Artifacts in EVF Canon XF300

R

Robert John

Member
I've only had the Canon XF300 camera for a month. Green dot artifacts have appeared in my EVF for the second time. In this instance, I was so careful not to let the sun hit it that it interfered with shooting because I was more worried about being cautious with my viewfinder than doing my job.

The first time it happened was literally 2 weeks after I got it. I moved my eye away from the viewfinder for few seconds and then green yellow artifacts appeared in streaks. Canon fixed it under warranty but I was down for a week.

I had a Panasonic for years shooting in extreme places like Death Valley and never had something like this happen. I researched that Canon had a problem with XL1 years back and did some kind of fix.

If these EVF's are so sensitive, they should put some kind of shutter that you can close when you move away from it.

So, just a warning about the EVF on these cameras.

Anyone have any suggestions of what I can do to avoid this in the future?
 
Any camera I use outside that has an EVF get's black gaffe over it immediately. I primarily use the LCD or external monitor, so it rarely comes off. If I need to look through the EVF, I peel back the tape, do my business, and then put it back. I've been doing this with cameras since the early days of DV, and I've never had a problem.
 
Thanks. I guess that is what I will start doing. In 28 years of filming I have never had a problem like this. Even touring with bands and shooting all around the world at outdoor festivals with the sun at my back. I just don't understand why Canon doesn't put some kind of shutter or provide a cap. There is no way to shut off the EVF. When you close the LCD it turns on automatically. I would like to be able to turn it off or have a cap. I really don't like that we have to put tape over it.
 
It's a danger with any EVF, and it really just takes a few seconds. I like your idea about putting in a little shutter to flick on and off as needed, though. Would be a clever little feature to any cam with an EVF.

Actually, I was just on a 2 week shoot with my XF300, mostly outdoors in sun, and I improvised a little "EVF cap" out of a tourist pamphlet and some black gaffe. Works really well, stays in place, and pops off super easy when I need it to.
 
LOL I love the tourist pamphlet and gaffer tape.

I'm working on an idea of slicing a opening on the side or the top of the rubber cover (not the eye cup thats separate) and inserting a piece of black plastic about the thickness of a credit card and just wide enough to cover the magnifier. You could slide it closed before you even take your eye away. I'm going to see if I can get that rubber piece that covers the EVF from Canon to experiment on. I'll let you know if it works. I have a feeling it will fall out easily once you slide it open. My other beef and not a big one at all, is that if you want to shoot stills thru the camera while recording and want to use the wireless the sensor is at the front and not on the back where your standing. Doesn't Canon realize it would be the camera operator who would be shooting the photos not the subject. No big deal but annoying at least to me.

By the way, love that music video you did with the xf . I was very impressed.
 
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