After reading post on how great the Z-Finder is, I received mine today. To be honest, I'm very disappointed. The image in the Z-Finder is not very sharp which makes it difficult to focus. It reminds me of the viewfinder on the Canon XL1. I'm not really sure what the red dial is supposed to do. I spin the dial and not much happens.

The dial is a diopter which should bring the display into clear and sharp focus.

It is very fine adjustment, you have to turn a lot to see the difference, look for the square pixel on the screen and turn it until the edge is the sharpess and practice focusing on something then use the zoom feature and check and see if you are focus, do that until you know what focus look like then you can use it reliable without having to magnify to check, without the Z-finder there is no way I can focus on the fly just looking at the lcd.
The LCD does not have peaking so it is not the Z-finder fault, what it does is block light, magnify the screen to allow you easier focusing, what I do is look at the edge of your subject and focus until there is stair step, then I know it is focus, if the edge is smooth then it is out of focus.

If you havent used it then you should send this back.
I have been waiting for another viewfinder to be in stock - meanwhile I found an old printers loupe from my photography days - when placed on the LCD I get a perfect magnified image for great focusing! The loupe folds out on hinges, so I now tether this to a lanyard.

Thanks guys. I guess it's still better than wearing glasses. The only time I wear glasses is when I have to look at the LCD screen or read some fine print.

I've been on the fence on whether to purchase the z-finder or spring for a monitor ( smallHD). On a whim, I picked up a pair of 4.00 magnification reading glasses from my supermarket. Wow - what a surprise. It just so happens that when I hold my 5D in position on my rig, the glasses bring the LCD in perfect focus! ( about 8-10 inches from my eyes). It looks like the relative magnification is only about 1.25 but it seems to make enough difference that it will help with focus. Gee now what can I spend that $400 dollars on:)

For me the viewfinder is nice because I prefer to look through an eyepiece - I never use the LCD on my EX3 - always use the eyepiece. Mainly stray light is my problem with LCDs in sunlight.

These are very simple to make by the way - all the parts are readily available.

Thanks guys. I guess it's still better than wearing glasses. The only time I wear glasses is when I have to look at the LCD screen or read some fine print.

If you wear reading glasses and when you adjust it and it still not sharp, you might have to order a taller mounting frame from them than using the original short frame that came with it.

After reading post on how great the Z-Finder is, I received mine today. To be honest, I'm very disappointed. The image in the Z-Finder is not very sharp which makes it difficult to focus. It reminds me of the viewfinder on the Canon XL1. I'm not really sure what the red dial is supposed to do. I spin the dial and not much happens.


You may have an unreasonable expectation as to what the Z-Finder is supposed to do. Any lack of "sharpness" is due to the resolution of the LCD screen NOT some supposed flaw in the Z-Finder. The Z-Finder merely magnifies the LCD screen.

Lance, you are absolutely correct. Reading glasses work much better for sharpness. I'm thinking about returning the Z-Finder and it's $350 price tag. But will I need it on those sunny days?

If you wear reading glasses and when you adjust it and it still not sharp, you might have to order a taller mounting frame from them than using the original short frame that came with it.

hey Khoi. With the Z-Finder, I don't need to use glasses. But glasses make the image much more sharper and easier to focus than the Z-Finder. So those $20 glasses at the pharmacy may be a better buy than the $350 Z-Finder.

Forgot to mention, B&H did include a free Bescor LED 35N light which goes for $85 when I purchased the Z-Finder. So that was pretty nice.

Michael, if you want to shoot outdoors or to do any decent handheld shooting, you will need that, or a similar, viewfinder.

I just got my Z-Finder today too and just logged on to post the EXACT same thing as you! Weird!

I am very disappointed also. I read how great it was, so I was expecting it to be fantastic.

In all fairness, I really don't think it's the Z-Finder that I'm dissatisfied with. It's the IMAGE that it's magnifying that stinks and it just gets worse bigger. The Z-finder sure seems solid enough and very well built, but I think I probably should have pocketed the money. I was probably overly optimistic.

The one thing I do like about it is (I hope) I can now shoot outside in the sunlight and still see the image.

@Michael, you beat me to the punch!

