FU1000 XL H1 compatibility?
 

Can anyone help as I am getting totally conflicting information on whether the FU1000 is compatible or not with the XL H1. Canon USA on its web site shows it as a compatible accessory. However dealers in the UK say that Canon UK say it is NOT compatible. Has anyone who actually owns a UK purchased and supplied XL H1 (ie with PAL SD as well as HDV) got any experience of pairing it with an FU1000 and if so, what is the result? This is important for me as I intend to use the XL H1 as a replacement for my XL2 for broadcast television work and the standard viewfinder on both cameras is notoriously c***. You can get away with this on the XL2 I think but not on HD

It should be compatible. I believe you'll find a secondary plug just like the XL2 which is specifically for the FU-1000. The viewfinder portion holds a small CRT and the necessary drive circuitry that merely responds to the signals driving it from the camera body. If you see that plug on the XLH1, you can bet it's compatible or they wouldn't put the plug there in the first place.

-gb-

I had the FU-1000 from my XL 1. It fit on my XL H1, but the image was very small in the viewfinder. I found the FU-1000 to be no easier to judge focus and the stock VF. I sold my FU-1000. I generally use the AF or an external monitor.

Does anyone know if any other manufacturers VF will work on the XL H1? Has anyone heard any rumors that Canon might be offering a VF that doesn't suck?

Hi Jon,
I don't try the FU 1000 because he is too small. Check out the owner of www.etkon.com , he rebuild a digibeta viewfinder for mine XL-H1. It works great. I can manage al the functions and it is a very sharp Sony viewfinder (the same as the XDcam hd 350).
good luck

Interesting, Marc - does anyone know if there are any similar modifications being done in the states?.. It would be very nice to have a crisp finder..

BTW - in a long telephone conversation with a Canon rep several weeks ago, she hinted (that's hinted) that there may be a new color finder in the works, but it is meant primarily for larger production houses and broadcast fascilities (ie, manufactured in smaller numbers).. so it will be very expensive - like 6 grand... She asked if I would consider buying one if it was available, and I hedged.. I want the finder, but I've bought really nice used cars for less than six thousand dollars...

Marc,

Any chance of posting a photo of the conversion !


Mick

Marc:
This sounds really really interesting and is the first I have ever heard of this conversion.. I will certainly take a look at this as an option. By the way what price was it all in all? I wonder if this guy knows how much of a market there is out there for a decent view finder.

Hi All,

I will try to put some pics into my next repley next week (busy at the moment). My new viewfinders works great, but the conections are not in the final stage. He is devoloping some new connectors at the moment. The price of the VF was around 2400 euro and the rebuilding is around 750 euro (not sue about the last price because I didn't get the recieve til now).
May be you can contact his website (www.etkon.com his name is Edwin Schouten)

good luck.

Thanks Marc, looking forward to seeing the pictures. All sounds very interesting

Regards

Mick

I have an Fu-1000 which I used on my previous XL2 for two years.It made focusing a lot easier,but obviously there's no color reference. A couple of times I screwed up and hit the wrong wb setting, and didn't realize it till I got home...
I've been using the stock viewfinder since I've had the H1, because I wanted to give it a serious trial, and it's also nice to have color reference.I like the focus assist and the peaking, although using focus assist hasn't become second nature yet when I'm at a pressure job.The ideal thing for me would be to use the fu-1000 and also have an on camera color monitor. The problem is space-I do quite a few low light events and use a frezzi mini fill w/ softbox. It would be impossible to use anything but the smallest monitor on cam along with the frezzi. I sometimes use a Tiffen steady stick, and have thought about trying the multirig pro. That way I could conceivebly use the fu 1000, Frezzi, and something like the marshall hd/sdi.
Anyone else in the same boat, or any other ideas?
Bruce S. yarock
www.yarock.com

I forgot to mention-Some of the info on the stock viewfinder isn't available when using the fu-1000. Feet distance to subject, the exposure line on top left. I don't remember anything else, but I'll check.
Bruce S. yarock
www.yarock.com

Correction-The focal distance in feet,focus assist, peaking DO show up on the FU-1000.
Bruce S. Yarock
www.yarock.com

So is there anything other than color that do not show up in the FU-1000?

Marty,
The way it looks so far is that the only thing other than the color that doesn't show is the exposure line in the upper left corner. I may be missing something, because I'm still groggy from a proceedure I had yesterday. Btw, did you reach any conclusions about the lens mount question? If you want, give me a call.
Bruce S. Yarock
www.yarock.com

here are some pics
 

Hello all,

here some pictures of mine Sony Viewfinder on mine Canon XLh1.
The Viewfinder is a Sony BVF20W(ce). He is modified by Edwin schouten from the company Etkon (www.etkon.com) in Amsterdam (the Netherlands).

