GH3 EVF or LOUPE?

Bruce Foreman said:
I had the Hoodman Cinema Pro Kit with my Canon's but gave it to my son when I sold all the Canon gear off. I did have a spare Hoodman loupe I carried in the camera bag and after reading jimagine's thread here:

http://www.dvxuser.com/V6/showthread.php?299606-Good-News-on-GH3-VF&highlight=gh3+loupe+solution

I dragged it out, ordered the Hoodmag (3x) magnifying eyepiece from B&H ($39.95), and gave it a try. The Manfrotto 501PL does exactly what he says and that makes a really lightweight workable combo. I'm one of those who has minor eyeglass prescription problems with the GH3 EVF but have found a couple of workarounds but the Hooman Loupe 3.0 with the Hoodmag 3x magnifying eyepiece attached held in place with the Manfrotto 501PL is a pleasure to work with. Good bright focusable image!

And the little cloth and velcro "camcorder jacket" they used to sell to hold the Hoodloupe on a fold out LCD works just as well with the GH3 LCD folded out.

Edit: Now they call it the "Camcorder Strap", link here: http://www.hoodmanusa.com/prodinfo.asp?number=HCAM4
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Glad that helped Bruce, and I've got to thank you again for turning me on to the Spider
I love small and light for the work we do so much of.

My boy flew over from London for a quick visit this week.
He just got through directing and shooting the top Discovery show up in Alaska as a prelude to his own first series pilot on Discovery.

He spent 7 weeks with about 40 lbs on his shoulder 10 hours a day in the worst conditions imaginable (gold prospecting near the Arctic).
When we got back after dinner he picked up one of my Spiders with a GH3 and Hoodloupe on it and just laughed.

The last time he shot with us, we were still using much bigger systems, and even though he's used some 5Ds on Nat Geo and Discovery shoots (shark cages and such) even this was a revelation to him.

And the footage of course.
 
I really like the way we all help each other out on this forum with very little (if any) of the snide put down comments on some of the other forums around.

I'm about to order the DSLR model of the SpiderBrace, the camera mount is higher and the "offset" for alignment to the eye looks like it may be better. I have what I think is the second generation of the original SpiderBrace 2 design and have been quite happy with it.

Please give us a "heads up" when the Discovery show he worked on is going to air. Also the series pilot when it's ready, I want to watch those.
 
Definitely will Bruce.
And I'm just ordering the dslr version Spider as I type...specifically for the offset with the GH3.
 
This may be a silly question - if it is forgive me as I'm a DSLR newbie - but with something like a Carry Speed VF4 is the image meant to be magnified so much that it appears like viewing it through mesh? I had a quick try of one on my camera and I may have done it wrong, but it didn't seem to aid sharp focus.
 
Tombaja said:
John, does the Vavaron Uni Ex fit the GH3? I ask, because in the Youtube video "Varavon Loupe Ex Uni & GH3: little tip" http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ey_OlEBZdmM it seems it fits well. What was your reason for replacing the Vavaron Loupe with the VF-4?
Cheers.
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Tombaja, I made this video, the EX-UNI fits perfectly the GH3 screen, I don't have any cropped information. I'm using it for all my handheld or rig shooting, photo as video and I think it worths the money.
 
phil s said:
This may be a silly question - if it is forgive me as I'm a DSLR newbie - but with something like a Carry Speed VF4 is the image meant to be magnified so much that it appears like viewing it through mesh? I had a quick try of one on my camera and I may have done it wrong, but it didn't seem to aid sharp focus.
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You're magnifying the pixels and just aren't tuned into what you see. I'm able to see focus on it but I also use the focus assist so I have a lot of magnification of detail going on.

These loupes do work a lot better on the Canons which tend to have higher definition LCD's.
 
Tombaja said:
John, does the Vavaron Uni Ex fit the GH3? I ask, because in the Youtube video "Varavon Loupe Ex Uni & GH3: little tip" http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ey_OlEBZdmM it seems it fits well. What was your reason for replacing the Vavaron Loupe with the VF-4?
Cheers.
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I did not unpack and try the Uni EX as I was going to return it (done).

I wanted a Loupe that I could use with my iDC System Follow Focus and small primes. This places the follow focus wheel in the way of the LCD when unfolded on the GH3 so I went with the VF-4 instead which fits perfectly. Also the VF-4 has a super handy built in shutter to protect the Loupe eye piece when packed. Here is my little video on the iDC and the GH2 with small primes:


I hope to make a little video my new mini rig setup using the GH3 + iDC System Zero + CarrySpeed VF-4 soon.
 
Hi John.
The guy from CheesyCam mentioned in his video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Q0W5bDP4Io that the VF-4 is a little bit oversized and one can see that there is a gap on the bottom of the VF-4 case where light enters into the viewfinder. Did you notice that and does it bother you during shooting?

I hope you will find the time to make your little video with your mini rig, GH3 and VF-4.

Thanks.
Tom.
 
Yes John I have the same system and unfortunately both do not work together - however, I think the FF is secondary to a good EVF or loupe. But I do like my IDC Zero (with the same silicon bands) and use it on shoots inside when I use a monitor.
 
Tombaja said:
Hi John.
The guy from CheesyCam mentioned in his video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Q0W5bDP4Io that the VF-4 is a little bit oversized and one can see that there is a gap on the bottom of the VF-4 case where light enters into the viewfinder. Did you notice that and does it bother you during shooting?

I hope you will find the time to make your little video with your mini rig, GH3 and VF-4.

Thanks.
Tom.
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Yes there is a few millimeter gap on the bottom of the VF-4 when fitted to the GH3 but it has not really bothered me. I am now so spoiled after using the VF-4 (which makes the LCD appear to be movie screen sized) that when I go back to the EVF it is a huge shock. I find my self using the Loupe even when just shooting stills with AF on as a result ...

I hope to film by video this week. Here is a photo of the two installed on the GH3 with the 20mm pancake, in use by my 6 year old nephew:

1009588_10201609894552535_713676404_o.jpg
 
John, thank you very much for this nice picture, you've convinced me about the VF-4 and the nice FF IDC Zero, now I'm looking forward for your video....

Cheers,
Tom.
 
It's a shame the FF doesn't work with the screen flipped out. I bought the Varavon EX Supporter GH3 loupe for attaching and then articulating the screen (like an ENG camera) up or down. Although it's more versatile, you have to ditch the FF. I find the only problem with the EX-UNI is you always have to use it at eye height whereas the Supporter model can easily be viewed high or low. So it depends on your needs and uses.
 
I just picked up the Spider to go with my GH3 thanks to Bruce. Great deal. Perfect entry shoulder rig for a first-timer like myself. Thanks.

I'll probably attach a 7" LCD to it at some point.
 
Hi John.
Thanks for taking your time for this helpful review. I have some more questions about the Arca Swiss Clamp but I think its better so send you a PM (if you allow).
Cheers,
Tom
 
Tombaja said:
Hi John.
Thanks for taking your time for this helpful review. I have some more questions about the Arca Swiss Clamp but I think its better so send you a PM (if you allow).
Cheers,
Tom
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Feel free, I did not explain it well in the video but I just slapped the Arca Swiss Clamp on a Manfrotto Quick Release Plate (410PL) since that is what I use on all my gear. If I had it to do over I might go with the Arca Swiss instead.
 
Can anybody tell me if the Varavon for the GH3 can be mounted with the LCD parked in the middle of the camera? So in otherwords like the VF-4 configuration.
 
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