Sony C35 HD Viewfinder

[Steve Phillipps]

Just wondering if there would be a way to use something like the Sony C35 HD viewfinder on the RED. This would be useful in the short-term if the RED EVF was not available. I've used the C35 on Phantom HD and it seems pretty good - though not sure how much it costs, knowing Sony it'll be more than a RED body!
Steve

 

[David Wyatt]

Just wondering if there would be a way to use something like the Sony C35 HD viewfinder on the RED. This would be useful in the short-term if the RED EVF was not available. I've used the C35 on Phantom HD and it seems pretty good - though not sure how much it costs, knowing Sony it'll be more than a RED body!
Steve

Good question, Steve. The lack of EVFs out there are becoming a real problem (particularly for hand-held) so any workaround would be great (not sure how happy Red would be for a bit of Sony gear to taint their lovely camera, though:wink

How was the C35 plugging into the Phantom you saw? If it's the HD viewfinder I'm thinking of it only has one proprietary cable that usually plugs into the front of a F900 and carries picture & power (does the Phantom have a similar plug or did it use some kind of adaptor?) The Red camera has a 17-pin Lemo connection for their EVF that carries a 720p DVI-based signal (& power too), so I'd guess that's out of the question connection-wise? Alternatively I doubt there's any way the C35 could take a standard BNC/HD-SDI input (there are two of these on the side of the camera) - not sure how you'd power the eyepiece, though (there's a 12V output on the battery plate?)

Let us all know how you get on! If you're UK-based feel free to test it out on our Red if you can get hold of a C35.

 

[John DeBoer]

Just wondering if there would be a way to use something like the Sony C35 HD viewfinder on the RED. This would be useful in the short-term if the RED EVF was not available. I've used the C35 on Phantom HD and it seems pretty good - though not sure how much it costs, knowing Sony it'll be more than a RED body!
Steve

Nope...the C35 has an HD analog input, and the RED is a form of Digital RGB.......

 

[Mitch Gross]

The Sony viewfinder will also only accept a 1080i or 1080psf signal and the RED will (currently) only output 720p.

Abel worked with Vision Research to make the Sony viewfinder compatible with the Phantom HD & the Phantom 65. We replace the cable on the viewfinder with a new custom one. This plugs into the viewfinder port of the right side of the Phantom HD camera (a Fischer7, btw). Vision Research also manufactures a custom viewfinder mounting bracket that attaches to the top handle of the Phantom HD/65. Great for handheld. The viewfinder actually delivers a nicer image on the Phantom than it does on the Sony cameras! And the zoom feature is great for critical focus.

Anyone interested in seeing one of these viewfinders at work on a 2K or 4K Digital Cinema camera can stop by the Abel booth at NAB next week.

 

[John DeBoer]

The Sony viewfinder will also only accept a 1080i or 1080psf signal and the RED will (currently) only output 720p.

Opps....missed the obvious......

BTW, Viper's viewfinder does not work either. The other thought, what about the HDMI viewfinder for the new Thompson Infinity? Anyone want to risk theirs?

 

[Mitch Gross]

There's always the OLED color viewfinder for the SI-2K...

 

[Rainer Fritz]

the si-2k viewfinder has a vga connector and will not support 720p signal....

 

[Steve Phillipps]

I've got the Phantom HD with me at the moment with the eyepiece on it, and it does work and feel really nice. Shame about connectors and formats otherwise I might have taken you up on the offer David! The EVF situation is getting to be a bit of a concern. My cam is hopefully going to be here July/Aug, but as for the EVF, who knows! I'm going to keep looking for solutions. Surely there must be some finder with BNC HDSDI input?
Thanks Mitch for being a continued font of knowledge!
Steve

 

[donatello b]

"cam is hopefully going to be here July/Aug, but as for the EVF, who knows! I'm going to keep looking for solutions"

actually owning it may take longer ... they will be available to rent for a temp solution ...