FU-1000 b/w viewfinder

Declan Smith · September 29th, 2005, 01:19 PM

I have the FU-1000 for the XL2 (recently aquired from ebay). It's unclear though whether the XL2 can be run from the AC adapter with the FU-1000 connected. I understand that doing this on the XL1 could cause things to fry !

Does anyone know if this is true of the XL2 or can the XL2/FU-1000 combination work with the AC adapter ?

Scott Morabito · March 6th, 2007, 10:00 PM

I'd love to know if anybody _does_ have a solution for this. Has anyone hotwired a viewfinder for use OTHER than the intended camera??

Daan Bras · March 7th, 2007, 12:48 AM

I think i saw a Sony DSR-250 viewfinder on a XL2 once. A DV-info member had one modified so it fits the XL2. So it can be done :)

Charles Papert · March 7th, 2007, 01:11 AM

I jacked into my FU-1000 by using a spare adaptor (the ones that you had to use with the XL1/XL1s before Canon starting putting the plug on the body with the XL2) and breaking out the power and video via a box, so now I can use it with any camera, but particularly with the Mini35.

Xander van Manen · March 7th, 2007, 03:19 AM

I have tried to find the answer elsewhere, but I want to replace the standard viewfinder with an b&w version. Of course there is the Canon version, but I have an option on an Ikegami viewfinder. cheap since the camcorder it belonged to was found a nice rock to crash into.
Can I use is or has canon its own version of connector?

Per Johan Naesje · March 7th, 2007, 04:06 AM

Xander, the only B&W viewfinder a know that will fit the XL2 without any modifications is the FU-1000. In fact this is a Ikegami viewfinder which Canon has modified with a suitable socket connector and put their Canon brand on.

Xander van Manen · March 8th, 2007, 05:23 AM

Thanks. Modification will probably be rather expensive.

Mark Sasahara · March 11th, 2007, 10:55 PM

I think Charles Papert has, or someone on the site has the pin-out for the viewfinder socket. You'd need the pin-out for the Canon and the finder to figure out the hook-up.

Try doing a search "pin-out", or "pinout", or "viewfinder" and see what you find. I think it was about a year ago.

Scott Morabito · March 16th, 2007, 12:16 PM

Charles, any more details on the breakout? It needs 9v, right? Any other magic? thx in advance..

Charles Papert · March 16th, 2007, 02:30 PM

The Canon adaptor takes in 7.2v from the battery and bumps it up to 9v for the viewfinder. The engineer who built me the box took the circuit board out of the adaptor and rehoused it, then tapped into the power connectors and also found the video in pin. I apologize but I don't have the pin outs to pass on to you guys. We tried in vain to find the pinouts for the FU-1000 connector, no dice.

Marco Leavitt · July 9th, 2007, 01:57 PM

I'm sure the correct answer is of course not, but is it a reasonable compromise? In other words can I make critical decisions about focus and exposure with it? Not really happy with the other very portable solutions out there. I don't hate the color viewfinder exactly, but I don't entirely trust it either.

Greg Boston · July 9th, 2007, 03:06 PM

You can definitely make critical focus assessments with it. That's what the peaking control does. The other advantage it has, being B&W, is that it shows you the scene in gray scale. That allows you to see if two different colors have the same luminance value. Too many colors of similar luminance give your scene a lack of contrast even though viewing it in color may make you think otherwise.

After proper brightness and contrast adjustment, you could rely on it for exposure. Just make sure you are properly white balanced if you don't have an external monitor because that's one thing it sure won't tell you.

-gb-

Dale Stoltzfus · July 10th, 2007, 10:06 AM

Thanks for asking, Marco, because I've been wondering the same thing.

How do you white balance properly? Do you have to have an external monitor for that?

Dale

Richard Alvarez · July 10th, 2007, 10:20 AM

I'm not certain, but I'm guessing the white balance on the XLH-1 works like my XL2. When using the FU-1000, you must white balance with the white balance button. Follow the instructions in the manual. Aim the camera at a white surface (properly exposed) and 'set' the white balance untill the symbol in the viewfinder stops blinking. You can set two or three 'presets' if you are moving between locations (Inside and out). Alternately, you can choose the 'daylight' or 'tungsten' settings for a quick approximation.

Marco Leavitt · July 10th, 2007, 10:30 AM

Does anyone know how many lines the FU-1000 will resolve and whether it will work with the XLH-1? This late in the life cycle of Mini-DV it would help me justify this purchase if I knew it could be used on future generations of equipment.

September 29th, 2005, 01:19 PM	#46
Declan Smith Regular Crew Join Date: Aug 2004 Location: Gloucestershire, UK Posts: 187	AC Power I have the FU-1000 for the XL2 (recently aquired from ebay). It's unclear though whether the XL2 can be run from the AC adapter with the FU-1000 connected. I understand that doing this on the XL1 could cause things to fry ! Does anyone know if this is true of the XL2 or can the XL2/FU-1000 combination work with the AC adapter ?

March 6th, 2007, 10:00 PM	#47
Scott Morabito New Boot Join Date: Jan 2006 Posts: 8	any updates on a good viewfinder I'd love to know if anybody _does_ have a solution for this. Has anyone hotwired a viewfinder for use OTHER than the intended camera??

