LCD Hood for EX1 like EX3

Mike Stevens · May 19th, 2008, 09:53 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Greg Hawkes

Has anybody purchased and is using an actual Hoodman sun shield for the EX1?

Yes and in sunlight its useless. For "real" sun you need 100% light exclution.

Piotr Wozniacki · May 19th, 2008, 01:36 PM

Guys, I really prefer the solution that the "El Cheapo" shoulder mount provides - I am fully capable of using either EVF or LCD, and the camera's weight is fully supported on my abdomen. I am posting two grabs showing myself in my bathroom mirror - sorry for the quality, but from how easy and relaxed I seem while shooting, you can hopefully understand my opinion that his is the way to go as far as hand-held (i.e. not tripod) EX1 usage is concerned.

Therefore, again please help me find a way to replace the viewfinder with the Xtrafne unit - I guess this is a much better idea than all those DIY solutions(with all due respect to their inventors).

Benjamin Eckstein · May 19th, 2008, 01:57 PM

Again, I doubt Sony has any interest in switching out viewfinders. Probably the only real option it to buy a Z7 and get someone to replace the viewfinders. These are not ENG cams with removable viewfinders so Sony is not going to bend over backwards to switch out part A on this cam with part B on another cam. They'd rather just sell you an EX3.

Piotr Wozniacki · May 19th, 2008, 02:58 PM

Absolutely, Benjamin - this is why I am not counting on Sony to help do the swap in any official way. Which doesn't mean it couldn't be done - it's just a question of costs involved, and technical viability.

Benjamin Eckstein · May 19th, 2008, 03:03 PM

But how would you get the Z7 VF?

Piotr Wozniacki · May 19th, 2008, 03:05 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Benjamin Eckstein

But how would you get the Z7 VF?

All I need is the part number, and some engineering drawings before I spend some bucks!

Bob Grant · May 19th, 2008, 03:35 PM

Sony already sell a vewfinder that might be suitable, the HDVFC30W.
It's built for the F900 but reading the specs I think interfacing it to the EX1 wouldn't be too hard.
One word of caution. If you really are in a position where the sun could shine into your viewfinder then there's a risk of having the screen fried from the sun being focussed onto it.

Serena Steuart · May 19th, 2008, 07:31 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Piotr Wozniacki

Guys, I really prefer the solution that the "El Cheapo" shoulder mount provides - I am fully capable of using either EVF or LCD, and the camera's weight is fully supported on my abdomen. I am posting two grabs showing myself in my bathroom mirror - sorry for the quality, but from how easy and relaxed I seem while shooting, you can hopefully understand my opinion that his is the way to go as far as hand-held (i.e. not tripod) EX1 usage is concerned.

Therefore, again please help me find a way to replace the viewfinder with the Xtrafne unit - I guess this is a much better idea than all those DIY solutions(with all due respect to their inventors).

Words fail me! We know about shoulder mounts. We know their benefits and disadvantages. The existing EVF on the EX1 is a waste of space. We would like the EVF to be excellent. Would we pay the high cost of having it replaced? No? Is there an effective alternative? Buy an EX3? Something cheaper than that? I wonder what it could be?

Mike Stevens · May 19th, 2008, 09:00 PM

Piotr:
Make one of my hoods or one like Serena made and use the LCD. Believe me, especially if you use my "two eyed" binocular version, you will never want to look at an EVF again, even if you got the EX3 or equivalent.

For a few hours crafting you will have an LCD sized EVF like the EX3 and save yourself handsomely, if you try to put an expensive one eyed 2cm crap EVF on this camera (they are all crap anyway) you will waste money and be disappointed.

Bob Grant · May 19th, 2008, 09:16 PM

Seeing as how no one liked my $50 sombrero suggestion or my $9,900 Sony viewfinder how about this.

Seems to me the problem arises from using shoulder supports rather than a shoulder mount. With a shoulder mount which turns the EX1 into something the same as a real shoulder mount camera, the butt end of the camera is over the shoulder. This brings the LCD closer to the eye so a hood or whatever is going to be more effective. It'd also get around a problem mentioned elsewhere of shots being "up the nose".

