C200: EVF-V70 for the C200: user experience asked

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Kees T

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I am considering the EVF-V70 for my C200. I could not find any user review about this EVF on the internet. Are there any forum members using the EVF-V70 on their C200? If so, please share your experience. It is a very expensive piece of equipment and I wonder if it is that much better than the internal EVF.
 
Hi Kees, I have a EVF-V70, and I am very happy with it.

One of my reasons for buying it was to use 1) the camera shoulder mounted 2) have an extra point of contact for stability, as well as 3) being able to shoot in direct sunlight without having to rely on the camera's LCD screen.

I have used EVFs like the Zacuto Gratical HD in the past, and I have to say I never liked it. The EVF-V70 might not have bells and whistles like the built-in scopes of a Zacuto EVF, but the V70 has much better contrast and resolution IMHO.
 
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norway said:
Hi Kees, I have a EVF-V70, and I am very happy with it.

One of my reasons for buying it was to use 1) the camera shoulder mounted 2) have an extra point of contact for stability, as well as 3) being able to shoot in direct sunlight without having to rely on the camera's LCD screen.

I have used EVFs like the Zacuto Gratical HD in the past, and I have to say I never liked it. The EVF-V70 might not have bells and whistles like the built-in scopes of a Zacuto EVF, but the V70 has much better contrast and resolution IMHO.
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Hi norway, thanks for your input. Do you use your EVF-V70 on a C200? If so, how compares the EVF-V70 to the built-in EVF?
 
I use the evf-v70 on canon cinema cameras and it is vastly superior to the built in EVF. It is nice having the controls for the camera in the EVF, as well as just having one cable for video and power. I'd suggest getting a third party EVF support though (I like the Arri style EVF brackets).

Consider the gratical eye or kameleon if you power your camera off v/gold mounts and want the versatility of using it on other cameras. But if you are pretty certain you'll only be using the EVF with Canon cinema cameras the EVF-V70 blows the others out of the water.
 
ericsanpablo said:
Consider the gratical eye or kameleon if you power your camera off v/gold mounts and want the versatility of using it on other cameras. But if you are pretty certain you'll only be using the EVF with Canon cinema cameras the EVF-V70 blows the others out of the water.
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Sound advice.

I'm hoping Canon makes the next EOS Cinema camera (C90?) compatible with the EVF-V70. :laugh:
 
I wish Sony would release something similar for the FX9/6/3. It's not like they haven't got the tech already.
 
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Andy9 said:
I wish Sony would release something similar for the FX9/6/3. It's not like they haven't got the tech already.
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Would be interesting if Canon entered the HDMI/SDI EVF market, but I guess their bean counters have decided this market is not big enough for them.
 
I’ve been using the Z-Cam EVF with my C200 for a few months now, and have been pretty happy with it.
I chose it mainly because of the price point vs alternatives from Zacuto, etc. that were either much more expensive, didn’t offer the same feature set, or were more of a ‘hood on small lcd monitor’ vs an actual EVF.
It’s got a decent weight to it, is well built, has a well-dampened eyepiece, accepts both HDMI and SDI, has a physical ON/OFF switch, and has built in WiFi. For the smaller shoots that I do this has been useful on a few occasions, as I can hand the director my 12.9 inch iPad Pro to use as a monitor. Lag isn’t quite nonexistent enough for quick focus pulls, but is MILES better than the built-in C200 WiFi.
The only two potential downsides off the top of my head are that it doesn’t take batteries, and that all the video aids are below the image itself, which gives you a clean view, but reduces the overall size of the image in the EVF.
…but I feel that if someone is looking seriously at the V70, then they can justify it. That kind of money for something that can only be used with recent Canon cinema cameras just ain’t worth it for me (although having a single cable would be awesome!)
 
Steel said:
I’ve been using the Z-Cam EVF with my C200 for a few months now, and have been pretty happy with it.
I chose it mainly because of the price point vs alternatives from Zacuto, etc. that were either much more expensive, didn’t offer the same feature set, or were more of a ‘hood on small lcd monitor’ vs an actual EVF.
It’s got a decent weight to it, is well built, has a well-dampened eyepiece, accepts both HDMI and SDI, has a physical ON/OFF switch, and has built in WiFi. For the smaller shoots that I do this has been useful on a few occasions, as I can hand the director my 12.9 inch iPad Pro to use as a monitor. Lag isn’t quite nonexistent enough for quick focus pulls, but is MILES better than the built-in C200 WiFi.
The only two potential downsides off the top of my head are that it doesn’t take batteries, and that all the video aids are below the image itself, which gives you a clean view, but reduces the overall size of the image in the EVF.
…but I feel that if someone is looking seriously at the V70, then they can justify it. That kind of money for something that can only be used with recent Canon cinema cameras just ain’t worth it for me (although having a single cable would be awesome!)
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Steel mentions an important point here: One benefit of the EVF-V70 is that it does not need an additional battery. Note that you can't use the V70 and the LCD screen at the same time.
 
Kees T said:
I am considering the EVF-V70 for my C200. I could not find any user review about this EVF on the internet. Are there any forum members using the EVF-V70 on their C200? If so, please share your experience. It is a very expensive piece of equipment and I wonder if it is that much better than the internal EVF.
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I've only briefly used the EVF-V70 when shoulder mounting a c500 ii. I don't have a long history of viewfinders to compare it to but the image was amazing.

I went down the easyrig minimax path, which makes the stock EVF middle/rear position go from awkward to ideal. Also, ironically, the free included EVF lets you use a viewfinder and screen at the same time vs. choosing one or the other, as far as using the VIDEO connector.

I'm fine with the exhaust vent when actually using the camera on my shoulder but I've only ever shot this way for short periods of time. I'm not sure how I'd react long term, it seems like it'd go one of two ways where you get used to it pretty quickly or cannot stand it! I'm not sure how well the redirect modification works, maybe that's all it would need.

My personal view with the c200 is to get by with as few extras as possible, where as if I bought a c300 iii, I'd definitely be looking to add the EVF-V70.

To your original question, I've always been really happy with the built in EVF but I think with the EVF-V70 you're paying for one of the best screens on the market, (I can't remember but I assume greater display flexibility with info outside/beneath the picture rather than an overlay), infinite mounting and viewing angles, no external power to worry about, as well as several physical function buttons.

Let us know if you pick one up.
 
Andy9 said:
I have the older version of this (new one takes Canon batteries, old one is external power only) and it's pretty good. I'm sure it's not close to the V70 but it is a tenth the cost!

https://www.portkeys.com/leye-ii/
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I'm using the same one on the C70. For $400, nothing comes close. Incredibly usable. I also have the one without the battery plate. I stuck some velcro on the back, and I use a USB battery that runs the EVF all day.
 
Canon USA offers demos of the EVF-V70. Have your dealer contact Canon Europe and ask if they can loan you the EVF-V70.

Everyone that we've helped arrange a demo has purchased the EVF-V70.
 
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