March 7th, 2007, 01:11 AM	#49
Charles Papert Wrangler Join Date: Jan 2002 Location: Los Angeles, CA Posts: 6,810	I jacked into my FU-1000 by using a spare adaptor (the ones that you had to use with the XL1/XL1s before Canon starting putting the plug on the body with the XL2) and breaking out the power and video via a box, so now I can use it with any camera, but particularly with the Mini35. __________________ Charles Papert www.charlespapert.com

March 7th, 2007, 03:19 AM	#50
Xander van Manen New Boot Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: The Netherlands Posts: 13	B&W viewfinder I have tried to find the answer elsewhere, but I want to replace the standard viewfinder with an b&w version. Of course there is the Canon version, but I have an option on an Ikegami viewfinder. cheap since the camcorder it belonged to was found a nice rock to crash into. Can I use is or has canon its own version of connector?

March 7th, 2007, 04:06 AM	#51
Per Johan Naesje Trustee Join Date: Oct 2004 Location: Akershus, Norway Posts: 1,413	Xander, the only B&W viewfinder a know that will fit the XL2 without any modifications is the FU-1000. In fact this is a Ikegami viewfinder which Canon has modified with a suitable socket connector and put their Canon brand on. __________________ - Per Johan

March 7th, 2007, 12:48 AM	#48
Daan Bras Regular Crew Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: The Netherlands Posts: 42	I think i saw a Sony DSR-250 viewfinder on a XL2 once. A DV-info member had one modified so it fits the XL2. So it can be done :)

March 8th, 2007, 05:23 AM	#52
Xander van Manen New Boot Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: The Netherlands Posts: 13	Thanks. Modification will probably be rather expensive.

March 11th, 2007, 10:55 PM	#53
Mark Sasahara Major Player Join Date: Oct 2004 Location: NYC Posts: 649	I think Charles Papert has, or someone on the site has the pin-out for the viewfinder socket. You'd need the pin-out for the Canon and the finder to figure out the hook-up. Try doing a search "pin-out", or "pinout", or "viewfinder" and see what you find. I think it was about a year ago. __________________ Mark Sasahara Director of Photography

March 16th, 2007, 12:16 PM	#54
Scott Morabito New Boot Join Date: Jan 2006 Posts: 8	Charles, any more details on the breakout? It needs 9v, right? Any other magic? thx in advance..

March 16th, 2007, 02:30 PM	#55
Charles Papert Wrangler Join Date: Jan 2002 Location: Los Angeles, CA Posts: 6,810	The Canon adaptor takes in 7.2v from the battery and bumps it up to 9v for the viewfinder. The engineer who built me the box took the circuit board out of the adaptor and rehoused it, then tapped into the power connectors and also found the video in pin. I apologize but I don't have the pin outs to pass on to you guys. We tried in vain to find the pinouts for the FU-1000 connector, no dice. __________________ Charles Papert www.charlespapert.com

July 9th, 2007, 01:57 PM	#56
Marco Leavitt Inner Circle Join Date: Jul 2002 Location: Albany, NY 12210 Posts: 2,652	FU-1000 CRT viewfinder replacement for production monitor? I'm sure the correct answer is of course not, but is it a reasonable compromise? In other words can I make critical decisions about focus and exposure with it? Not really happy with the other very portable solutions out there. I don't hate the color viewfinder exactly, but I don't entirely trust it either.

July 9th, 2007, 03:06 PM	#57
Greg Boston Wrangler Join Date: Oct 2003 Location: DFW area, TX Posts: 6,117 Images: 1	You can definitely make critical focus assessments with it. That's what the peaking control does. The other advantage it has, being B&W, is that it shows you the scene in gray scale. That allows you to see if two different colors have the same luminance value. Too many colors of similar luminance give your scene a lack of contrast even though viewing it in color may make you think otherwise. After proper brightness and contrast adjustment, you could rely on it for exposure. Just make sure you are properly white balanced if you don't have an external monitor because that's one thing it sure won't tell you. -gb-

July 10th, 2007, 10:06 AM	#58
Dale Stoltzfus Major Player Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: Ephrata, PA United States Posts: 257	Thanks for asking, Marco, because I've been wondering the same thing. How do you white balance properly? Do you have to have an external monitor for that? Dale

July 10th, 2007, 10:20 AM	#59
Richard Alvarez Inner Circle Join Date: Sep 2002 Location: San Mateo, CA Posts: 3,840	I'm not certain, but I'm guessing the white balance on the XLH-1 works like my XL2. When using the FU-1000, you must white balance with the white balance button. Follow the instructions in the manual. Aim the camera at a white surface (properly exposed) and 'set' the white balance untill the symbol in the viewfinder stops blinking. You can set two or three 'presets' if you are moving between locations (Inside and out). Alternately, you can choose the 'daylight' or 'tungsten' settings for a quick approximation.

July 10th, 2007, 10:30 AM	#60
Marco Leavitt Inner Circle Join Date: Jul 2002 Location: Albany, NY 12210 Posts: 2,652	Does anyone know how many lines the FU-1000 will resolve and whether it will work with the XLH-1? This late in the life cycle of Mini-DV it would help me justify this purchase if I knew it could be used on future generations of equipment.