Shortening FS100 lope - revived

moldcad

moldcad

Veteran
Sorry for setting up a new thread on the subject that has been already discussed here and there :)

Have any elegant ways of shortening the FS100 loupe have been devised over more than a year of this camera existence? I've just watched the Sony's "Tips, Tricks and Creative Insights" DVD they only now sent out to the FS100 owners, and noticed most of the presenters used the camera with a considerably shorter loupe than the stock one. Also, nowhere did I see traces of a typical DIY work (like gaffer tape someone used in his instructional video on the Vimeo) - all nice and clean...


So, is there an elegant and safe way of shortening the thing? Also important is that at 57, I'm considerably far-sighted (so I need a lot of diopter adjustment).


Ideas, please:)
 
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FS100 James Miller has another approach that doesn't use the Velcro tape. I don't really understand what the "Plastic Fins" he mentioned were

http://www.dvinfo.net/forum/sony-nxcam-nex-fs100/497677-stock-loupe-modification.html

I just did the Vimeo tutorial with the Velcro. It works great. It's unsightly for about 1 minute, then you just get used to the way it looks and doesn't bother me at all. Actually, it's looks kind of cool if you arrange the velcro right. I just did it straight across so it looks almost intentional. It's really strong and becomes a much better View Finder. Personally, I think a few strips of velcro and how it looks aesthetically, far outweighs having to use the long, un-functional VF.
 
That's the way I did it also Khachik. Works great, non destructive. I didn't even need the additional reading lens as you can still use the original loupe lens which magnifies it perfectly for me.

To break the loupe down, you definitely need a good jewelers screw driver set. Originally, I tried to use regular, small-ish screw drivers and it was a huge pain. Then I went to Home Depot and got the right jewelers set, and it made the process painless.

Also, Molcad, if you are doing this process, the frame is kind of hard to pull out. You have to use some force, but be careful as it's fragile. I had to fiddle with it for about 10 minutes before it finally popped out.
 
Tottaly agree on all three points. I didnt need any additional reading lens, original was great for me. Same as you, I had to go and buy new screw driver from home depot. And the last part with a frame, I knew that it will be hard to take it off, so I just decided to put as much force as I can and It came off. I thought I broke but I didn't. (btw I do not recommended to do that be careful and don't break it, I think I just got lucky that it didn't broke).
 
Thanks guys, I'll probably try and do it this way, as well. But I'm still curious how it was done by the presenters in the Sony FS100 DVD (below is just a screen grab of the many instances when the FS100 is used with short loupe):
 

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Hi Moldcad,

The guy in the pic you posted is James Miller, the person I mentioned above who shared how he shortened his viewfinder. The link is here

http://www.dvinfo.net/forum/sony-nxc...ification.html

It was a little nebulous on how to exactly do it, so that's why I went the velcro way. He mentioned something about Plastic Fins and also plastic weld. Not sure if he meant Welding, but that would make it harder to revert back if does involve welding.

I say just do the Velcro way. It's easy, effective and easy to undo. Just be careful on pulling the frame out.
 
moldcad said:
Thanks guys, I'll probably try and do it this way, as well. But I'm still curious how it was done by the presenters in the Sony FS100 DVD (below is just a screen grab of the many instances when the FS100 is used with short loupe):
Click to expand...

That's the loupe I wish my FS100 has as well, what's up with that?
 
gene_can_sing said:
Hi Moldcad,

The guy in the pic you posted is James Miller, the person I mentioned above who shared how he shortened his viewfinder. The link is here

http://www.dvinfo.net/forum/sony-nxc...ification.html

It was a little nebulous on how to exactly do it, so that's why I went the velcro way. He mentioned something about Plastic Fins and also plastic weld. Not sure if he meant Welding, but that would make it harder to revert back if does involve welding.

I say just do the Velcro way. It's easy, effective and easy to undo. Just be careful on pulling the frame out.
Click to expand...

I also dissembled the loupe, took out the middle section, and Velcro'd the eyepiece back. The "fins" are the things supposed to hold the middle section in place. In the shortened version they also happen to keep the eyepiece from sliding further inward and from rotating (except by 15 degrees or so).

I much, much prefer the shortened loupe. I'll keep it when I upgrade to the FS700. The operation is reversible if you don't lose your screws.

But I would actually prefer the loupe to be EVEN shorter. This would require filing the "fins" away. I haven't had the courage to do it yet.
 
Not sure if anyone stills cares, but very belatedly today I overcame my fears and, following James Miller's way, made the loupe even shorter than the Velcro'd version. Once you file away the fins and sand away the obstructions, you can push the eyepiece into the tube of the mount portion, and friction alone pretty much secures it (although I probably will put some glue or whatever on it.). The eyepiece portion sits immediately on the rectangular frame of the mount portion seen in the photo. It feels and looks better, and the camera is even less decentered when handheld. Love it.

I had only a crappy blunt blade (which broke), so the whole thing took me 30 minutes. If you have halfway decent hardware it should be a piece of cake.

I was worried that I wouldn't be able to see the corners of the screen, but that's not a problem at all. Now the diopter adjustment is severely limited though (basically the lens has to be closest to my face now), so probably not great for anyone who's farsighted.

What's interesting is that after this procedure the raised middle section of the eyepiece is perfectly lined up with the mount end and thus completely concealed. It's as if Sony meant for you to do this in the first place.

DSC00075.jpgDSC00077.jpgDSC00078.jpg
 
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aly324 said:
Not sure if anyone stills cares, but very belatedly today I overcame my fears and, following James Miller's way, made the loupe even shorter than the Velcro'd version. Once you file away the fins and sand away the obstructions, you can push the eyepiece into the tube of the mount portion, and friction alone pretty much secures it (although I probably will put some glue or whatever on it.). The eyepiece portion sits immediately on the rectangular frame of the mount portion seen in the photo. It feels and looks better, and the camera is even less decentered when handheld. Love it.

I had only a crappy blunt blade (which broke), so the whole thing took me 30 minutes. If you have halfway decent hardware it should be a piece of cake.

I was worried that I wouldn't be able to see the corners of the screen, but that's not a problem at all. Now the diopter adjustment is severely limited though (basically the lens has to be closest to my face now), so probably not great for anyone who's farsighted.

What's interesting is that after this procedure the raised middle section of the eyepiece is perfectly lined up with the mount end and thus completely concealed. It's as if Sony meant for you to do this in the first place.

View attachment 70679View attachment 70680View attachment 70681
Click to expand...


If you could write up a short manual, everyone would appreciate it! :happy:
 
I should've taken some photos of the process, but it's really the same as James Miller's way. He's already written something up (genecansing linked to it earlier in this thread). Actually, I just noticed that mine is even a bit shorter than James's, but it's the same idea:

http://www.dvinfo.net/forum/sony-nxcam-nex-fs100/497677-stock-loupe-modification.html

And then there is Eric Teolico's Velcro version, which is how I've had my loupe until yesterday. This method has the virtue of being completely reversible, but doesn't shorten the loupe as much. I also don't particularly love the look. The dismantling of the loupe into 3 parts is common to both methods and well-illustrated in the second half of Eric's video:

https://vimeo.com/38820982

All you need is a size #00 phillips screwdriver, a blade (narrow enough navigate the space within the loupe), and a piece of sandpaper. I can't emphasize enough how easy it is, and how much better the loupe becomes both functionally and cosmetically for handheld. As I said, if you file away the fins completely, the loupe simply sits directly on top of the rectangular frame and is perfectly aligned. No need for precise measurement.

This applies to the FS700, and I suspect the EA50 as well.
 
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