4/3 still camera as a directors viewfinder?

Shooter

Shooter

Veteran
I dont have one to test so...

Does a 4/3 still camera (with interchangeable lens abilty) absolutely match the FOV etc as per the AF100 ?

Put another way. Could a 4/3 still camera be used as a directors view finder?
 
totes, in fact the last short I did I storyboarded by going to the location with my gh-1 and shooting stills of exactly the shots I wanted.
 
Shooter said:
I dont have one to test so...

Does a 4/3 still camera (with interchangeable lens abilty) absolutely match the FOV etc as per the AF100 ?

Put another way. Could a 4/3 still camera be used as a directors view finder?
Click to expand...
Depends on the camera and the aspect ratio. The AF100 uses an oversized 4/3 sensor with an active area of 17.8mm wide; Olympus 4/3 cameras use the 17.3mm standard sensor, so the field of view would not be exactly identical. It'd be close, but not identical.

I would think two Panasonics would have the same field of view, but I'd have to test it.
 
Barry_Green said:
Depends on the camera and the aspect ratio. The AF100 uses an oversized 4/3 sensor with an active area of 17.8mm wide; Olympus 4/3 cameras use the 17.3mm standard sensor, so the field of view would not be exactly identical. It'd be close, but not identical.

I would think two Panasonics would have the same field of view, but I'd have to test it.
Click to expand...

Thanx Barry. That was the thrust of my question. (Where the sensor size fits into the equation.)
 
Thats a great Idea. Just ordered a GF1 because of your idea Shooter, top job :)
Also like the story board idea as well.

edit: GF1 with 20 mm $610 auz inc gst!!! so cheap :)
 
Okay, tested. Sort of. Not absolutely up to the precise standards I'd normally set, but that's because it's a little bit of a pain in the butt to get it exactly right, because the lens height difference between the two is substantial and it would mean too much fiddling with the tripod to get the lens height exact, vs. what it's worth, because the results are obvious...

Here's the AF100 framing up a chart. Used a chart because it has triangle pointy bits to show exact framing, so I knew it was "pretty much" there. Shot on the AF100 with the 20mm Lumix lens.


S1020002.jpg

Then I swapped out the AF100 for the GH2, put the same lens on, and attempted to tape-measure the exact same distance from the film plane marker to the chart surface. The angle is slightly different because the GH2 sits lower on the tripod and needed to be tilted up to basically frame the chart.

gh2-chart.jpg

The verdict? The GH2 is ever so slightly wider in FOV than the AF100 is. Could it be used as a director's viewfinder? Not for 100% perfect framing, but for, what, 95%? Probably.
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Thanx for going to all that effort Barry. Yes..I concur that it is more than adequate for general dir viewfinding purposes.


BTW - Pleasing to see man properly using a great color , grey scale, rez chart. I particularly like the chart you used because its all in one combination.

Are they obtainable somewhere I can contact?
 
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