Built my own Directors Finder, here is how.

TimurCivan

TimurCivan

Director of Photography
Staff member
Built this little bad boy to use on set.

IMAG2022-1024x579.jpg


http://timurcivan.com/2015/08/cinematographer-tools-building-a-directors-finder/

Hope it helps!
 
just wrote the post for the blog. wanted to talk a bit about why its worth it.
 
Interesting build Timur. I've moved completely over to Artemis myself. There are obvious pros and cons, but the portability and immediacy win out and it would be a very specific application for me that would push me back to a "taking lens" finder.
 
I have artemis, but it only goes 25mm wide, and you cant really do long lens stuff. I was shooting 11, 16, 22mm then also, 135mm and 180mm. Kinda needed the actual taking finder,
 
Well, that's why I bought their iPro lens system, which delivers 12-400mm according to their site (although I find the noise distracting at the long end, but it can do at least 250 cleanly which is the long end of my zooms), via wide angle and telephoto attachment. The lenses are made by Schneider (under the classic Century Precision badge) and the packaging is pretty well thought out, it all comes in a pod you can wear around your neck and also use as a handgrip or tripod mount for the iPhone (I also use the Artemis on the iPad mini).
 
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Sounds cool!

I dont have an Iphone, so i am forced to come up with different options. Trouble with android, hundreds of different pieces of hardware. No two accessories fit every device.
 
I spent a lot of time thinking about a "vidstick" in the years I was hauling around the heavy and cumbersome optical finders. Somewhere I have a drawing from 10 or 12 years ago for system with a 16mm zoom, groundglass, video tap, battery and monitor mounted into an I shaped configuration. Never got around to building it.

Come to think of it--I wonder how many folks remember that the ground-glass adaptor phenomenon started with P+S Technik, who had a 35mm finder with videotap and eventually realized that the technology could be modified to act as a relay for the popular 1/3" cameras of the day (including the namesake of this very site). The resulting Mini-35 inspired a slew of lower-priced competitors with now-familiar names: Letus, Redrock...
 
I use a nikon D70 with a crappy 18-85 lens.

I cant see the desire for an optical finder, I find the ability to see WB, meter for brigtness, take reference and social media images to be a great advantage (and of course see a frame!)

To go a bit more Gucci people could check out a 'Cam Ranger' which fires the image from a DSLR to an iPad.. director can stay in the village?

S
 
morgan_moore said:
To go a bit more Gucci people could check out a 'Cam Ranger' which fires the image from a DSLR to an iPad.. director can stay in the village?
Click to expand...

Not to be an Artemis shill but along those lines, you can use Airplay to transmit the image via Apple TV. Haven't used it that way myself, but if there was a big master that could benefit from multiple walkthroughs without tiring the operator (AD's love to see the shot to set their background), this could be helpful.
 
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