sunporchmedia
Well-known member
After substantial research, I bought an EVA1 with Tilta shoulder rig and Zacuto Z-Finder.
As pricey as the Z-finder was, I wanted to have a proper EVF for shoulder-mounted operating, and with a flip-up screen. Basically approximating the function of the nicely designed Sony FS7 EVF.
The problem quickly became apparent: the Z-finder locks in the LCD screen so it no longer tilts/articulates (which is understandable, since the Panny LCD swivel is not engineered to take the weight) but contains no alternative swivel point to allow tilting of the viewfinder, just a tilting of the entire bracket up and down. This is terrible ergonomic design. There is not even a rosette on the stock bracket to allow manual tilt and/or connection to a third party extension arm (there is a Zacuto replacement bracket with rosette, but it uses Zacuto's non-standard 1/4-20 screw rather than M6, so it won't work with third party monitor extension arms.
Meanwhile, the supplied Z-finder bracket, with it's 15mm rod receivers, is an absurd design that allows only two fixed forward extensions. To add insult to injury, Zacuto doesn't even supply a metal replacement for Panny's plastic 15mm stud...which flexes under the weight of the Z-finder.
ALL OF THIS was completely glossed over by the Zacuto marketing materials and by their marketing video, which implied that the Z-finder is a complete solution. It is not.
So, a nearly $600 loupe and bracket by the "Cadillac" of aftermarket doo-dads, and tacitly endorsed by Panasonic, is nearly useless without the following upgrades:
1. an Axis Mini for FS5 (compatible with EVA1) articulating monitor arm ( $450)
2. an EVA1 top plate ($195)
3. a "Z-rail Axis mount" ($130)
The minimum total cost for a properly-functioning EVF solution: almost $1400....for a loupe, a monitor arm, a cheesplate and bracket....unless I am missing something. That is pretty ridiculous. If I had known of the extra costs involved to make the Z-finder functional, I would probably have skipped an EVF and just gotten a SmallHD Focus.
Panasonic, are you going to plug this gap with a reasonably-priced EVF?
As pricey as the Z-finder was, I wanted to have a proper EVF for shoulder-mounted operating, and with a flip-up screen. Basically approximating the function of the nicely designed Sony FS7 EVF.
The problem quickly became apparent: the Z-finder locks in the LCD screen so it no longer tilts/articulates (which is understandable, since the Panny LCD swivel is not engineered to take the weight) but contains no alternative swivel point to allow tilting of the viewfinder, just a tilting of the entire bracket up and down. This is terrible ergonomic design. There is not even a rosette on the stock bracket to allow manual tilt and/or connection to a third party extension arm (there is a Zacuto replacement bracket with rosette, but it uses Zacuto's non-standard 1/4-20 screw rather than M6, so it won't work with third party monitor extension arms.
Meanwhile, the supplied Z-finder bracket, with it's 15mm rod receivers, is an absurd design that allows only two fixed forward extensions. To add insult to injury, Zacuto doesn't even supply a metal replacement for Panny's plastic 15mm stud...which flexes under the weight of the Z-finder.
ALL OF THIS was completely glossed over by the Zacuto marketing materials and by their marketing video, which implied that the Z-finder is a complete solution. It is not.
So, a nearly $600 loupe and bracket by the "Cadillac" of aftermarket doo-dads, and tacitly endorsed by Panasonic, is nearly useless without the following upgrades:
1. an Axis Mini for FS5 (compatible with EVA1) articulating monitor arm ( $450)
2. an EVA1 top plate ($195)
3. a "Z-rail Axis mount" ($130)
The minimum total cost for a properly-functioning EVF solution: almost $1400....for a loupe, a monitor arm, a cheesplate and bracket....unless I am missing something. That is pretty ridiculous. If I had known of the extra costs involved to make the Z-finder functional, I would probably have skipped an EVF and just gotten a SmallHD Focus.
Panasonic, are you going to plug this gap with a reasonably-priced EVF?
