FS7: VF mount replacement

D

Duol

Active member
Hi Everybody,

I really love my FS7, I have already shoot 4 documentaries with it, a short movie, and commercials.

But accessorization on the first FS7 is really really bad quality, My viewfinder mount does not hold, my microphone holder is broken !!!

For the microphone holder I have bought the XLR-A2M and it works great but for the viewfinder mount I have bought a replacement clamp and it's also a bad quality mount.

Do you have solution for a sure viewfinder mount ? It will be great if I can also use this new viewfinder mount on a Red Epic-w (dsmc2).
 
I got rid of the bar after my microphone mount snapped.

I have the SmallRig top plate and bolted a 15mm rod clamp on top and attached the viewfinder to that. I use a Rycote InVision mount for the microphone attached to a cold shoe on the opposite side of the top plate.

It's working quite well at the moment.

Here are some pictures:

IMG_0748.JPG

IMG_0747.JPG

IMG_0749.JPG
 
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Once you get rid of the EVF, holder and all, and the whole handle you can turn it into a real camera. its really just the box everything protruding from it is made to fail. its really a 9K camera that you can't work with professionally before spending another 3k on an evf mount and shoulder solution. you can use it as designed but it will piss you off.
 
Nice customization, epic!

Will that Zacuto finder allow you to easily switch out the diopter for a different magnification one?

Have you consider a NATO rail in place of the 15mm rod? That would prevent the VF tilt that is such a pain.
 
icarusfilm said:
Once you get rid of the EVF, holder and all, and the whole handle you can turn it into a real camera. its really just the box everything protruding from it is made to fail. its really a 9K camera that you can't work with professionally before spending another 3k on an evf mount and shoulder solution. you can use it as designed but it will piss you off.
Click to expand...

+1

Suggest adding a top plate, & ditching the top handle for a proper one.

Some EVF bracket options in this thread.

http://www.dvxuser.com/V6/showthread.php?351395-New-Smallrig-EVF-NATO-bar-option
 
I just don't get all these solutions where the VF is hanging off a rod in the fore-aft axis.. horizon hell.. there is no need to rig a VF so that the horizon can droop.

Also the VF is not always most comfortable parralell to the camera..
 
They don't hold horizon either!

Looking back at ENG EVF do you know any that allow adjustment in that axis?

OK sometimes with the camera on its side or mounted on a roof rig you may want to dutch your EVF but really not day to day IMO

S
 
I probably wouldn't miss it if it was taken away, but you have everything from internal gyros to tripod bubbles to actually using your eyes to set a horizon. The amount of times I've been stuffed contorted into a corner and a fully articulated monitor has been a lifesaver are too many to name.

That said, because I'm left-eye dominant I don't tend to use an EVF and go for a monitor anyway.

I don't really care what old ENG cameras do or did, but I don't think you'll find a single person that doesn't think the FS7 Viewfinder mount and cabling arrangement is horrendous out of the box.
 
Lefties rule :)

And that means.. good horizon, slide out to the left and ideally a little rotation off axis from the camera

It is easily done if thought through. using the correct combo of nato rail and rods with proper understanding of what axes you want to have free and which you need locked..

As for horizon.. yep all those tools are fine unless you are 'in' an EVF and cant see them.

I use the built in horizon on the FS7 as one of my tools.

S
 
This nato rails style solution seems far better conceptualised..

--

As for showing the horizon level guidelines - often I like to operate 'display off' especially as the boom tends to creep in right behind the 'red rolling' blob.
 
morgan_moore said:
This nato rails style solution seems far better conceptualised..

--

As for showing the horizon level guidelines - often I like to operate 'display off' especially as the boom tends to creep in right behind the 'red rolling' blob.
Click to expand...



This relatively simple solution from Ben Giles solves the horizontal issue and also provides a means for angling the VF to the left:

20161214_181006.jpg20161214_181105.jpg

The setup allows him to swing the VF over the lens for transport / fitment into a camera case. The Wooden Camera setup, unmodified, does not allow for that.

details in this thread:

http://www.dvxuser.com/V6/showthread.php?351395-New-Smallrig-EVF-NATO-bar-option
 
I replaced everything on top with the Smallrig stuff. Very adjustable and many options for future changes/upgrades. I can put the viewfinder anywhere I want.

16425894_1329936243730888_3593119184175573934_n.jpg16427292_1329935607064285_3439659574170872929_n.jpg
 
My workarounds involve me not causing permanent damage/alteration to the stock kit so when I come to sell it I'm not explaining why there's dremel marks all over it.
 
Not sure I ever posted pics of the how the LCD neatly folds in with the NATO rail option. Here are some cute pictures of the LCD hibernating:

20170207_105821.jpg20170207_105809.jpg

FWIW, I do glance at the EVF digital horizon guides when shooting from the hip or handheld, but past experience has taught me that any rotation in the EVF that allows it to drift away from the absolute horizontal line of the camera can lead to pissed-up shots, when shooting under duress. So this NATO rail option saves me from myself.
 
I see this part of the rig: SMALLRIG Rod Clamp and Rail Combination 1856
http://www.smallrig.com/SMALLRIG-rod-clamp-and-rail-combination-1856.html

But what's the part that goes between the viewfinder and that rail?
There is another part needed isn't there?

Is it this:
http://www.coollcd.com/smallrig-swat-rail-clamp-15mm-parallel-1254/

or this:
http://www.coollcd.com/smallrig-swat-rail-clamp-15mm-perpendicular-1245/

Anything else done in there? Cut a small piece of rail or change anything?

Thanks Lenny
 
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