Justin Marx
Well-known member
My Zacuto EVF Review
My name is Justin Marx, I am a DP and have been in the business for over 16 years. My company is marX The Spot Films.
I am NOT being paid to do this review.
I own a 5D MK II, an HVX-200, Zeiss Compact CP.2 Primes, and just about everything to make it work on a professional set/studio setup.
The equipment I buy as a professional is to do its job, and only to do that.. I don't buy a camera and expect it to get me an Oscar just because its an amazing camera. I think a lot of people are under the impression that the camera is what makes things look good not the skill of the people behind it.
First of all, I RARELY take pictures of things I purchase before I use them.. But when the Zacuto EVF came it was like a gift.. When you pay for something and think of it that way you know it's something special. It was packaged so well I really didn't want to take it out of the box!.. The care that was taken in the presentation just when opening the box was like what you get when you open a product from APPLE.. You feel like you just got something special.. new.. cool.. and it amazingly does things you need it to do and looks like something you want to use! The thing looks like a hummer. It looks like it would withstand a military attack..
The Zacuto EVF has once again done something for me as a professional: by now letting me do my job of using my creativity to be creative, and not wasting me and my assistants time trying to make my camera do things it wasn't meant to do..
Let me start off this review with the key ingredient: ZACUTO... Zacuto is like ARRI, or Zeiss, or Tiffen.. They think before pushing a product, they do research before releasing, they test, and test some more.. and most importantly, they stand by their product like a Mother does their child.. When I need something or have an issue, I am always at ease knowing they will take care of me and treat me like a customer, and not a number.. (no, I really didn't get paid to write this)
Back to the Zacuto EVF:
Let me start off with build quality.. I buy things to LAST, if you don't your wasting your money.
The EVF is SOLID, its outer shell is strong, and not Fisher Price like some of the other EVF's (cine-roid) out there.
It's HDMI ports or genius in the way they are manufactured, strong, and SOLID. The buttons are GREAT and I love the push in power button that someone wont hit by accident while rolling.
Image quality:
Honestly here's my big thing.. I use the 5D MKII a lot for some really big jobs (million dollar jobs), and having to feed video to the client, and have my AC pulling focus off of a 480 image is SCARY, and my mind is ALWAYS on that (not where it should be).. I usually have the producer tell the client, YES we can give you video, but we would rather not as it hinders our focusing.
So here's the deal:
When you push record on the 5D and it goes into the 480 mode, I honestly CAN NOT tell the difference, not only cant I tell the difference, it looks better in 480 on the Zacuto EVF than it does on the 5D's built in LCD... THIS IS HUGE!!!! I can now tell a client that YES video assist is NO problem at all.. This is worth every penny of the Zacuto EVF just with that one feature!
Loop Through: works great.. not much more to say, it does what its supposed to.
Scaling and speed after pressing record on the 5D MK II:
Normally on my $1800 6.5" Marshall HD monitor when you press record on the 5D, it takes about 5 seconds (maybe more?) for the Marshall to drop to 480, then gives me a milky blurry image.
With the Zacuto EVF you can choose which camera you are using (in my case it has a setting especially for the 5D MK II). You press that preset, and when you press record on the 5D, it takes up the whole EVF screen with a CRYSTAL CLEAR image in less than a second.. This right here saves TIME, data, and once again, you have a pristine image to pull focus with.
My only BEEF here is that they didn't make a preset for the 5D MK II that has the info viewable (exposure, iso, etc) BUT you can do your own preset to include these. I'm sure with the next firmware update they will take care of this.
Peaking: works great, takes a bit getting use to.
Zebras: Wow, I can finally tell what 70ire is again.. Thanks!
Pixel to Pixel: Great but for the 5D it doesn't work while rolling (BOOO!)
Image Flip: Awesome, my new Marshall Monitor doesn't even have it.. Great for getting into some hard to reach areas or just under-slinging if needed.
Blue only, and BARS: Well since I now care about monitors again, this as great for calibration..
Anamorphic un-squeeze: Great feature, but I couldn't test it since I don't have the lenses.
Assignable buttons: Great for whatever your favorite features are.. I'm still changing them each day!
EVF TRI MOUNT KIT:
Ok, this thing is just genius! After about an hour of tweaking and playing and making it work with my Zacuto Double Barrel, it's pure ecstasy! I know have a handheld rig that is BALANCED and COMFORTABLE at the same time! It's a handheld OPS dream! Very well made just like all their other products.. A bit pricey, but you get what you pay for.. I'm sure you could find something that might do the job of this, but the time you would take to make it work (time is money my friends) is not worth it.. It also is professional looking.
If I missed any features I'm sorry, goto their website..
The fact is, this is a game changer for professionals and indi filmmakers alike.
You get a product that does what its says, and is backed by real people in America that care about their products.
YES there are other EVF's out there, but if you consider yourself a professional or want to be, this is a product that does it's job, looks and is professional, and will let you get back to being creative at shooting and not wasting it on how to fit a square peg in a round hole..
Feel free to email me @ justin@marxthespotfilms.com for any questions about my review, or just post them here..
