Eyepiece that converts monitor in viewfinder at DVinfo.net

Luc De Wandel · April 22nd, 2009, 12:44 AM

I hope the guys at Sony read this forum from time to time, and I surely hope they read this demand which I'm almost sure most Z7-owners will back-up: why don't you make a dedicated magnifying loupe-type attachement to slide over the monitor so that it becomes a viewfinder? That way, one could put the camera on the right shoulder and get ride of the arm pains after ten minutes of holding it up. I know there is the S270, but I don' need all the other bells & whistles that make this camera cost the double of the Z7.

Zach Love · May 1st, 2009, 04:12 PM

It would be nice, but it would probably cost something like $800 from Sony. If some budget 3rd party accessory company had the brains to make a generic loop, custom LCD "boxes" to fit any camera & sold it cheap enough, they would probably make a killing.

It seems like a lot of people like how the EX3 works, so why not expand on that idea?

Maybe start pestering Hoodman, I'm guessing there is a better chance they would follow through with this faster than Sony. But I might be wrong, Sony did a lot of nice 'non-Sony' things w/ the Z7 that were good for the buyer, so maybe Sony would be interested.

Luc De Wandel · May 2nd, 2009, 12:51 AM

Well Zach, I ordered the 'Hoodloupe' from Hoodman and it fits almost perfectly on the Z7.

They designed an elastic velcro-attachment that holds the loupe firmly to the monitor and the size is almost right. Almost: with the loupe I miss about 3 mm on one side of the screen. But hey, that's outside of the 'safe area' anyway. The only disadvantage of the loupe is it's optical quality: not very good, to say the least. I really have to be very precise as to centering my eye in front of the loupe to get the centre of the image sharp. And then still, all the corners remain blurry. So, Sony, there's still al market.

Zacuto has a comparable loupe, too, (the Z-Finder) and it seems it's optical quality is way better. Costs almost three times the price of a Hoodloupe, too.

April 22nd, 2009, 12:44 AM	#1
Luc De Wandel Major Player Join Date: May 2008 Location: Knokke-Heist, Belgium Posts: 963	Eyepiece that converts monitor in viewfinder I hope the guys at Sony read this forum from time to time, and I surely hope they read this demand which I'm almost sure most Z7-owners will back-up: why don't you make a dedicated magnifying loupe-type attachement to slide over the monitor so that it becomes a viewfinder? That way, one could put the camera on the right shoulder and get ride of the arm pains after ten minutes of holding it up. I know there is the S270, but I don' need all the other bells & whistles that make this camera cost the double of the Z7.

May 1st, 2009, 04:12 PM	#2
Zach Love Major Player Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: Chicago, IL Posts: 944	It would be nice, but it would probably cost something like $800 from Sony. If some budget 3rd party accessory company had the brains to make a generic loop, custom LCD "boxes" to fit any camera & sold it cheap enough, they would probably make a killing. It seems like a lot of people like how the EX3 works, so why not expand on that idea? Maybe start pestering Hoodman, I'm guessing there is a better chance they would follow through with this faster than Sony. But I might be wrong, Sony did a lot of nice 'non-Sony' things w/ the Z7 that were good for the buyer, so maybe Sony would be interested. __________________ Nothing says you're a serious video maker like S-VHS

May 2nd, 2009, 12:51 AM	#3
Luc De Wandel Major Player Join Date: May 2008 Location: Knokke-Heist, Belgium Posts: 963	Well Zach, I ordered the 'Hoodloupe' from Hoodman and it fits almost perfectly on the Z7. They designed an elastic velcro-attachment that holds the loupe firmly to the monitor and the size is almost right. Almost: with the loupe I miss about 3 mm on one side of the screen. But hey, that's outside of the 'safe area' anyway. The only disadvantage of the loupe is it's optical quality: not very good, to say the least. I really have to be very precise as to centering my eye in front of the loupe to get the centre of the image sharp. And then still, all the corners remain blurry. So, Sony, there's still al market. Zacuto has a comparable loupe, too, (the Z-Finder) and it seems it's optical quality is way better. Costs almost three times the price of a Hoodloupe, too.