Connection Accessories to DSLR

[Ala Mctoom]

Bill,

That was very enlightening. I’m not sure why there is no website that illustrates the whole DSLR configuration process step by step for 101 filmmaking wannabees. The field is still very vague. You have to dig within forums and waste a lot of time to get what you are looking for.

Thank you!

[Ala Mctoom]

I decided to forget about the monitor for now and get a proper Z-Finder based on your advice. Thanks!

[Michael Sacci]

You should never post this type of info without some photos. I want to see this rig!

[Bill Davis]

Ala,

Again, be careful here.

SOME people swear by the Z-finder solution. Personally I rejected it early.

The BIG advantage is that used with the typical RAILS system or with any kind of shoulder brace, shooters greatly like the fact that the Z-finder or equivalent gives the camera another point of stabilization when it’s braced on your face. And the better ‘stick on viewfinders” with good optics can give you a clearer picture of the camera’s existing monitor. The Z-finder is certainly in this class. All well and good.

BUT – I personally fine MUCH more utility with an external mounted monitor. Why? A few reasons.

First and foremost, the Z-finder has to be semi-permanently affixed to your camera body. Manufacturers of these have changed mounting system multiple times in their brief history, with velcro, and various glue-on retaining stages in use. My personal feeling is that Camcorder manufacturers won’t take too many more product rev cycles to respond to DSLR’s encrochment into their space and have true camcorder models with the imaging power of today’s DSLR with proper audio, white balance, and other sub-systems that make DSLR video more difficult than it needs to be today. If so, then investments in DSLR systems will be VERY hard to recover. Particularly investments that ONLY work with a particular form factor or design.

An external monitory will likely NEVER lose it’s utility. Today you might hang it from a DSLR, tomorrow you’ll use it as a jib monitor, or on a steadicam style rig, or as a client monitor on set, or as a second monitor for a 2-camera setup.

The point is that a flat screen monitor is WORLDS more flexible than a single purpose DSLR viewer.

Also realize that any loop style monitor REQUIRES you to shoot handheld unless you DUMP the very device you just paid for. And particularly with light weight cameras such as DSLRs, my personal experience is that one in ten thousand shooters have the muscular skills to truely, properly control a small DSLR to control the “shakey cam” look.

Also, the COST of some of the viewfinders, the Zacuto in particular, are VERY steep. That’s not saying the engineering and design aren’t worth it. Perhaps they are. But at HUNDREDS of dollars typically – for a product that my next camera switchout may make functionally useless – well, lets just say I’m hesitant to commit my own money to that path.

Just more to consider. It’s totally your call. And it depends on how deep your pockets are and the style of shooting you decide to emphasize.

For what it’s worth, anyway.

FCP since NAB 1999
creator: muti-track movies
http://www.starteditingnow.com

[John Frey]

Michael, follow this link. I posted a few pics on my ‘test mule’. Ugly, but functional. When it is resting on my shoulders, I can let go with both hands and it stays put – a little chest brace pad, at the sternum, does that. In this particular instance, the Panasonic GH1 DSLR is on the bottom position with the Panasonic TM700 on top. Am using a lightweight tripod for this. Sold the Sachtler and Vinton, but have a bigger Manfrotto if necessary. Cannot use the GH1 wired remote and feed it audio at the same time – same input. Tester 13, the amazing guy that hacked the GH1, is supposedly working on that – what a guy!

https://www.digitalwestvideo.com/content/field-production

John D. Frey
25 Year owner/operator of two California-based production studios.

Digital West Video Productions of San Luis Obispo and Inland Images of Lake Elsinore

[Mitch Ives]

Bill (as usual) makes a series of good suggestions. What you’re going through is typical and there is no one right answer. For my part, I’ll add the following:

1) I went the cage route, and then abandoned it. Too slow to remove things quickly and the problem with threaded holes is that things loosen easily when bumped, or through the simple weight of the arm, etc.

2) Went back to a Zacuto rig. Everything that mounts uses mini-clamps and can be adjusted or removed in a heartbeat. Way better solution.

3) Like Bill, I like the monitor on the tripod in many cases, for the reasons Bill mentions, and I like it closer for critical focusing. Depending on the situation, I may even use a 17″ monitor.

4) I don’t use HDMI. I built a powered converter that converts to HD-SDI, as it can support reasonable cable lengths. It also allows two HD_SDI outputs… one for producers, etc. I’m past the days of enjoying them looking over my shoulder or being in my lap looking at “MY” monitor.

5) I do use a Z-finder. They are invaluable when going portable. I would never try to focus off the LCD without one. I don’t have a single shot out of focus in several days of shooting. Having recently edited some footage shot by others I wish they had been using one.

There will be no convenient place for you to have all this explained. It’s part of the cost of admission. Besides, what I like may be unsuitable for you. That’s why we have choices… Guinness & Coors, blonds, brunettes, redheads, etc…

Mitch Ives
Insight Productions Corp.
mitch@insightproductions.com
http://www.insightproductions.com