My name is Justin Marx, I am a DP and have been in the business for over 16 years. My company is marX The Spot Films.
I am NOT being paid to do this review.
I own a 5D MK II, an HVX-200, Zeiss Compact CP.2 Primes, and just about everything to make it work on a professional set/studio setup.
The equipment I buy as a professional is to do its job, and only to do that.. I don't buy a camera and expect it to get me an Oscar just because its an amazing camera. I think a lot of people are under the impression that the camera is what makes things look good not the skill of the people behind it.
First of all, I RARELY take pictures of things I purchase before I use them.. But when the Zacuto EVF came it was like a gift.. When you pay for something and think of it that way you know it's something special. It was packaged so well I really didn't want to take it out of the box!.. The care that was taken in the presentation just when opening the box was like what you get when you open a product from APPLE.. You feel like you just got something special.. new.. cool.. and it amazingly does things you need it to do and looks like something you want to use! The thing looks like a hummer. It looks like it would withstand a military attack..
The Zacuto EVF has once again done something for me as a professional: by now letting me do my job of using my creativity to be creative, and not wasting me and my assistants time trying to make my camera do things it wasn't meant to do..
Let me start off this review with the key ingredient: ZACUTO... Zacuto is like ARRI, or Zeiss, or Tiffen.. They think before pushing a product, they do research before releasing, they test, and test some more.. and most importantly, they stand by their product like a Mother does their child.. When I need something or have an issue, I am always at ease knowing they will take care of me and treat me like a customer, and not a number.. (no, I really didn't get paid to write this)
Back to the Zacuto EVF:
Let me start off with build quality.. I buy things to LAST, if you don't your wasting your money.
The EVF is SOLID, its outer shell is strong, and not Fisher Price like some of the other EVF's (cine-roid) out there.
It's HDMI ports or genius in the way they are manufactured, strong, and SOLID. The buttons are GREAT and I love the push in power button that someone wont hit by accident while rolling.
Image quality:
Honestly here's my big thing.. I use the 5D MKII a lot for some really big jobs (million dollar jobs), and having to feed video to the client, and have my AC pulling focus off of a 480 image is SCARY, and my mind is ALWAYS on that (not where it should be).. I usually have the producer tell the client, YES we can give you video, but we would rather not as it hinders our focusing.
So here's the deal:
When you push record on the 5D and it goes into the 480 mode, I honestly CAN NOT tell the difference, not only cant I tell the difference, it looks better in 480 on the Zacuto EVF than it does on the 5D's built in LCD... THIS IS HUGE!!!! I can now tell a client that YES video assist is NO problem at all.. This is worth every penny of the Zacuto EVF just with that one feature!
Loop Through: works great.. not much more to say, it does what its supposed to.
Scaling and speed after pressing record on the 5D MK II:
Normally on my $1800 6.5" Marshall HD monitor when you press record on the 5D, it takes about 5 seconds (maybe more?) for the Marshall to drop to 480, then gives me a milky blurry image.
With the Zacuto EVF you can choose which camera you are using (in my case it has a setting especially for the 5D MK II). You press that preset, and when you press record on the 5D, it takes up the whole EVF screen with a CRYSTAL CLEAR image in less than a second.. This right here saves TIME, data, and once again, you have a pristine image to pull focus with.
My only BEEF here is that they didn't make a preset for the 5D MK II that has the info viewable (exposure, iso, etc) BUT you can do your own preset to include these. I'm sure with the next firmware update they will take care of this.
Peaking: works great, takes a bit getting use to.
Zebras: Wow, I can finally tell what 70ire is again.. Thanks!
Pixel to Pixel: Great but for the 5D it doesn't work while rolling (BOOO!)
Image Flip: Awesome, my new Marshall Monitor doesn't even have it.. Great for getting into some hard to reach areas or just under-slinging if needed.
Blue only, and BARS: Well since I now care about monitors again, this as great for calibration..
Anamorphic un-squeeze: Great feature, but I couldn't test it since I don't have the lenses.
Assignable buttons: Great for whatever your favorite features are.. I'm still changing them each day!
EVF TRI MOUNT KIT:
Ok, this thing is just genius! After about an hour of tweaking and playing and making it work with my Zacuto Double Barrel, it's pure ecstasy! I know have a handheld rig that is BALANCED and COMFORTABLE at the same time! It's a handheld OPS dream! Very well made just like all their other products.. A bit pricey, but you get what you pay for.. I'm sure you could find something that might do the job of this, but the time you would take to make it work (time is money my friends) is not worth it.. It also is professional looking.
If I missed any features I'm sorry, goto their website..
The fact is, this is a game changer for professionals and indi filmmakers alike.
You get a product that does what its says, and is backed by real people in America that care about their products.
YES there are other EVF's out there, but if you consider yourself a professional or want to be, this is a product that does it's job, looks and is professional, and will let you get back to being creative at shooting and not wasting it on how to fit a square peg in a round hole..
Feel free to email me @ justin@marxthespotfilms.com for any questions about my review, or just post them here..
