caps and mic question

[Leonard Levy]

Just got my F3 and digging it so far a great deal. But I noticed that my F3 did not come with a rear cap for the PL adapter nor a cap for the F3 without it .

Any ideas about where to get them?

Fortunately I will be keeping my MTF Nikon -F3 on most of the time and ca cap that with a Nikon body cap.

Also any thoughts on the microphone they provide. How bad is it? Worse than the built in EX1?

Disappointed in the rear EVF - what a piece of trash. I thought the new one for the EX1R was supposed t be good. Why not include that.

[Alister Chapman]

It is the same EVF as the EX1R! It's not great, but vastly better than the EX1 EVF.

Don't understand why they didn't provide a cap for the body. You might be able to get an EX3 cap to fit.

The mic is OK for general atmos use. Has reasonable stereo separation and useable response, but I wouldn't use it for anything other than atmos.

[Aaron Newsome]

The F3 kit comes with body cap and front and rear lens caps for all 3 lenses. The included mic sounds decent enough I suppose, don't even think about using it in a really loud environment though. It really doesn't handle high sound levels well.

[Dave Sperling]

Aaron - did you get a Body Cap, or a PL Mount cap? -- in other words, can you cap the body directly when the PL adapter is removed?
Or conversely is there a way to rear cap the PL Lens adapter if the PL Adapter stays attached to the lens? (This is convenient if you're switching to an MTF adapter for a quick shot, and then going right back to the same PL Lens.)

ALL -- while on the subject of caps, I noticed at one of the F3 info presentations that the camera body was packed for travel with the viewfinder magnifier section removed. The way the viewfinder extends beyond the body (also for the EX1) has always seemed a pain when packing the camera, and I like the idea of pulling that section off. I just haven't seen an appropriate cap system to cover the back of the viewfinder and the viewfinder port on the camera. Any suggestions?

[Nate Weaver]

Originally Posted by Dave Sperling

The way the viewfinder extends beyond the body (also for the EX1) has always seemed a pain when packing the camera, and I like the idea of pulling that section off. I just haven't seen an appropriate cap system to cover the back of the viewfinder and the viewfinder port on the camera. Any suggestions?

I'm pretty concerned these days that even with half of the finder taken off, is going to meet an untimely end because it's cheap plastic sticking out in the wind.

Considering having it surgically removed.

I'd love to find a way to remove and relocate it.

[Leonard Levy]

Originally Posted by Nate Weaver

I'd love to find a way to remove and relocate it

To Libya perhaps?

[Thierry Humeau]

I fitted my F3 wiht an Audio Technica AT857R short shotgun for two reasons;

- The F3 mic being stereo and me using CH1 for a wireless mic most of the time, I was afraid the camera mic on CH2 would sound very righty...
- The AT875 is a great compact mono shotgun and has better performance than Sony's stock mic.

Here is the link to the AT875R on BH.

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/495302-REG/Audio_Technica_AT875R_AT875_Short_Condenser_Shotgun.html
As far as caps, I think my F3 kit (PLs) came with a F3 mount cap. In any case, I keep the MTF Nikon adaptor on it all the time and got Nikon caps on eBay to cap it when transporting the F3.

Thierry.

[Leonard Levy]

I've often used an Octava MK012 in place of the standard mic on many cameras and maybe i'll do that with the F3 as well. I agree a mono mic makes much more sense.

[Nate Weaver]

Originally Posted by Leonard Levy

To Libya perhaps?

I've found the info I need to remove it easily enough, but the relocation would need a way to convert a 45 pin flat printed circuit connection to a lemo or something. I think if it was 15 pins it would be doable. Oh well.

In the end, it will end up in the figurative Libya of my junk drawer.

[Aaron Newsome]

Originally Posted by Dave Sperling

Aaron - did you get a Body Cap, or a PL Mount cap? -- in other words, can you cap the body directly when the PL adapter is removed?

You're right. I don't have a body cap. I only have a PL cap. Not sure what I'll do if I ever remove the PL adapter.