Serena Steuart · May 19th, 2008, 09:35 PM

Agree with you Bob. Of course your head might impede cooling (that slot between the electronics and the lens) but the problem (in my attempts) is that a well designed eyepiece is needed (as on the EX3). Stacking cheap lenses can get you close enough to the LCD, but the distortion is undesirable. One just about comes to buying the EX3 hood.

David Lorente · May 19th, 2008, 10:49 PM

Someone should tell Sony to build an EX-3 like LCD hood/eyecup that could be fitted to the EX-1. It will be cheap for them to adapt the EX-3 eyecup part for that, and it surely will be a more popular accessory than the pretty much useless and unavailable USB card reader...

By the way, an EVF cap, to get away with the proeminent eyecup of the EVF would also be great.

And for the "El Cheapo" enthusiasts, stay tuned for my lightweigth and fully functional crane that I'm now designing... As soon as I can build something with head pan/tilt that works like a $3000 crane is supposed to work, I'll post my findings here.

Serena Steuart · May 19th, 2008, 11:14 PM

Mike, I think we have the same eyepiece power, namely 7 diopter, which works well. I tried adding more to shorten the hood and I saw quite a lot of pin-cushion distortion. A bit of optics design work needed to overcome that.

Serena Steuart · May 19th, 2008, 11:19 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by David Lorente

the pretty much useless and unavailable USB card reader...

Guess there's a thread I haven't been following, but I have one that works as specified. They appear to be available here.

David Lorente · May 19th, 2008, 11:35 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Serena Steuart

Guess there's a thread I haven't been following, but I have one that works as specified. They appear to be available here.

Well, here in Spain, I had requested for the USB reader at the store where I bought the EX1, as well as the large BP-U60 battery. This was just before the Holy Week (which this year has fallen in the third week of March). I received the battery last week, but I'm still waiting for the reader.

The same happened with the EX1, we requested it in December and did not received it until March.

Don't know if things are equal in the rest of the world, but I assure you that in my country, one has to learn not to be stressed by delays or die in the attempt of being on the "cutting edge". Anyway, being in the cutting edge always hurts :P

Edit: Oh, and another thing against the USB reader is its prize, knowing that a PCI-e reader is cheaper (and faster) than Sony's reader.

May 19th, 2008, 01:36 PM	#17
Piotr Wozniacki Inner Circle Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: Poland Posts: 4,086	Guys, I really prefer the solution that the "El Cheapo" shoulder mount provides - I am fully capable of using either EVF or LCD, and the camera's weight is fully supported on my abdomen. I am posting two grabs showing myself in my bathroom mirror - sorry for the quality, but from how easy and relaxed I seem while shooting, you can hopefully understand my opinion that his is the way to go as far as hand-held (i.e. not tripod) EX1 usage is concerned. Therefore, again please help me find a way to replace the viewfinder with the Xtrafne unit - I guess this is a much better idea than all those DIY solutions(with all due respect to their inventors). Attached Thumbnails __________________ Sony PXW-FS7 \| DaVinci Resolve Studio; Magix Vegas Pro; i7-5960X CPU; 64 GB RAM; 2x GTX 1080 8GB GPU; Decklink 4K Extreme 12G; 4x 3TB WD Black in RAID 0; 1TB M.2 NVMe cache drive

May 19th, 2008, 02:58 PM	#19
Piotr Wozniacki Inner Circle Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: Poland Posts: 4,086	Absolutely, Benjamin - this is why I am not counting on Sony to help do the swap in any official way. Which doesn't mean it couldn't be done - it's just a question of costs involved, and technical viability. __________________ Sony PXW-FS7 \| DaVinci Resolve Studio; Magix Vegas Pro; i7-5960X CPU; 64 GB RAM; 2x GTX 1080 8GB GPU; Decklink 4K Extreme 12G; 4x 3TB WD Black in RAID 0; 1TB M.2 NVMe cache drive

