which viewfinder option do you prefer

[Alberto Guglielmi]

I have a RED Epic and I am considering getting a viewfinder.
Mainly I want to add a 3rd point of contact to the camera (body, hands and head) and I want to be able to see better focus and others.
I am not going to use a shoulder mount. I like the camera to sit right below my shoulder. Camera I mainly se handheld.

I am not considering the DSMC EVF, as I understand that the newer one is far superior.

My options are:
- the DSMC2 EVF which is expensive but looks sweet.
- a third party. Advice needed. And whether is worth dealing with more batteries and cables than I need.
- getting a loupe (like grid 5.0) and use the touch screen.
- going into the wild world of HDMI glasses monitors (see epson BT-300). But that won't give me another point of contact.

What do you guys suggest? If you have photos of your rig with advice that would be great as well.

 

[Matthew Quinn]

http://www.zacuto.com/gratical-eye-...ng&utm_medium=eblast&utm_campaign=eye release

Im waiting to try out one of these Alberto. Looks like a great solution especially if you use more than red cameras.

 

[Alberto Guglielmi]

That is very interesting for half price of the RED EVF. I saw it as one of the promising NAB news.

 

[Nicholas Wise]

I'm dealing with the same dilemma. I have a GraticalHD but I find it way too big for my rig. I'm considering:

+ DMSC2 EVF - I've heard great things, but expensive and I don't want to get a +1 module or side handle ... I have foolcontrol though - is that enough?
+ Gratical Eye - smaller version of what I have but only 1280x720 effective resolution
+ BlackMagic EVF with WC adapter kit - hearing great things about image but it's plasticky, not all functions work and ... it's BlackMagic :undecided: ... or am I being a snob about that?

Advice anyone?

 

[Matthew Quinn]

gonna try out the Eye and get back to you guys. seems like for the price and versatility its good. plus it looks WAY more attractive than the graticalHD. and no you are not, i dont think i would be comfortable with that BMD evf thing on my camera

 

[Daniel Stilling]

Honestly the Black Magic with the Wooden Camera conversion gets my vote...

 

[Nicholas Wise]

Daniel, can you please elaborate? Exactly what functions/buttons don't work on the BMD EVF? Aside from the WC parts, how do you rate the build quality? Thanks in advance.

 

[Dan Kanes]

Forget the Zacuto.

Go top shelf and get the Red EVF or go for the alternative and Go BMD + WC.

Top notch optoelectronics at a fair price.

yes the assembly takes work but it's superb to look through. If you are in LA you can try mine at DFS 818-771-0019

 

[Alberto Guglielmi]

Forget the Zacuto.

Go top shelf and get the Red EVF or go for the alternative and Go BMD + WC.

Top notch optoelectronics at a fair price.

yes the assembly takes work but it's superb to look through. If you are in LA you can try mine at DFS 818-771-0019

Hey Dan, I might take you up on your offer. PS I bought those small fillex lights from you and you met my wife. I am busy in the next week or two, but I'll reach out afterwards.

 

[Dan Kanes]

Oh awesome ! Hope those are rocking for you! Looking forward to meeting in person, you seem like super rad people.

best,

dan

 

[Kenneth C Merrill]

Forget the Zacuto.

Go top shelf and get the Red EVF or go for the alternative and Go BMD + WC.

Top notch optoelectronics at a fair price.

yes the assembly takes work but it's superb to look through. If you are in LA you can try mine at DFS 818-771-0019

Dan, have you had any of the lag issues that some users have reported with the BMD EVF? I looked through it a bit when I did my Alexa v UM4.6K test a few weeks ago, but I didn't use it enough to really get a feel, except it felt a little strobey--like 30hz refresh rate or something.

 

[Dan Kanes]

You can adjust the SDI output frame rate to "taste" as I believe something like this is highly dependent on your eye/brain reaction. I don't believe the eyepiece adds any latency that is not inherent in the system already, however that would require a lot of test equipment (and/or free time) that I don't have, to actually prove... Certainly there can be visible "judder" with certain panning speeds which I believe may seem to be more apparent do to the luminance and refresh rate of the eyepiece itself.

Now - I haven't done a side by side test with the WC/BMD mod and the new Red unit - I've tested them in separate locations on separate days, but I believe DFS is also now stocking the brand new DSMC2 EVF as well, so this begs a side by side of course!

There is something to be said for the integration of EVF tools that are part of a DSMC2 specific eyepiece when compared to any third party eyepiece of any kind, but again - different strokes for different folks - I'm 100% certain that some people may prefer the Zacuto over all of these, and they aren't necessarily wrong - they may just have their own set of needs and idiosyncrasies.

Let me put it this way - I had begun research on doing my own EVF based on some incredible near eye display technology - after looking at what had been done by BMD at the price they did it, I thought - well, I have better things to do with the limited time I have on this earth.

That doesn't mean that there is not room for improvements in current and next-gen EVF technologies - its a wide open world - but just that at this time the gap between what I personally need to get the job done, and what's already available is narrower and narrower.

Naturally this will all change as camera technology changes again, and as the mediums we create for evolve. For now, I'm more than pleased.

 

[Daniel Stilling]

Daniel, can you please elaborate? Exactly what functions/buttons don't work on the BMD EVF? Aside from the WC parts, how do you rate the build quality? Thanks in advance.

All the buttons work with the built in functions. Zoom, Peaking and a few others that I don't recall at the moment. The build quality is great, and it's a nice and compact unit.
If you have the dough, by all means, go with the new RED EVF. I saw it at NAB and it's fantastic. But if you need to be at a lower price point, you can't go wrong with the BM. Unless you are all thumbs and have a hard time making the conversion...