optical viewfinder at DVinfo.net

Emmanuel Plakiotis · August 30th, 2007, 10:50 AM

http://www.studiodaily.com/blog/?p=201

There is an article in Studio Daily blogs that states that a redisigned mini will feature an optical viewfinder. Is this true or is this a misconception of the author of the article?

If it is not true and since I belive that an optical viewfinder is of paramount importance during filming, I will like to ask the developers of the camera if they plan to incorporate one in the near future.

Brian Drysdale · August 30th, 2007, 11:14 AM

Given the prices quoted, I'd assume that it's not a rotating mirror V/F system. Also, fitting one of those would need an increase in the size of the Mini.

Jason Rodriguez · August 30th, 2007, 01:56 PM

I guess then you would like to really know then what a little birdie from Germany told me :)

. . . it said "Wait for IBC" . . . speculate away!

Bob Grant · August 30th, 2007, 04:46 PM

OK,
I'll bite with a fairly obvious question. Where does this leave those of us who have long ago pretty much paid for a SI-2K and as yet still have no firm shipping date?

Bhaskar Dhungana · August 30th, 2007, 07:29 PM

I second Bob's concern. It's been almost exactly a year since we paid for my SI-2K and all we have been hearing is "wait for NAB" and "wait for IBC". It's about time you guys felt the heat and thought seriously about promises you have made to people who have already committed to your product.

Sergio Sanchez · August 31st, 2007, 12:33 AM

I agree with both of you guys... What will happen with us, the old Silicon Imaging customers?

John DeLuca · August 31st, 2007, 11:26 AM

****OK,
I'll bite with a fairly obvious question. Where does this leave those of us who have long ago pretty much paid for a SI-2K and as yet still have no firm shipping date?****

I am wondering this myself. I know Ari said he was meeting with PS soon and would have more info when he got back. I'm guessing PS is having issues with production.

Gary Moss · August 31st, 2007, 02:50 PM

I made a substantial down payment right after NAB, but don’t think of myself as an “old customer,” rather a customer who deserves first consideration. I think SI should assign reservation numbers like Red and make a public commitment to deliver in the order reservations (doesn’t that sound better) were received. Rather than feeling left behind because of our early payments, I think we’re entitled to the best treatment. After all, in effect we’ve made interest free loans to SI and I'm sure many, like me, are having to rent gear while waiting for their ever receding delivery date.

Brian Drysdale · August 31st, 2007, 03:37 PM

SI seems to have a communications problems here, leaving their customers dissatisfied,

Looking at the release the optical viewfinder only affects the Mini, not the SI 2K section. There seems to be problems with a number of these new HD cameras and it's better that the bugs are sorted pre delivery rather than on a production.

However, RED seem to have handled their delays pretty well in this regard, although their final production version's dates could drift as well. As against the none fully functional version being delivered today.

Bob Grant · August 31st, 2007, 05:22 PM

I think the issues go deeper than just communicating what's happening, simple good business practices such as receipt of payment aren't happening. Sending large sums of money via wire transfers is a big enough worry, not getting notification that it got into the right account gives rise to customers with ulcers. The average bod on eBay can manage this courtesy on a $10 sale. In all fairness to SI, RED have fallen down pretty badly in this area too. I think all these companies that are entering this arena need to not just understand the engineering issues but realise that shipping products to clients can require a different or additional business model compared to how they've worked in the past.
Also it's one thing to get the run around between people in the one company, getting caught in the middle of finger pointing between SI and P+S is another.

I certainly don't want to put out any negative vibes here, the product is fantastic, the images are to die for, but the image the manufacturer is generating seem to need some debayering :)

Brian Drysdale · August 31st, 2007, 06:57 PM

Sounds rather like they haven't yet moved from the engineering development to the sales and support stages required to build up the client base.

Steve Nordhauser · August 31st, 2007, 07:16 PM

First, I'd like to thank all of you for your interest in our camera. I'd like to assure you that it is real. As you have surmised, the move into production is taking much longer than we realized. P+S has brought their tremendous mechanical and optical experience to the new camera design. They have also brought a fine German sense of rigorous design and testing that we are not used to but will benefit everyone once we get the volume up on the camera production.

