Zacuto C100 Z-finder almost available

[Steve Mims]

I'm glad I was wrong about the Z-bands---that they are included in the kit.

I was knocked out by the brilliance of the magnified image it produced. I think I need one.

[Marty Hudzik]

Well after a good amount of playing around with the Zfinder this evening....I am feeling a little "blah" about it. As I mentioned earlier, the bands do not hold the LCD in proper position other than completely horizontal or completing vertical. For me, anything in between and it just collapses....so that is an obvious disappointment.

The other thing that is bothering me at the moment is the position that the zfinder puts my right hand in. Something about it is making my wrist hurt really bad. It seems as if having the zfinder pushes the camera forward by a large amount since it is so big (probably 33% longer than the 7d Zfinder I'd guess. It just seems as if I am not as comfortable handholding the camera with this on. I was pretty comfortable with using the builtin viewfinder from an ergonomic point of view...I just felt the display was a little weak.

So.... I need to give it a rest and revisit this tomorrow with a fresh set of eyes and see how I feel. I also don't have a really great feeling about the potential extra stress this may be putting on the LCD hinge. Even as I slide the Zfinder on and off....I am concered about putting too much force on the LCD hinge. The 7D zfinder just seemed much sturdier and came on and off with so much ease I never worried about anything.

I just dunno yet. Please take my preliminary findings with a grain of salt as I might just be having a bad day too! :) But at this exact moment in time....I am underwhelmed.

Thanks for listening. Anyone else get theirs? I am curious to see what others have to say.

[Christian Schmitt]

Hey Marty, thanks for your first impressions! One thing: Can the "loupe" part be detached from the "mount" part or do you have to slide the whole unit on and off? I´m used to a magnetic loupe and constantly snap the loupe on and of, when changing angles...

[Marty Hudzik]

Originally Posted by Christian Schmitt

Hey Marty, thanks for your first impressions! One thing: Can the "loupe" part be detached from the "mount" part or do you have to slide the whole unit on and off? I´m used to a magnetic loupe and constantly snap the loupe on and of, when changing angles...

the loupe can be detached and leave the mount behind. This where I have some concern though as initially it is "really really really" tight. It is so tight that I fear damaging the LCD and hinge if I try to detach it quickly. I have to set down the camera, grab the LCD and mount and use the other hand to detach the loupe itself. Otherwise....I feel there is just far too much torque on the LCD hinge.

Having said that, this morning as I was leaving for work, I stumbled onto my 7D loupe and tried attaching it, and it fits. It also seems to snap on and off far easier....perhaps too easy as I'd be afraid it would just fall off. I never had this issue and still don't with the 7D. I did not have a battery in the camera so I could not say for sure if the 7D loupe would optically work or not.....probably not but I will try it later for giggles!

I called Zacuto about the Z_bands and they recommend using some sort of metal clamp to tighten the bands or actually cutting them shorter. I asked about getting some new ones sent and they said they could but they would be exactly the same. They did not seem to think that my particular set of bands was defective or stretched.