You guys might want to look into the LCDVF or building your own. I found the Z-Finder, after using a friends, to be ridiculously overpriced. I was planning on buying my own but once I saw how simple it was I just built my own. I can't believe Zacuto charges nearly FOUR HUNDRED dollars for a piece of plastic and a magnifying glass...

It might be over price, but it is the only good one that has a diopter adjustment, the lcdvf might be a good choice for people with good eye sight, also this one on ebay Loupe Master 3" LCD Hood Canon 5D Mark II Nikon D300s en venta en eBay.es (finaliza el 11-feb-10 03:16:21 H.Esp) (http://cgi.ebay.es/Loupe-Master-3-LCD-Hood-Canon-5D-Mark-II-Nikon-D300s_W0QQitemZ300393271705QQcmdZViewItemQQptZDigital_Camera_Accessories?hash=item45f0d59199)
but if you don't want to worry about the loop not staying on right or having to constantly adjuting it to stay on the screen or worry about pressing it too hard on your eyes and it might move, when you are on a important shoot, you don't need all that crap, you need everything to work right so you can concentrate on your work and if you missed a shot because the loop slip or you got an out of focus shot or whatever, you will wish that you are not so cheap and should have bought that expensive piece of plastic and a magnifying glass... and BTW I don't work for them ok, I'm just giving you my experience with it, it is pretty hard to focus on the fly if you are doing event like me using the lcd without peaking and so if it can help me focus and get the job done right, $375.00 is nothing for the life of it.

The LCDVF is just as well built as the Z-Finder, FYI. The ONLY, and I mean ONLY, difference is the lack of a diopter adjustment. But I've heard that it works fine with reading glasses anyway.

As an aside, while this doesn't apply to the LCDVF, if you want a set with no troubles or fiddling whatsoever, then you should stay as FAR away from DSLR's as possible...

Actually, there is another difference between the LCDVF and the Z-Finder. There have been some reports from the field that the LCDVF adhesive is failing in extreme temperatures.

It might be over price, but it is the only good one that has a diopter adjustment...

Thanks Khoi. I am going to keep it and use it as another tool. Plus the $85 LED light is a nice light so that's like taking $85 off Z-Finder price.

Note that Hoodman has the HoodLoupe and will release a magnifier and large eyecup any day now. No word on pricing, but considering that the HoodLoupe is under $100 and this is an accessory, it should be reasonable.

RedRock Micro makes a solid mount for the Hoodloupe. My only complaint is that it's not easy to remove and install quickly. (It fits between camera and tripod plate.) If you have an LCD monitor for tripod/dolly use, this isn't a problem. You can just leave the loupe on all the time.

The one weakness of the HoodLoupe is that if your eye gets off center, the image will be soft. Well, that and fog, which can affect any piece of glass near your eye. (Use an anti-fog wipe.) From what I hear, the new magnifier and eyecup totally solve the off-center softness issue.

Just got my Z finder the other day, and I have to say, I'm not totally overjoyed with it.

As far as I know, I have normal eyesight.

But while using the Z-finder, I found that it was quite a strain on my eye, like I aws focussing on something that was too close to ym eye if that makes sense.

I think maybe the LCDVF might be a better option as its only 2X magnification, whereas the Z-finder is 3X

Anyone else had this problem with the Z-Finder?

James

The reason you eyes strain is because the diopter was not adjust right for your normal eye sight and so your eyes has to refocus and work harder (good eye sight can do that), so what you have to do is briefly look at it and remove your eyes from it don't give it a chance to refocus and see it sharply, I use the menu and look for the square pixel inside the white letter, so look for that the first second you put your eyes to it, if you don't see the black square pixel, remove your eyes from it and turn a few turn and look again, keep doing that until you see the sharpest square pixel as possible, do not keep your eyes on it as you turn because strong eyes sight can refocus and so if it has to refocus it is working harder and gives your eye fatigue after a while.

I am not sure myself about magnifying the LCD screen - it is just blowing pixels up in size. I will stick with 1:1 right now and use the cam's zoom-in button on the top-right. I still like a hood for daytime though. I havent tried the LCDVF this may be better for me than 1:3 as you point out.