The Zacuto Z-Finder EVF Pro

The Zacuto Z-Finder EVF Pro - in a word, AWESOME!!!

I finally broke down and bought one this year. (What was I waiting for?) I got it last week for an upcoming 5D2 job and got to use it on an unexpected car spot a few days later. Almost all out side - could have really been difficult. The EVF Pro made it very easy. I used the Zebras and the Action Safe makers all day.

The 16:9 Sun Mask is a must. (DON'T TAKE IT OUT) it is very easy to burn the LCD when shooting out doors - It will happen in just a few seconds. And, the burn ins are YELLOW!!! not black or grey like the old BETACAM days...

I was very pleased with the auto scaling for the 5D REC compensation and the HDMI loop through. I had to put one stage of extension in to get the diopter in range for my eyes. Easy to do. I added an eye cushion to the eye cup for the comfort (and the look factor =). I'm mounting it to my Easom cage with a cine arm right now but will be checking in to something better in the future. I put a Switronix DC cable on it from my Hawk-Woods VL-DC5X D-Tap battery brick distribution system so the whole rig can be powered off of one brick. In the end I think we are all still trying to make these DSLR rigs like our old shoulder camcorders with all the new features of the sensor size and sensitivity.

With all the goodies coming out this year I think it's a good time to start streamlining your rig and this monitor is a great start. Definitely check it out at the next HD gear show you go to and watch the Zacuto video series on the the EVF - well worth the time.

Until next time, good shooting.

TDTrey.com

Which Camera (cont'd) 2012

Well it's 2012... Yeah!!!

And now we have a few more camera choices - woo hoo!!!

The Canon 5D Mark III is finally on the horizon with the Nikon D800 giving it a good run for the money. The flagship DSLRs are also coming out soon. Then onto the big boys, the Sony PMW-F3 now has S-Log built in and the RED Scarlet-X is more then we were really hoping for (or at least the proposed version =) The Canon C300 seemed to be the best of all worlds except for the price tag... As for me, I'm caught in a spiral of full frame DSLR or Super35 camcorder.

I currently have an EX3 and a 5D Mark II both of which get pretty regular work. The 5D2 has picked up a little more action this year which is great. I'm waiting to see what happens at NAB - it's going to be crazy this year!!! The acceptance of 35mbs /sec has been hanging in there for a while but now with the Mark III at an estimated 90+ mb/sec it could set a new standard for most cameras. If I go on with the DSLR plan I'll likely go to the 5D3 first and then the next offering (4K ?) after that. I do have to say the Nikon line up is looking pretty good. I was all Nikon for years and then moved to the Canon side of the street when the 5D came out. Clean - uncompressed 4:2:2 is a step in the right direction for sure... I'm waiting for a box with any mount and a clean out, place for a monitor and external recorder!!! This would be the best solution ever -- just change out the body when a new one comes out. Maybe later this year??

At any rate the next 2 months will be really exciting!!!

Until next time, good shooting.

TDTrey.com