May 19th, 2008, 10:49 PM	#27
David Lorente Regular Crew Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: Cuenca (Spain) Posts: 92	Someone should tell Sony to build an EX-3 like LCD hood/eyecup that could be fitted to the EX-1. It will be cheap for them to adapt the EX-3 eyecup part for that, and it surely will be a more popular accessory than the pretty much useless and unavailable USB card reader... By the way, an EVF cap, to get away with the proeminent eyecup of the EVF would also be great. And for the "El Cheapo" enthusiasts, stay tuned for my lightweigth and fully functional crane that I'm now designing... As soon as I can build something with head pan/tilt that works like a $3000 crane is supposed to work, I'll post my findings here. __________________ Wire telegraph is a kind of a very, very long cat. You pull his tail in New York and his head is meowing in Los Angeles. Radio operates exactly the same way, but there is no cat.

May 19th, 2008, 01:57 PM	#18
Benjamin Eckstein Major Player Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: Boston, Massachusetts Posts: 380 Images: 1	Again, I doubt Sony has any interest in switching out viewfinders. Probably the only real option it to buy a Z7 and get someone to replace the viewfinders. These are not ENG cams with removable viewfinders so Sony is not going to bend over backwards to switch out part A on this cam with part B on another cam. They'd rather just sell you an EX3.

May 19th, 2008, 03:03 PM	#20
Benjamin Eckstein Major Player Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: Boston, Massachusetts Posts: 380 Images: 1	But how would you get the Z7 VF?

May 19th, 2008, 03:35 PM	#22
Bob Grant Trustee Join Date: Nov 2005 Location: Sydney Australia Posts: 1,570	Sony already sell a vewfinder that might be suitable, the HDVFC30W. It's built for the F900 but reading the specs I think interfacing it to the EX1 wouldn't be too hard. One word of caution. If you really are in a position where the sun could shine into your viewfinder then there's a risk of having the screen fried from the sun being focussed onto it.

May 19th, 2008, 09:00 PM	#24
Mike Stevens Regular Crew Join Date: Dec 2005 Posts: 75	Piotr: Make one of my hoods or one like Serena made and use the LCD. Believe me, especially if you use my "two eyed" binocular version, you will never want to look at an EVF again, even if you got the EX3 or equivalent. For a few hours crafting you will have an LCD sized EVF like the EX3 and save yourself handsomely, if you try to put an expensive one eyed 2cm crap EVF on this camera (they are all crap anyway) you will waste money and be disappointed.

May 19th, 2008, 09:16 PM	#25
Bob Grant Trustee Join Date: Nov 2005 Location: Sydney Australia Posts: 1,570	Seeing as how no one liked my $50 sombrero suggestion or my $9,900 Sony viewfinder how about this. Seems to me the problem arises from using shoulder supports rather than a shoulder mount. With a shoulder mount which turns the EX1 into something the same as a real shoulder mount camera, the butt end of the camera is over the shoulder. This brings the LCD closer to the eye so a hood or whatever is going to be more effective. It'd also get around a problem mentioned elsewhere of shots being "up the nose".

May 19th, 2008, 09:35 PM	#26
Serena Steuart Major Player Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: Studio Alnitak, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia Posts: 640 Images: 3	Agree with you Bob. Of course your head might impede cooling (that slot between the electronics and the lens) but the problem (in my attempts) is that a well designed eyepiece is needed (as on the EX3). Stacking cheap lenses can get you close enough to the LCD, but the distortion is undesirable. One just about comes to buying the EX3 hood.

May 19th, 2008, 11:14 PM	#28
Serena Steuart Major Player Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: Studio Alnitak, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia Posts: 640 Images: 3	Mike, I think we have the same eyepiece power, namely 7 diopter, which works well. I tried adding more to shorten the hood and I saw quite a lot of pin-cushion distortion. A bit of optics design work needed to overcome that.