I wanted to hate the Z-Finder Pro. I'm not sure why, maybe because I resent paying upwards of $350 for something made of plastic with not many moving parts. I also resent having to use a loupe for a camera that was supposed to be a big improvement over using a DSLR for video, and in most every other way, it is. But I saw Philip Bloom's review of the C100, and of course I like Philip, and he found it indispensable.
Up til now, I've been using a SmallHD DP4 with the EVF attachment, all hanging off an Edelkrone monitor mount in the front cold shoe of the camera handle. With the addition of an E6 battery or two, this is a really heavy setup for a viewfinder. OK for tripod work, but hell for handheld, which is kind of the point for me. Anyway, I have a 7" monitor for when I'm on sticks, so I really wanted the Z-Finder to work for lightweight handheld work, perhaps with no handle and just a Rhode VideoMic plugged into the 1/8" port.
The one thing I didn't like about how the Z-Finder looked was that it seemed like it wanted to default to sticking straight out of the back of the camera, which means holding the thing up and out away from your body, which tires you out and is hard on your back. I prefer to have the viewfinder more at a 45 degree angle, looking kinda down into it, having the camera a bit lower and bracing against my body with my elbows tucked in. I couldn't tell how well it would do this.
So, anyway, when I took it out of the box, I took one look at those 2 "Z-bands" designed to hold the thing in position when mounted on the camera, and frowned. Sure enough, one snapped immediately upon installation. I called Zacuto and they said, yeah, those first bands are bad, we'll send you some new ones. Fair enough. I slid it on the LCD and as I anticipated, I needed the extra spacers because I'm farsighted. So I snapped those on, carefully stretched the remaining Z-band to hook into the top right corner, and dialed in the diopter.
My first impression was, wow, I sure prefer how this looks to the DP4EVF. The Canon screen is just sharper, brighter, much easier to focus. The first thing I did was turn off peaking, because I just don't think I'm going to need it with this thing. So far so good. Did the single band hold the assembly where I wanted it to be? YES! Kind of shocking, but the weight/tension combination pretty much works. If those new bands are to be trusted, this is looking to be a great setup.
But there was something I still didn't like... the eyecup. It's your typical eyecup shaped to "fit" the typical human face and block out some of the extraneous light. It's kind of stiff and doesn't fit my face very well. But SmallHD has been including their new, soft, round eyecup with the DP4 lately (and you can buy one on their website for $20) and I really like that thing. So out of curiosity I pulled off the Zacuto eyecup, fog shield, and 16x9 mask (not even sure what that's for) and stuck on the SmallHD, which went on perfectly.
WOW. Not only does this make the thing useable from different angles of approach, it doesn't hurt my cheek when I push it around, so I can easily and quickly adjust the angle of the loupe as my shot dictates. I don't think the fogshield will be needed, because the surface of the lens is farther from my eye with the round cup. Anyway, I'm sold, this is a great setup, it's light, simple, and awesome. I recommend it. Cheers.
Up til now, I've been using a SmallHD DP4 with the EVF attachment, all hanging off an Edelkrone monitor mount in the front cold shoe of the camera handle. With the addition of an E6 battery or two, this is a really heavy setup for a viewfinder. OK for tripod work, but hell for handheld, which is kind of the point for me. Anyway, I have a 7" monitor for when I'm on sticks, so I really wanted the Z-Finder to work for lightweight handheld work, perhaps with no handle and just a Rhode VideoMic plugged into the 1/8" port.
The one thing I didn't like about how the Z-Finder looked was that it seemed like it wanted to default to sticking straight out of the back of the camera, which means holding the thing up and out away from your body, which tires you out and is hard on your back. I prefer to have the viewfinder more at a 45 degree angle, looking kinda down into it, having the camera a bit lower and bracing against my body with my elbows tucked in. I couldn't tell how well it would do this.
So, anyway, when I took it out of the box, I took one look at those 2 "Z-bands" designed to hold the thing in position when mounted on the camera, and frowned. Sure enough, one snapped immediately upon installation. I called Zacuto and they said, yeah, those first bands are bad, we'll send you some new ones. Fair enough. I slid it on the LCD and as I anticipated, I needed the extra spacers because I'm farsighted. So I snapped those on, carefully stretched the remaining Z-band to hook into the top right corner, and dialed in the diopter.
My first impression was, wow, I sure prefer how this looks to the DP4EVF. The Canon screen is just sharper, brighter, much easier to focus. The first thing I did was turn off peaking, because I just don't think I'm going to need it with this thing. So far so good. Did the single band hold the assembly where I wanted it to be? YES! Kind of shocking, but the weight/tension combination pretty much works. If those new bands are to be trusted, this is looking to be a great setup.
But there was something I still didn't like... the eyecup. It's your typical eyecup shaped to "fit" the typical human face and block out some of the extraneous light. It's kind of stiff and doesn't fit my face very well. But SmallHD has been including their new, soft, round eyecup with the DP4 lately (and you can buy one on their website for $20) and I really like that thing. So out of curiosity I pulled off the Zacuto eyecup, fog shield, and 16x9 mask (not even sure what that's for) and stuck on the SmallHD, which went on perfectly.
WOW. Not only does this make the thing useable from different angles of approach, it doesn't hurt my cheek when I push it around, so I can easily and quickly adjust the angle of the loupe as my shot dictates. I don't think the fogshield will be needed, because the surface of the lens is farther from my eye with the round cup. Anyway, I'm sold, this is a great setup, it's light, simple, and awesome. I recommend it. Cheers.
