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  • Hey all, just changed over the backend after 15 years I figured time to give it a bit of an update, its probably gonna be a bit weird for most of you and i am sure there is a few bugs to work out but it should kinda work the same as before... hopefully :)

New RED OLED EVF Questions

R

Rob Castiglione

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I have just received my red OLED evf and I have a couple of questions.

There is a constant static pattern visible in the image. It is much more noticeable when out of focus than when in focus. However, it is constant. It is like a "ground glass" pattern that you used to see in the rotating glass accessories that were around to simulate 35mm on 2/3 inch sensor cameras before you turned the motor on to get the glass spinning.

Second, there is noticeable juddering when panning.

Are these behaviours, particularly, the first, normal? The image itself is good, better than the original evf. For example the blacks are excellent. However, the static patterning is noticeable and distracting.
 
Robert.

We see the "groundglass" in the SI2K OLED viewfinders as well, so it might just be one of those things you have to live with. We also see horizontal interference moving across the screen right to left it seems like powerline interfernce on old analogue televisions. it seems to be more apparent when the camera is in low light and gain noise is beginning to build in the blacks. There are adjustments available via buttons on our OLED finders. By default our finders seem to be over-bright and reproduce dark image areas less evident on the touch screen. I have been a bit too lazy to investigate the adjustment options furthur as I simply use the finder as a sighting aid.

With adjustment of the finder to more "normal" brightness levels, the "groundglass" and the moving artifacts may diminish. If there is an instruction set for your finder, the display settings in it may be worth examining. This may be hardware adjustable like the SI2K or may be a software and menu type thing. Our OLED finders connect via the "VGA" monitor port either directly or via a splitter built into the monitor.

Judder will be a product of the screen refresh rate the finder and/or the feed generated by the camera is capable of sustaining. Judder is an artifact well known to motion picture film and in general has been worked around for many many years. In itself this aggravated effect in the viewfinder may not be such a bad thing as it will notify you that camera moves at 24/25P are in that bad zone before motion blur from faster camera movement or deliberate selective focus which eliminates the detail of a moving background takes care of the artifact.

Our finders and screen give us a similar warning with aliasing from repetitive patterns. So far touchwood, we have never had an alaising issue in the actual recorded vision. I imagine the RED camera family plays nicely the same way.
 
Our OLED BOMB also judders a lot even on slow pans.

Is this something that other OLED owners experience as well?
 
I am not seeing the "static patern" or any excessive judder. Mine is significantly better than the original bomb which I only used once then put it on the shelf till the oled one was released. What build are you on?
 
I also see the "ground glass effect". We are shooting a lot of low light at the moment - vampires, candles and blood, so everything tends towards the warm end of the spectrum - I have posted elsewhere without clarification, but it seems that there is some sort of auto gain in the OLED that does not happen with the LCD monitor. In our first foray into natural daylight, the viewfinder looked great, though I was able to see the ground glass look. As for stuttering - I know that one of the latest firmware releases addresses this but not sure if it a release version or beta.
 
Bob I should make clear that the image is excellent. It is a completely different kind of look to the LCD based eve with much richer blacks and an overall more pleasant look. I am certainly not complaining about the the clarity or sharpness. I just want to ascertain whether other OLED owners are experiencing the same thing - particularly in relation to the continuous static pattern or whether it is a fault in my particular OLED. I am on the latest beta build.
 
Robert.

QUOTED "Bob I should make clear that the image is excellent. It is a completely different kind of look to the LCD based eve with much richer blacks and an overall more pleasant look.>>"

Yes. Much more apparent ability to reproduce more of the camera's dynamic range in the case of the SI2K and I anticpate with the RED camera familiy as well. Using two off individual synced recorder units is interesting for shooting 3D. I could not work out a way of doing binocular previews with the more recent single unit 3D recorders like Cinedeck or One-Beyond which only provide single-channel display output as far as I can work out.


Two of your new generation viewfinders comfortably harmonised on a frame for stereo previewing should remain possible for an EPIC/SCARLETT pair. We live in amazing times.
 
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Mark. It might just be something as simple as making sure some software settings in the camera are correct. That some finders are being reported as fine suggests that there may be a user cure for the issue. Could it be a cadence issue if the displays are working at another refresh rate when reproducing our 25P television frame rate ?
 
I sent mine in almost a month ago and haven't received it backed. I inquired last week and was told they had a surge of them come in for upgrades. No ETA on mine, just that it's passed evaluation....

The one I peered into at NAB seemed to work perfectly, no strobing or judder. I didn't play around with other frame rates though, just 24fps. I can't imagine it not being an upgrade from the previous EVF.
 
I just wanted to check what other people's experience was with the new OLED. I did not want to cause concern. I have sent a query to Red about the static patterning issue. By the way, turn around time for me was very reasonable but then I think the volume kind of built up and they got slammed as good reports of the OLED evf hit red user.
 
I'm in the same boat as Luke....just got my upgraded EVF today but my Epic is being upgraded too.

I certainly hope that the problems being reported are not true! I wouldn't be a happy camper after paying for this upgrade since the judder is the main reason I went for the upgrade in the first place!
 
I would be grateful if people could report on whether they are experiencing the "ground glass" effect on their units once you have an opportunity to test. Peter is not experiencing it on his unit (or the excessive juddering when panning).
 
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