Red Rock Micro EVF
 

This is interesting:

Redrock Micro releases microEVF for DSLRs: Digital Photography Review

Very interesting.

I know that the HDMI out while recording isn't full HD, but I doubt you really need full 1920x1080 in a viewfinder. So I'll be interested in hearing reviews from different DSLR users when this comes out.

Seems like a much better tool for video than the standard loupe that has existed until now. Plus, as something that has tiny electronics & stuff built into it, I think it is a good price at $595, compared to competitor things w/o any tiny electronics & stuff that go for almost $400.

Wow, that didn't take long for Zacuto to respond...
.
Wonder what their price will be, and if their EVF + Z-Finder will be in the same $$$ range as the Redrock.


Nice that it has HDMI pass through, but for the current stock of DSLRs I don't know how useful it is. Though having it is appealing for use on other cameras with uncompressed feeds through HDMI.

Zacuto says that their EVF will be out in febuary 2009 at 775$ and you have to add the optical viewfinder (if I understand correctly)

Redrock is 595$. No word on availability. The unit is complete on itself.

I think the HDMI loop, the use of the canon batteries and the ability to switch from viewfinder form to LCD screen (albeit small) form are very big plusses on the Zacuto side that might offset the price inconvinient.

Wonder if you can use other optical viewfinder on it, like the LCDVF one.

Anyone can use any existing LCDVF on the upcoming LCD module manufactured by LCDVF ;)

T

Toenis: Are you really developping such a product? I didn't heard about it. Could you point me to some infos?. I think that the HDMI loop is mandatory on such a product. Zacuto did it well on it. If you are still in the design phase, please consider it!

The HDMI loop is only necessary if you want to future proof the product. The HDMI output of every current HDSLR is hardly useful. I'm sure in the future, the HDMI output of the cameras that replace the current HDSLRs will be full stream, and then you can use a Nano Flash, or AJA Ki Pro Mini & record in a really great codec.

Now if I purchase a Canon 60D for $1,100 and want a EVF I have two options:

Pay $1,200 to Zacuto for something that will be useful to me now & in the future too.
Pay $600 to RedRock for something that will be useful to me now & maybe in the future.

That is a BIG price difference & I'm sure many people aren't going to want to spend more on their viewfinder than they did on their camera.

Zach, For my part, I could not care less about nanoflash or other similar devices. The workflow the camera offer to me in post with cineform is more than adequate.

What I REALLY need, is the ability to monitor in camera AND send a feed to my focus puller, and/or director and/or client WHILE shooting, without having to use a hdmi splitter box that requires an external power source. That's why the hdmi loop is such a great feature that itself justify the price of the zacuto unit for me. Of course, if a less expansive solution comes out, I would be really happy.

Jean-Philippe Archibald, that is what is called a workflow. And then for you, the Zacuto one will be the good choice. Unless you can run HDMI to the EVF & composite to the client / producer / etc. monitor.

But if the client wants to see it as it is happening, then the extra money is worth is 100%.

RR just added HDMI loop through to the feature list for their EVF, so it looks like that wan't really be a point of differentiation any more - biggest difference now is the ability to use the Zacuto as a small monitor as well as a viewfinder. Of course for roughly the price of the Zacuto you could get both the RR and the new Marshall 5" so I'm not sure how big a selling point that is.

The HDMI loopthrough was on our list back in March already when everybody cried for HDMI splitter so...
... so hopefully ours will be the best out there at reasonable price. We just won't release the details too soon as I personally want all our competitors to suffer this time, no more open dev like it was in the case of "Classic" LCDVF. Just keep the requests flowing.

By the way, if you ask any camera operator or optics engineer how difficult it is to magnify and view a 0.5" LCOS element when compared to a 3" LCD screen you'll get a pretty much same answer.

T

Seems like a decent solution! I couldn't wait and had allready converted an old DXF-501.. this seems like just the item to replace it with!

http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a3...0/DSC02060.jpg
Suppose that gives me the chance to update the wiring and add audio while I'm at it..
Can't wait for reviews