page 47 of tge GH3 owner's manual, there are instructions for adjusting monitor brightness. Anyone try this function??