F3: How the new Alphatron EVF lessens screen burns from the sun

Doug Jensen said:
Any viewfinder that has a glass diopter on the front of it is potentially susceptible to getting burned. That piece of glass is just a magnifying lens that focuses the light, whether the light is coming in or out. This problem is nothing new and has been an issue since I started shooting in the early 1980's. Fortunately I've never burned a viewfinder (knock on wood) but apparently some models are more at risk than others, and the Alphatron seems to be at the top of that list. To answer you question about external LCD monitors, no they are not at risk from burn-ins because they do not have a magnifying class sitting in front of them.
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Thanks Doug for your response, sorry I didn't check this thread until today. Which EVFs would you recommend for best combo of price/features/sun resist ability, and what do you think of the Kinotehnik LCDVFe?

I would have given you a +1 arrow up, but someone gave me a -1 rating for no apparent reason... so I'm not allowed to rate others. Well... I'll give you an emoticon thank-you instead. :dankk2::smiley_up:smiley_up
 
Having bought an Alphatron fairly recently, here's my experience: They come with a new diopter that has a film designed to protect the LCD from burn in for quite some time. (Hours, they claim)

But. For us old guys with tired eyes, it is a known issue to them that the new, improved diopters cannot be focused by us. Something with the new burn protection makes it so that the focus adjustment tube would need to be about a foot long, it seems to me. Alphatron shipped me an original diopter with an intermediate-level protective film. It took a long time to arrive from Europe, weeks. It allegedly protects burn-in for short exposures of less than a minute. But best of all, I've got a nice, sharp image again.

Bit of a white knuckler to replace, as there are a couple sets of tiny aluminum screws to remove and reinstall. This is something that, personally, I thought Alphatron should have done for me. But in the end, with their specific instructions, I made the swap out with no ill effects. YMMV.
 
captslomo said:
Having bought an Alphatron fairly recently, here's my experience: They come with a new diopter that has a film designed to protect the LCD from burn in for quite some time. (Hours, they claim)

But. For us old guys with tired eyes, it is a known issue to them that the new, improved diopters cannot be focused by us. Something with the new burn protection makes it so that the focus adjustment tube would need to be about a foot long, it seems to me. Alphatron shipped me an original diopter with an intermediate-level protective film. It took a long time to arrive from Europe, weeks. It allegedly protects burn-in for short exposures of less than a minute. But best of all, I've got a nice, sharp image again.

Bit of a white knuckler to replace, as there are a couple sets of tiny aluminum screws to remove and reinstall. This is something that, personally, I thought Alphatron should have done for me. But in the end, with their specific instructions, I made the swap out with no ill effects. YMMV.
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I'm one of those old guys with tired eyes and I'm just not seeing what has been said about the focus issues with the new Alphatron, maybe because I have the apature turned up to 25 and I use red peaking. Or maybe because the Alphatron has been a big improvement over what I was using before, I can now view the evf with out wearing my glasses thanks to the adjustable diopter. But I will ask the folks at Alphatron to send me the old lens that focuses directly on the screen instead of behind the screen and see what the differences are. BTW I have been using the Alphatron out side on my F3 and attached to my Jimmy Jib control arm and so far with the sun behind me no burns.
 
Copperplate said:
Thanks Doug for your response, sorry I didn't check this thread until today. Which EVFs would you recommend for best combo of price/features/sun resist ability, and what do you think of the Kinotehnik LCDVFe?
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Sorry for the slow reply, for some reason I forgot about this thread.
The only two 3rd-party viewfinders that I have any experience with are the Zacuto EVF and the Cineroid. I found the Cineroid to be terrible and I'm glad I didn't buy one. On the other hand, the Zacuto has been excellent and I can't even shoot with my F3 or PMW-200 without it. I'm not saying it's perfect, but it's good enough to get the job done and way better than the stock viewfinders. There may be other brands/models that I would like even better if I had the chance to try them, but I'm happy with the Zacuto so I stopped looking.
 
Apparently for a lot of people the Zacuto seems to suffice just fine, but I've never been able to get anything like a sharp enough image out of it. I've tried every variety of their spacers to no avail. Maybe it has to do with wearing progressive eyeglasses, or maybe I just want more out of it. I know I'm not alone in that complaint. Certainly cheaper than an Alphatron but there's no doubt an Alphatron is a much better picture .
 
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