Be extremely careful with Zacuto EVF in sunlight

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dhart1949

Well-known member
I toasted my Zacuto EVF in about 30 seconds today. I went over to give the talent a brief instruction and apparently the viewfinder was pointed towards the sun. Burned three holes into the screen. As far as I'm concerned this viewfinder is unsuitable for outdoor use if it's that delicate. And yes I know there is a warning on the lens cap about the sun. So what are you supposed to do cap the viewfinder every time you look away? Not practical. I've been a cameraman for 40 years and never had any trouble using a viewfinder outdoors until this. Don't know what plan "B" is regarding EVF for AF 100 but it's not going to be another Zacuto.
 
Yeah, this is getting silly. Someone really needs to come up with an auto-shutting mechanism to prevent this from happening.
 
Agreed, but it isn't just zacuto- it's all the evf's. Same thing happened to my cineroid. Contact zacuto they might help you out.
 
A temporary fix might be to flip the loupe out of the way, every, single, time...

...but the real question is, what's kept viewfinders made before this recent crop from melting? Stuff's been getting burned with sunlight since at least Archimedes...
 
Mine burned in as well, call Zacuto, they replaced mine. They also sent me a 16x9 mask that seems to help a bit.As far as burn in on previous viewfinders, I think being a CRT and using a mirror to reflect might have cut down light damage, although my HDX900 has a warning. I had a capping shutter on my Arri SR2 it was great, but if that was added to the Zacuto I imagine a price point at least triple. I find not having a traditional finder ( I mount mine on a Noga arm) I have to be more aware of physical placement of the Zacuto, a real pain. There needs to be a tension device like a tradional viewfinder that allows you to rotate the device up and down.
 
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James Bridges said:
Mine burned in as well, call Zacuto, they replaced mine. They also sent me a 16x9 mask that seems to help a bit.As far as burn in on previous viewfinders, I think being a CRT and using a mirror to reflect might have cut down light damage, although my HDX900 has a warning. I had a capping shutter on my Arri SR2 it was great, but if that was added to the Zacuto I imagine a price point at least triple. I find not having a traditional finder ( I mount mine on a Noga arm) I have to be more aware of physical placement of the Zacuto, a real pain. There needs to be a tension device like a tradional viewfinder that allows you to rotate the device up and down.
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Hope Zacuto stands behind their product in my case as well. IMO this is a serious design flaw. Like the idea of automatic open and close on eye piece cup. Not sure of the engineering but someone should be working on it.
 
For safety keep the Evf horizontal or even pointing down a little. I know depending on how you have it mounted, this solution may not be ideal. Also, get the chamois eye cup to also create a shade for the Evf. Finally, hang a small cloth pouch to cover unit when not in use.
 
Yea covering it quickly with something is the best solution. I think there's a simple low-budget solution around this, people just gotta deal with it. If it's a simple piece of cloth like stated above, you could cover it easily and walk away with confidence.
 
They just need to add internal eyebrows into the eyecup. Then you can slide a little tab to protect the EVF screen from sunlight. Simple.
 
Good ideas all, but with all due respect I'm not going back to the days when photographers threw black cloths over their heads to operate a camera. When you are shooting and directing you need to be able to step away from the camera without destroying your EVF in seconds. As you can probably tell I'm still a hot under the collar about what happened. The brief exposure to direct sunlight literally burned a hole into the LCD screen. I watched a video from Zacuto touting the fact that their viewfinder was designed by a "professional cameraman" with many years of experience. Hard to believe this EVF was released without a better solution to the burn issue. I'm calming down now...
 
I've burned the screen on a Cineroid and the bezel on a Z-Finder - since it's the bezel, which is hard plastic, it's obvious that it's not an issue with the LCD, but with the design of the loupe... Several months ago I suggested an auto closing shutter like I had on an old 35 Eclair. Yeah, it would add cost, but so what? Better than worrying about losing your finder every time you shoot outdoors - by the way, my Z-Finder bezel burned while transporting the camera to an interior location - less than 20 seconds tops...
 
I second tossing a small cloth over the EVF. Use one of those microfiber clothes that I'm sure all of us have a drawer full of. Keep it in your pocket and just get in the habit of covering the EVF when you walk away. Handy for cleaning the eyepiece too. Not an ideal solution but will work until the manufacturers get the message we need some sort of auto-capping feature. Arri's was dead simple and worked great. Arri also had a manual VF cap on some Arri S cameras that would be easy for Zacuto or Cineroid to build as an add-on.

Having gotten paranoid about sun burn on my AF100's factory EVF, I slip a small nylon bag (came with my Norelco shaver) over the EVF and it works a treat. No worries about sun burn on the EVF while I'm shouldering it. A small lens pouch would probably work too.
 
DVXuser needs to add a new message icon labeled 'Whining". Maybe it could be a tear drop on a grumpy face.

Manufacturers have been telling us for 20 years not to point the viewfinder towards the sun or as Mkfotos succinctly says, 'Stuff's been getting burned with sunlight since at least Archimedes...' I burned an EVF years ago because of my own stupidity but I haven't burned another since. Simply learn to point your viewfinder down or cover it when your eyeball is not up against it.

Sure it'd be nice, as Barry says, if manufacturers could come up with an 'auto-shutting mechanism' ( it's called a blink on our sensitive viewfinders ) but until they do, learn to be responsible for your own equipment and quit blaming others.


Great to see Steve from Zacuto weigh in with advice and help with the 16x9 mask. The Zacuto finder is next on my list of must have accessories for the AF100. Also, I'm glad that James feels better.
 
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There should also be an icon if you have nothing positive to add to a post, like that one so I (we) do not have to sort through it. Feel better? I do.
 
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Do you have the 16x9 mask in your viewfinder. The original units were shipped without the mask and then we sent everyone a mask that cuts sun burns by 70%. We have tested units held directly into the sun for 3 minutes with the mask and they do not burn. Send me an email to steve@zacuto.com and let me know if you have the sun mask or not, regardless I'll replace your screen because something is not right if it burnt in seconds. Steve
 
zacuto said:
Do you have the 16x9 mask in your viewfinder. The original units were shipped without the mask and then we sent everyone a mask that cuts sun burns by 70%. We have tested units held directly into the sun for 3 minutes with the mask and they do not burn. Send me an email to steve@zacuto.com and let me know if you have the sun mask or not, regardless I'll replace your screen because something is not right if it burnt in seconds. Steve
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Thanks for chiming in Steve. I have one from the original run that didn't have the mask but I'm lucky enough not to have any problems yet. Am I able to get one?

Thanks,

Bob
 
zacuto said:
Do you have the 16x9 mask in your viewfinder. The original units were shipped without the mask and then we sent everyone a mask that cuts sun burns by 70%. We have tested units held directly into the sun for 3 minutes with the mask and they do not burn. Send me an email to steve@zacuto.com and let me know if you have the sun mask or not, regardless I'll replace your screen because something is not right if it burnt in seconds. Steve
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I just sent you an email. I did not get the shade. Is it possible to get it now?

I have not had any problems and I have been using it for quite a while in the sun etc. I usually flip the VF down when leaving any camera, just to be safe. But that does not mean I may not blow it so the mask sounds like a good idea.

I have been shooting since the 70's and I have not burned a VF yet. I am knocking on wood.
 
Absolutely, Anyone who did not get a shade send an email to mandy@zacuto.com and one will immediately get sent out to you. Maybe some got lost in the mail we did send many many!
 
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