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Viewfinder Solutions

Carlos de Varona

Carlos de Varona

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Anyone using other systems other than bomb EVF?

Would love to hear.

Went today to RED to try out the new dsmc2 screens and definitely will go 7" but mannnn I really want that bomb evf or atleast some sort of pro viewfinder. Any suggestions?

Thanks!
 
I've been researching these for ages now. An expensive luxury that's for sure. My first choice would be red oled followed by a zacuto gratical HD. However I've decided to get the evf adapter to my small HD 502 monitor and save a couple grand
 
Hi Owen,

I also own a Small HD 502 but is it practical ? How do you power the 502 ? with batteries ?

The Small HD 502 with the sidefinder is not 1920 x 1080 but 1366 x 768, I think I need a better resolution because the Red 4,7" is insufficient for me.
 
I've very keen on getting an EVF, but i'm not able to really check them out where i am, so i have to go by opinion and web based reviews.

The Red EVF clearly 'looks' best, but it's default mounting seems right eye dominant, and i'm left. So the rigging would be different from the really neat solution red has. Some of that benefit is lost because of this.

The BMD EVF conversion looks like the best middle ground, but it's not ideal solution, wasn't really designed for this camera, but only this and the Red is 1080 and the whole point of an EVF for me is critical focus in bright conditions. Something that is very difficult off a LCD

I like the idea of the Zacuto Eye but it's not 1080p and i believe this is a deal breaker. I would hope they make a 1080p version.

I don't think any of the other solutions are really practical. Loupes and so on are clunky (IMHO)

From practical experience, do others manage critical focus on these EVFs? What are the biggest problems with them, often the problems tell you more than the features.

What rigging solutions is everyone using?

cheers
Paul
 
I read something that zacuto couldn't notice any difference using 1080p in the gratical so they Kept it lower which kept the price down. It's on reduser if you search.

Oliver, power the 502 with canon dslr batteries. I haven't orders the evf attachment yet

If I buy a Red evf I need to buy the +1 module also. All gets too expensive
 
I have been using the same Zacuto Z-Finder Pro since my early Canon 5D days, then Red1 Mx, Weapon, and now Epic-W.
Always nailed focus without any issues. Maybe I am lucky to have very good eye sight. :-)

Honestly, I don't like the Dsmc Bomb EVF, tried it once and the image seems so small and far away compared to Zacuto. Although Red Evf has higher resolution, I can nail focus better with Zacuto because image appears bigger and closer.

Recently, I just put my eyes on the new Dsmc2 EVF at a local dealer. I did not like the eye cup at all. It has no resistance, my eye kept bumping back and forth, not staying at one place. Not sure if I did anything wrong. But it did not feel comfortable. So I did not even bother turning on the camera to check the image.

The next thing on my list is to check the Zacuto Gratical or Eye. If they are not good, I will stick with my Z-finder for a little while longer.
 
It's a fair point about resolution, to my mind 1080p would be better than 720p to focus. I have the 4.7 LCD and also a 5" 1080p monitor and i can see the difference in resolution no problem.

If the Red EVF has a smaller image then that would make a big difference to the apparent resolution.

The Z Finder though is an LCD cover really, or am i thinking of something else?

So the EVFs would all have smaller images than a blown up image of an LCD, no?

cheers
Paul
 
Yes, Z Finder is LCD with lower resolution (800x600). But due to its loupe effect, the image is blown up and appears much bigger and closer, and thus make it easier to focus than with higher resolution but much smaller picture.
You have to imagine it a little bit like watching a FullHD TV screen from close and 4K TV screen from far distance.

Another even more important criteria is how comfortable it is when you hold your eyes to it for the whole day.
No matter how good the image is, if the eye cup is not comfortable, you won't use it for long.
And here, Zacuto has clearly much better eye cup than Red EVF. As I said, I put my eyes to DSMC2 EVF for maybe 1 minute. Did not feel comfortable at all. So completely lost interest.
Not even interested to see how image look like.
But that is just me.

I think everyone has to find out what suits him best.

Cheers,
Thai
 
Last edited:
Thai Christen said:
And here, Zacuto has clearly much better eye cup than Red EVF. As I said, I put my eyes to DSMC2 EVF for maybe 1 minute. Did not feel comfortable at all. So completely lost interest.
Not even interested to see how image look like.
But that is just me.

I think everyone has to find out what suits him best.

Cheers,
Thai
Click to expand...

Thanks for the clarification.

There's a loupe for the 4.7" LCD around and that would work better as it's higher res.

I think critical focus at 8K off a 800x600 panel would be tough at best, certainly i need an 1080p LCD panel to really see - i can turn focus peaking off and get a more natural image as well.

So personally i don't think that would work for me, but everyone has their preferences!

I assume the Red EVF basically displays 1080p as dictated in the camera settings, so RAW indicators exactly as would be seen on the LCD. I assume that the same holds true for the BMD display. The Zacuto versions are 1024p panels but 4:3, so you'll get their waveforms under a 720p HD image, but their displays wouldn't include the raw indicators or camera specific metadata?

cheers
Paul
 
I have been shooting 8K with Z Finder for over a month now. No problem at all with focus.
Actually it really doesn't matter whether you shoot in 4K, 6K or 8K because pixel density of screen is always the same.

Unlike monitors, I think EVF is a very personal thing. Best is if you can try them all before you pick one.
If the EFV does not feel comfortable, you won't use it. No matter what features it has and how good image is.
I can tell because I am an EVF shooter, even on tripod in studio. Always prefer EVF.

Good luck!
Thai
 
I tried BMD, RED, and Zacuto Eye at NAB this year. As far as the image goes I found them all comparable, but the DSMC2 EVF was best. Personally, the size and cableless-ness of it is why I'm eventually going to get it. If there's any more compact/lean solution than this for a RED camera, please post!

I didn't want to have to deal with the BMD conversion, though it looked great. The Zacuto looked good, and I don't think there's a significant difference at it's 1024 resolution. The only problem I had with it was that you could't turn the Eye off. If you weren't using it for some time, you'd have to disconnect it from the battery or it would continue to draw power (albeit in a 'sleep mode'). It's definitely smaller than the other Gratical EVF's.

Regarding RED eyecup comfort: You can always try an eye cushion on the eyecup (eg. Bluestar) I found it made a difference on my old Zacuto Z-finder.
 
I have the eye, and like it's small size. When I compared it to the BM, the extra resolution did not jump out at me, although they were at different booths, so did not compare side by side. As mentioned, the eye does not turn off, so it can run down your camera battery if you don't unplug it. I am able to judge focus even with my old eyes, so it does the job. Haven't tried the DSMC2 bomb, so can't help you there.
 
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