A Berkey top plate for the F3 review...

[Duke M.]

I received my Berkey top plate and a few things were different than I expected.

1) They said it was reversible. I imagined you flipped the plate over. You don't. There are rubber pads underneath. Instead it's a small h shape and you rotate the plate to have either two 'fingers' in the front, or one.

2) It has a measuring tape attachment stud. At first I thought it was on the wrong end for what I wanted, but I found out that the stud is reversible to the other side too.

3) It came with a special allen type screwdriver for mounting the plate instead of a cheap little allen wrench. It has a nice little Berkey inlay too.

4) I assumed the missing finger (changing it from an H to an h) was simply to allow the plate to be inserted under the handle. However, when playing with it I found that it fits perfectly under the mic holder, which would have been a difficult area to mount anything anyway, so it makes sense to have it there.

All in all better thought out and designed than I expected. It immediately added rigidity and strength where I wanted to mount accessories. Well done.

 

[ian515]

yeah, got mine in the other day as well. big fan. I love that if you are using a monitor while shooting handheld with a shoulder mount, the left side front portion (in your picture) allows you to mount your monitor further forward, and your camera more over the shoulder. making it way more comfortable to use handheld all day. and like you said, way more sturdy than the stock mounts on the camera.

 

[Duke M.]

+1. Exactly and the very same reason I bought one. Far more important than a shoulder pad for hand held IMHO.

 

[JCummings]

I've got one with the front extension as well. Love it.
I'm guessing all the stuff on their website is as well made. And pretty reasonable, too.

Now if only they would make a slick viewfinder mount for that front extension, they would really have something...

 

[nsoltz]

Ditto... I ordered mine with the Berkey plate and don't regret it. I'm now going to add the front plate.

 

[Duke M.]

Now if only they would make a slick viewfinder mount for that front extension, they would really have something...

First someone needs to make a slick EVF that's true HD instead of 800x480 or less. If someone like Hoodman made a loupe specifically for a 5.6" HD monitor I'd be very happy. (Hint, hint)

 

[ian515]

does anyone make a EVF mount that DOESN'T need to be loosened in order to adjust the angle? the biggest problem I have when trying to adjust my SmallHD monitor is I have to put the camera down and loosen the arm in order to change the angle of the monitor.

 

[powervideo]

does anyone make a EVF mount that DOESN'T need to be loosened in order to adjust the angle? the biggest problem I have when trying to adjust my SmallHD monitor is I have to put the camera down and loosen the arm in order to change the angle of the monitor.

I'm looking for exactly that solution to the same problem. Maybe a really strong gooseneck flexible arm like studio mixing desks used to have with micropones/

 

[telecam]

I think the guys at Kinotehnik are on it with their LCDVFe:

http://www.kinotehnik.com/products/electronic-viewfinder/overview

Thierry.

 

[ian515]

oh man. that looks like a winner. anyone have any hands on experience?

 

[Duke M.]

840x400, basically SD resolution, and HDMI.

Its not fulfilling my wish list. But there will be others.

 

[ian515]

isnt that pretty close to the DP4?

 

[Duke M.]

Yes. But for a 5.6" DP4EVF it could easily have been 1280x720p.

Its one of my major complaints about an EVF with an HD camera. An SD monitor can be 3-4 pixels off and look like its in focus. A 720p monitor is either spot on or 1 pixel off.

Yes, peaking helps but I still want to see that its in focus.

 

[Andrew Stone]

Duke I hope you get a chance to put a DP4-EVF through it's paces. On paper specs is one thing but to view at the image and pull focus is another. Really search one out in your area and check it out.

 

[Duke M.]

Duke I hope you get a chance to put a DP4-EVF through it's paces. On paper specs is one thing but to view at the image and pull focus is another. Really search one out in your area and check it out.

No doubt that the DP4EVF is a vast improvement over the built in monitor and over many aftermarket monitors.

In reality we're using these as reference monitors for focusing. (You can frame the image at low resolution.) So, I'm comparing to the images produced by SmallHD and TVLogic 5.6" monitors. The choice is between a monitor that throws away ~2/3rds of the data or throws away ~1/3rd of the data.

The DP4EVF might be the best set up out there right now for an EVF. Its just not quite (close, not quite) my wish list. Just my personal preference though. YMMV.

 

[Andrew Stone]

OK, one more time... I have this Marshall monitor. It has HD specs -- about as high as it gets right now. I find it easier to pull focus with the DP4-EVF than the Marshall.

 

[Mitch Gross]

Something is coming soon kids. Something totally different no one knows about and will be really sweet.

Soon.

 

[MPB]

tease.

weeks? months?

 

[GaryinCalifornia]

years... : ) just kidding...

 

[Duke M.]

OK, one more time... I have this Marshall monitor. It has HD specs -- about as high as it gets right now. I find it easier to pull focus with the DP4-EVF than the Marshall.

My experience with Marshall has been that although they are rugged they usually produce soft images. Plus if you look at those specs the monitor screen is 1024x768, which would not be the minimum of 1280x720 for an HD image. Its down converted to fit the width and throws out data.