optical viewfinder

[Bob Grant]

Originally Posted by Sergio Sanchez

Ari and Steve:

I think it would be a good idea to mantain the webpage up to date with this kind of information... Its good to hear that from you...

Absolutely or even regular postings here. It'd take a lot less time to post a weekly update than answer lots of emails and phone calls.

[Steve Nordhauser]

Originally Posted by Brian Drysdale

For documentary work, the Phil Rhode's suggestion of a histogram in the optical viewfinder would be a good option.

An optical viewfinder would be just that - strictly optical. It does not preclude using the 7" touchscreen viewfinder at the same time. This would allow you to use all of the software based tools for exposure, framing, focus, file system control and the other neat features we have. Once the camera is set up, you can use the optical viewfinder for shooting.

If you want control information in an eyepiece viewfinder, the alternative would be an electronic viewfinder.

Steve

[Brian Drysdale]

Originally Posted by Steve Nordhauser

An optical viewfinder would be just that - strictly optical. It does not preclude using the 7" touchscreen viewfinder at the same time. This would allow you to use all of the software based tools for exposure, framing, focus, file system control and the other neat features we have. Once the camera is set up, you can use the optical viewfinder for shooting.

If you want control information in an eyepiece viewfinder, the alternative would be an electronic viewfinder.

Steve

I was thinking more like the exposure meter display found in 16mm film cameras. Handy when shooting fast moving documentaries.

[Jason Rodriguez]

I think the only issue would be the added expense that something like this would entail . . . but having used Arri SR-series cameras quite a bit, I do know what you're talking about.

We can ask P+S Technik what they think . . . but rember that there would need to be some way to adjust the ISO of the camera to match the light-meter reading since there are so many ways to manipulate effective ISO that we can't monitor or pass to the viewfinder (stuff like gain, long shutter, shutter-speeds, frame-rate, etc. all will affect the relative "ISO") . . . so really, in the end, you're much better off with a real histogram reading or using the other exposure tools that we make available in the interface. Having a dual electronic/optical viewfinder I'm sure would be considerably more expensive than the optical viewfinder we will be offering (which is not going to be cheap BTW, this is a "real" optical viewfinder like you would find on an Arri or Dalsa, etc.), especially again since there would have to be some remote mechanism for passing data from the camera to the optical viewfinder, and making an electronic communiction layer like that is going to take considerable engineering effort. It would either have to be electronic, or we would have to make a gigantic table with all the possible effective ISO options that can happen in the camera as you change settings in the software interface so that the optical viewfinder light-meter can refelect the proper exposure. But a big look-up-table you have to reference on-the-fly is not going to be very convenient either.

[Brian Drysdale]

[QUOTE=Jason Rodriguez;738038]I think the only issue would be the added expense that something like this would entail . . . but having used Arri SR-series cameras quite a bit, I do know what you're talking about.

QUOTE]

I'm thinking of a histogram being where the meter LEDs in a Arri or Aaton would be. A small LCD window, I suppose a sort of simple bar layout giving very basic information.

[Jason Rodriguez]

We will have to look into how much data bandwidth is available from the computer host back to the MINI head, as well as how fast it can be updated to see if a usable histogram can be created.

[John DeLuca]

Check it out.

http://www.pstechnik.de/en/digitalfi...viewfinder.php

[Jason Rodriguez]

Yup, the real deal . . . I didn't realize they had released it on the web yet . . . I thought they were waiting for IBC . . . oh well . . . time to-do some leg-work . . . I had the info but didn't realize it wasn't under embargo anymore :)

Thanks,

Jason

[Brian Drysdale]

Originally Posted by Jason Rodriguez

Yup, the real deal . . . I didn't realize they had released it on the web yet . . . I thought they were waiting for IBC . . . oh well . . . time to-do some leg-work . . . I had the info but didn't realize it wasn't under embargo anymore :)

Thanks,

Jason

How easy is it to flip or remove/replace the V/F prism when shooting in low light conditions?

[Jason Rodriguez]

It's really easy, you just swap out the camera heads. It would require a second camera head, but just saying, it's a very simple operation since the SI-2K MINI connection with the SI-2K body is completely cable-less . . . it's a pure tool-less unlock, remove and re-insertion operation.

[Brian Drysdale]

Originally Posted by Jason Rodriguez

It's really easy, you just swap out the camera heads. It would require a second camera head, but just saying, it's a very simple operation since the SI-2K MINI connection with the SI-2K body is completely cable-less . . . it's a pure tool-less unlock, remove and re-insertion operation.

OK. It's a either an optical V/F or the EVF for each Mini. Looking at the pictures, I assume that you can remove the optical eyepiece, block the V/F port into the camera head and fit an EVF onto the camera if required.

Nice that the camera head removal is a tool-less operation.

[Brian Drysdale]

I've just noticed the Modular Rig System for the Mini. It looks extremely interesting, I hope the price is competitive with a camera of a certain colour.

[Jason Rodriguez]

We'll be posting the full price list after IBC. Keep in touch though as I should have a new PR with all the details of what's coming out at IBC up shortly.