There will be some new announcements for IBC - some good stuff that people have been asking for.

My apologies to everyone who has been waiting for production cameras.
My Best,
Steve Nordhauser

Ari Presler · August 31st, 2007, 09:29 PM

I know it is frustrating about the delivery schedule delays on the complete SI-2K. Both SI and P+S are burning the midnight oil to complete the production process together with ALL FUNCTIONALITY (and then some) and we hope to fill current backlog for the "NEW" production SI-2K during the next 60-days (or sooner).

Based on the feedback at NAB and valuable input from P+S, we jointly made the decision to significantly improve the SI-2K product family; to make it more modular and field upgradeable. This was done to preserve investment, expand the usefulness in new applications, provide an easy mechanism for field service and the potential for future hardware enhancements. We have added many incremental capabilities and improved the mechanical, optical, electronic and imaging capabilities. These capabilities far surpass the original expectations we set out for the product. All these have been added at considerable cost to the product, while also increasing its performance and value in the market. We will be releasing more data about these enhancements and several new modular options and add-ons, which are now enabled for the SI-2K, during IBC.

Thank you for your continued support and patience.

Sergio Sanchez · September 1st, 2007, 01:10 AM

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...

Brian Drysdale · September 1st, 2007, 03:30 AM

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

August 30th, 2007, 10:50 AM	#1
Emmanuel Plakiotis Major Player Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: Athens, Greece Posts: 344	optical viewfinder http://www.studiodaily.com/blog/?p=201 There is an article in Studio Daily blogs that states that a redisigned mini will feature an optical viewfinder. Is this true or is this a misconception of the author of the article? If it is not true and since I belive that an optical viewfinder is of paramount importance during filming, I will like to ask the developers of the camera if they plan to incorporate one in the near future.

August 31st, 2007, 07:16 PM	#12
Steve Nordhauser Silicon Imaging, Inc. Join Date: May 2004 Location: Troy, NY USA Posts: 325	First, I'd like to thank all of you for your interest in our camera. I'd like to assure you that it is real. As you have surmised, the move into production is taking much longer than we realized. P+S has brought their tremendous mechanical and optical experience to the new camera design. They have also brought a fine German sense of rigorous design and testing that we are not used to but will benefit everyone once we get the volume up on the camera production. There will be some new announcements for IBC - some good stuff that people have been asking for. My apologies to everyone who has been waiting for production cameras. My Best, Steve Nordhauser __________________ Silicon Imaging, Inc. We see the Light! http://www.siliconimaging.com

August 30th, 2007, 11:14 AM	#2
Brian Drysdale Inner Circle Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Belfast, UK Posts: 6,152	Given the prices quoted, I'd assume that it's not a rotating mirror V/F system. Also, fitting one of those would need an increase in the size of the Mini.

August 30th, 2007, 01:56 PM	#3
Jason Rodriguez Trustee Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: Virginia Beach, VA Posts: 1,095	I guess then you would like to really know then what a little birdie from Germany told me :) . . . it said "Wait for IBC" . . . speculate away!

August 30th, 2007, 04:46 PM	#4
Bob Grant Trustee Join Date: Nov 2005 Location: Sydney Australia Posts: 1,570	OK, I'll bite with a fairly obvious question. Where does this leave those of us who have long ago pretty much paid for a SI-2K and as yet still have no firm shipping date?

August 30th, 2007, 07:29 PM	#5
Bhaskar Dhungana Regular Crew Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Kathmandu, Nepal Posts: 32	I second Bob's concern. It's been almost exactly a year since we paid for my SI-2K and all we have been hearing is "wait for NAB" and "wait for IBC". It's about time you guys felt the heat and thought seriously about promises you have made to people who have already committed to your product.

August 31st, 2007, 12:33 AM	#6
Sergio Sanchez Regular Crew Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: Mexico Posts: 176	I agree with both of you guys... What will happen with us, the old Silicon Imaging customers?

