Bruce,

The battery indicator is present when using it on an XL2.

I use it exclusively. Finished a doc with it, used it night and day, run and gun. It is heavier, of course, so figure that in. I also used a dual batt pack, so I never noticed how much drain there was. THe manual outlines the different drain rates for vewfinder and lens combos.

In short, it's worth every penny.

Thanks, Richard. That's good news. So you're saying that while the battery indicator didn't work ojn the XL1, it does on the XL2?
I'm lloking forward to getting mine tommorrow.
Bruce yarock

Congrats on getting the FU-1000. Would you consider selling the stock color FU-500 to me? Have a XL1s body with no viewfinder! I have 57 year old eyes too, but can't afford the B&W. I used to live in Sunrise, now in Ft. Pierce.

Best of luck---Mike

Mike,
Thanks for the offer, but I'm going to keep it.If the new one ever went out, I'd have a back up. Also, if i ever sold the xl2 (way down the road), i would have to sell it without the viewfinder (which may not be available then).
I see you're in Ft. Pierce...I'm up there every so often. Email your phone number, and I'll give you a call.
Bruce yarock
yarock at aol dot com.

FU-1000 cable Stretch?
 

This is my first post so here goes... I'm considering purchasing a FU-1000 B/W viewfinder for my XL1s. Does any one know if the use of the Lightwave SI-XL System Isolator creates any connection problems for the viewfinder since it will move it forward 60MM. Currently I have no problem with the color viewfinder and the Isolator. Since the FU-1000 connects to rear battery adapter will the cable be long enough? I just don't know!
Thanks!

hi brian... i'm pretty sure the fu1000's cord(s) are not long enough to use with the lightwave system isolator on any xl camera, unless there are some custom cable extensions i don't know about. also, the fu1000 is significantly heavier than the stock viewfinder, and putting the system isolator between the body and the much heavier viewfinder might be asking for trouble. the mic mount on the fu1000 is the same size as on the stock viewfinder, so you can use the lightwave mini mount if you're looking to reduce camera noise hitting tape.

Thanks Henry!
That's what I kinda figured.. I already have the mini mount so I hope It will suffice.. Decisions, Decisions!

I'm sure i have plugged my XL1S with CRT finder directly into the mains using the supplied mains adapter (though the FU-1000 adapter). Is this not allowed according to the manual above????

I use CRT NTSC viewfinder converted to PAL on my XL1s. No problems with "non-Canon" batteries so far.

Jan, this is an old thread. But I'm guessing your 'non Canon' batteries are still direct replacements that fit into the same place a Canon battery would so you wouldn't have any connectivity issue.

The Anton Bauer batteries are very large and have to sit on the rear of the camera via a Gold Mount adapter plate. That plate has a cable that goes to where the original battery would go on the side of the camera. This was the reason for the incompatibility with the original XL1/s cameras. The FU-1000 has that inline tap for the older cameras, but the XL2 finally included an additional plug for the FU-1000 right under the color vf plug. This eliminated the need for the inline power tap, which in turn allowed using the AB adapter cable in the battery tray.

-gb-

Re: FU-1000 monochrome B&W CRT viewfinder
 

The simplest reason for using batteries vs.the "Canon" CA-910A compact power adapter is the compact power adapters output, {6.0V - 1.7A (VTR)} & {8.4V - 1.2A (BATT)}, is not sufficiant to power the FU-1000 viewfinder.

One could hypathetically connect a Canon DC-900 "type" dummy to a power supply that does provide enough voltage and amperage (7.5V - 1A), to power the viewfinder (12w draw).

If the forementioned is pursued, please keep in mind that a small portion of the plastic in the "dummy" case must be removed from in between the positive and negative contacts, (following the depth and width of the existing channel through to the end), so as to not activate the switch inside and at the top of the battery bay (XL1s models).

My only expierience is with the XL1s, and I have had very good performance using the "hypathetical" solution.

Scott