I am working with a 50-500 mm sigma lens for filming nature and I can tell, I can't focus with the standard Canon Viewfinder and now I can foces very good. It is worth the price dubble.

Succes

Hi Marc,

Thanks for posting the photo's it looks a very interesting conversion. I'm off to Kenya in a 12 days time I'll decide after the trip and reviewing the images if I need to make a conversion to another viewfinder. As aside, I noticed that you had the standard mic attached. Do you use this as your main source of sound or do you use other mics?

Regards

Mick

Hi Mick,

At the moment I use the standard microfoon. Sometimes I use a sennheiser me67 (shootgun). My better mic is on another camera (Panasonic DVC200) at the moment.
What microfoon do you use?

Hi Marc,
I use an me66 for general use and the standard if useing a pag light when filming at night to avoid the mics shadow.

regards

Mick

Marc,
Is that a monochrome (black and white) viewfinder? What exactly did the modification do?
Bruce S. Yarock
www.yarock.com

Hi Bruce,

Yes it is a B&W viewfinder. The modification makes that the VF-information and the zebra is working correct. It is also switcheble from 4:3 to 16:9.

Marc,
So it's pretty much the same as the fu 1000, except 1/2' bigger and a little more resolution? I find the fu 1000 excellent for focusing;I used it on my XL2 for two years. I think the combination of the fu 1000 and something like the Marshall would be ideal for me.
Bruce S. Yarock
www.yarock.com

marc, that very nice mod you have there.

just out of interest, what lens is that ?

Hi Charles,

the lens is a Sigma 50-500 mm photolens with a Nikkormount. I use a novoflex mount from the XL to the lens. The lens is full manual.

Viewing size in FU1000
 

Guys...I want to buy a FU 1000 and I haven't found the answer in the forum that I'm looking for ...


Basically...from what I've seen...it's an Ikegami viewfinder from my old HL-V55 camera. Identical !!

Anyhow...my concern is...how does it display 16x9 or HD for the H1 ?

My old viewfinder on the V55 was a 4x3 CRT. Is this different?

Thanks !!!

Bingo! It is in fact a re-branded Ike.

It's still a 4:3 CRT. It displays letterboxed 16:9. Hope this helps,

Thanks Chris and Nick...

well...looks like I'm going to spring for one....thanks for the info

Hey Kevin,

I may be looking to sell mine if you are interested. I'm looking to sell for $600. Let me know if you're interested and shoot me an email.

Thanks.

Michael..

Sent you an email....thanks.

Hello,

Can anyone tell me what is the FU-1000 aspect ratio ? Is it 4/3 or 16/9 ?

I might buy one.

Thanks


(by the, that's my first post on dvinfo ;-)

Either one. Whatever you're shooting.
Bruce S. Yarock
www.yarock.com

I think what Bruce is saying is that it automatically letterboxes the 16x9 material....but the actual screen is 4x3. Is this correct? Also, when it does this, do the data overlays also get squished? On my XL2 the screen was 4x3 but letterboxed the 16x9 image but also squished all of the readouts.

Peace!

The CRT is 4x3 but it displays 16x9 with a letterbox matte.

Marty the data overlays remain "In the box" when switched to 16x9. They appear in the active area of the screen, same as 4X3. They DO NOT appear in what would be the 'black bands' under or over teh 16x9 image area of a 4x3 crt.

They are not "squished". The 16x9 image is not 'squished' either. When you use that word, I think of how a 16x9 image is 'squished' or 'squeeze' or 'distorted' on a 4x3 crt, so that the image fills the entire screen. This is not how the FU-1000 shows the 16x9 image. It is simply letterboxed, with black bars above and below... no 'squishing' of the image or the data readouts.

hope this helps.

On the XL2 only the data readouts were squished, not the image (well technically it was but that is the purpose, to "display" the video in it's proper aspect by squishing the top and bottom). In the process it also squished the data readouts. It was still legible but you could tell the fonts were distorted slightly. So technically the data readout was squished.

Look at some text in 4x3 mode and then switch to 16x9 and the text would become compessed vertically, making it look like a slightly distorted character. This was obviously processed at the output of the camera to the LCD of the XL2....had the images been "resized" or squished prior to the data readouts they would not have been distorted.

Again, none of this affects the actual image, just the data readouts. It would have been nice if the data readouts could reside in the "black bars" as to not cover up too much image. I was hoping the XL-H1 might have been designed to do this with the FU-1000....letterbox the image inside the camera prior to overlaying the data.

Peace!

accidental post..sorry