August 31st, 2007, 11:26 AM	#7
John DeLuca Major Player Join Date: May 2003 Location: Akron, Ohio Posts: 496	**OK, I'll bite with a fairly obvious question. Where does this leave those of us who have long ago pretty much paid for a SI-2K and as yet still have no firm shipping date?** I am wondering this myself. I know Ari said he was meeting with PS soon and would have more info when he got back. I'm guessing PS is having issues with production.

August 31st, 2007, 02:50 PM	#8
Gary Moss Tourist Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: United States Posts: 4	I made a substantial down payment right after NAB, but don’t think of myself as an “old customer,” rather a customer who deserves first consideration. I think SI should assign reservation numbers like Red and make a public commitment to deliver in the order reservations (doesn’t that sound better) were received. Rather than feeling left behind because of our early payments, I think we’re entitled to the best treatment. After all, in effect we’ve made interest free loans to SI and I'm sure many, like me, are having to rent gear while waiting for their ever receding delivery date.

August 31st, 2007, 03:37 PM	#9
Brian Drysdale Inner Circle Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Belfast, UK Posts: 6,152	SI seems to have a communications problems here, leaving their customers dissatisfied, Looking at the release the optical viewfinder only affects the Mini, not the SI 2K section. There seems to be problems with a number of these new HD cameras and it's better that the bugs are sorted pre delivery rather than on a production. However, RED seem to have handled their delays pretty well in this regard, although their final production version's dates could drift as well. As against the none fully functional version being delivered today.

August 31st, 2007, 05:22 PM	#10
Bob Grant Trustee Join Date: Nov 2005 Location: Sydney Australia Posts: 1,570	I think the issues go deeper than just communicating what's happening, simple good business practices such as receipt of payment aren't happening. Sending large sums of money via wire transfers is a big enough worry, not getting notification that it got into the right account gives rise to customers with ulcers. The average bod on eBay can manage this courtesy on a $10 sale. In all fairness to SI, RED have fallen down pretty badly in this area too. I think all these companies that are entering this arena need to not just understand the engineering issues but realise that shipping products to clients can require a different or additional business model compared to how they've worked in the past. Also it's one thing to get the run around between people in the one company, getting caught in the middle of finger pointing between SI and P+S is another. I certainly don't want to put out any negative vibes here, the product is fantastic, the images are to die for, but the image the manufacturer is generating seem to need some debayering :)

August 31st, 2007, 06:57 PM	#11
Brian Drysdale Inner Circle Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Belfast, UK Posts: 6,152	Sounds rather like they haven't yet moved from the engineering development to the sales and support stages required to build up the client base.

August 31st, 2007, 09:29 PM	#13
Ari Presler Silicon Imaging Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: New York or Hollywood Posts: 214	I know it is frustrating about the delivery schedule delays on the complete SI-2K. Both SI and P+S are burning the midnight oil to complete the production process together with ALL FUNCTIONALITY (and then some) and we hope to fill current backlog for the "NEW" production SI-2K during the next 60-days (or sooner). Based on the feedback at NAB and valuable input from P+S, we jointly made the decision to significantly improve the SI-2K product family; to make it more modular and field upgradeable. This was done to preserve investment, expand the usefulness in new applications, provide an easy mechanism for field service and the potential for future hardware enhancements. We have added many incremental capabilities and improved the mechanical, optical, electronic and imaging capabilities. These capabilities far surpass the original expectations we set out for the product. All these have been added at considerable cost to the product, while also increasing its performance and value in the market. We will be releasing more data about these enhancements and several new modular options and add-ons, which are now enabled for the SI-2K, during IBC. Thank you for your continued support and patience.

September 1st, 2007, 01:10 AM	#14
Sergio Sanchez Regular Crew Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: Mexico Posts: 176	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...

September 1st, 2007, 03:30 AM	#15
Brian Drysdale Inner Circle Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Belfast, UK Posts: 6,152	For documentary work, the Phil Rhode's suggestion of a histogram in the optical viewfinder would be a good option.