EVF issues

M

Mac

Well-known member
Has anyone but me had these weird problems with EVFs?

I bought a Cineroid for my AF100 about 5 months ago, which I really liked. But after about a week a white blotch appeared near the center of screen, about an 1/8" across. I needed the finder for the shoot I was on, so I lived with it. I thought maybe I had let the sun shine through the loop and it had damaged the screen, although I'm generally very careful.

Last week I shot four intensive days with the finder on about 4-6 hours each day. At the end of the shoot the finder looked like the photo below. There are not only white dots, which is bad enough, but actual damage to the screen and the bezel around the screen - it looks as though someone touched it with the tip of a soldering iron, which I can assure you did not happen. I had been extremely cautious about letting sun, or any light source, hit the eyepiece, and yet the finder was virtually destroyed. I had noticed the Cineroid was hot, but not overly so.
 

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So this week I bought a Z-Finder Pro because I handhold much of the time and really depend on an external finder. And now the story gets even weirder. Yesterday I shot an interview for one hour, indoors, no added lighting. The camera and finder were never in the sun or under a hot light source, When I got back to the office the bezel on the Z-Finder had an identical burn, as if from a soldering iron.

The Z-Finder was on for less than an hour, never got hot, and yet this burn happened. Nothing on the screen yet, and hopefully there won't be because this is getting to be an expensive proposition.

Does anyone have any ideas what could be causing this?
 

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Double-you-tee-eff?! I haven't used my DP4-EVF enough for a comparison, but... how about setting up the EVF in a similar situation, and placing a piece of paper over the screen itself, or batter yet, some of that thermal printer paper that receipts are printed on, just to see if there are some hot spots being created. I'd also try covering the eyecup completely (pretty much how you use it anyways, with your eye covering it) to eliminate any possibility of an external light source of any kind entering the loupe.
 
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Sounds to me like your hdmi cable is bad, may be causing a short of some sort, (i'm a poet and didn't know it). It just seems to ironic to have similar issues on two different brand evf's. Try a different cable, look at your hdmi input, make sure there's no bent leads or pins. May not be enough of a short to fry it, but enough to mess it up pretty bad. sorry to hear this, you must be pulling yopur hair out, I know I would be. lol
 
I've had the exact same damage on my Cineroid - albiet I was out in the sun one day, and chalked it up to magnifying glass burns. One dot and some surface plastic burns.

Now my Cineroid is completely screwed, another issue altogether - the screen only shows a garbled checkerboard-like pattern.

Damn Cineroid USA is on vacation and won't be back until the end of the month - will not return my calls or emails!!

Poor service from this company for an expensive product. I'm sure Zacuto will give awesome service.
 
My first Cineroid had those block patterns (see below), it was replaced with this one... FYI, I'm using a completely different HDMI cable (the Zacuto is std, the Cineroid is mini). I am dumbfounded on this one. The only thing I haven't changed is the camera itself, but I can't see how the AF could be sending out bad vibes through the HDMI port... And the burn areas on the bezel look as if they're coming from the outside, not from in the unit, it's like little demons are sneaking in there with hot pokers. I will hope for an answer, because this camera is completely useless to me without a side finder.
 

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ths is really wierd. I was thinking poltergeists. those outside burns its the big thing...i mean the screen u can say maybe the sun...but those things on the outside really looks as if someone is messing with it. You have kids?
 
Yeah, that's the identical problem that I had on the Cineroid.. but I'm not seeing the burns on the bezel, and I can't see how sun could do that to the surrounding plastic unless left for a length of time with a powerful magnifying glass... Also, after experiencing the one burn initially on the Cinroid I had been particularly conscious of not exposing the eyepiece to the sun...

And yes, it is true that the Zacuto has not been used outdoors yet, only in a very controlled environment interior without even quartz or HMI lights, just soft window light.

This needs to be addressed more emphatically by the manufacturers if even ambient light can cause these problems. I am in nearly $2,000 and am very paranoid - I honestly don't see how I can be more careful unless I just don't use the thing at all.
 
No kids, believe me that would be the first thing I'd think too.. Even my dog has come under suspicion.. but no, no one goes near the locker in my office except me, and I've been using professional cameras since 1966 and have NEVER seen anything like this.
 
Mac said:
Even my dog has come under suspicion..
Click to expand...

not to make light of your plight but i LOLed at this.

Ive used my zacuto evf one day in the sun so far and all is well...and that's blazing Jamaican, Caribbean sun. Just always remembered to put the lens cap on. This definitely is one of the weirder things i've seen. Lucky for you zacuto will most likely replace it. their customer service is top notch. How about trying another camera (drawing at straws here :) ) since the hdmi cable is ruled out. But others have been using your setup fine...so I dont know.
 
Yeah, I would try another camera if I had access to one with HDMI out... My HPX500 doesn't, and I live on the Monterey Peninsula, so renting something easily is not an option...
 
Did I really just get called a racist for making a joke about a theme that countless films have been made about...? (ie: voodoo and gypsy curses) Whatever, my comment was off topic. This is an honestly strange situation though, I would start by ditching that hdmi cable (like maranfilms said) and any other equipment or connections to the old evf.
 
Be warned....it really takes a very short time of exposure to even 'moderate sunlight' (ie England in March!) to get burns on the Cineroid. The visible effect of such sunlight burns onto the screen area are ugly yellow marks and on the plastic surround they become noticeble 'pits'. All this is because the magnifier does the job it should...magnify the light onto the screen very precisely.
I've been shooting aviation subjects with the Cineroid and often go from looking at the EVF to watching the cameras LCD. It's during these moments of not flipping up the EVFs magnifier that I get my damage. In fact the EVF is now covered in great swathes of yellows burns, very upsetting.
Can anyone tell me about the Zacuto though, it seems from what you say to have some form of eyepiece protector?
David T
 
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