Mod for viewfinder tube??? at DVinfo.net

Chris Harding · March 9th, 2013, 10:29 PM

Hi Guys

Just wondered if anyone had come up with a mod yet to stop the viewfinder tube from folding inwards when you are hand holding the camera....even if you tighten the screw it still tends to fold inwards and that also restricts up and down movement.

My current mod is a bit rough as it's simply a piece of closed cell foam wedged between the viewfinder tube and the body ..it does work but it would be neat to have something that keeps the tube parallel to the body but allows unrestricted up and down motion ... I think one would need maybe a slightly curved track velcroed on the tube and the body and then a spacer between them that runs in the track.

Doesn't anyone else have an issue with the tube tending to fold inwards???

Chris

James Manford · March 10th, 2013, 05:25 AM

Am I the only one that's not using the tube at all ??? it's literally packed away in the attic in the box.

I hate viewfinders for video unless im using a DSLR to take pictures.

Chris Harding · March 10th, 2013, 05:53 AM

Hi James

You want to try and film here in the bright sun and 40 degree heat and see if you can see the LCD!! The only time I flip down the tube is inside a Church or at the reception when my A-Cam is on a tripod.

How do you manage in bright light???

Chris

James Manford · March 10th, 2013, 05:06 PM

No, fair enough, your absolutely correct.

It's a different story here in the UK. Barely do any weddings outside in the blazing sun!

Chris Harding · March 10th, 2013, 06:50 PM

Hi James

I also am used to using an EVF so for me it's a natural thing so I even use the EVF indoors at night!! The only reason I have to flip down the viewfinder is when I'm on tripod (wedding speeches/ceremonies) and need to use spot focus ... I must admit that the front half of the viewfinder makes quite a good LCD hood too... I guess you are using just the bare LCD....Even in bright sunlight and with the tube unclipped and tilted down I could still use the LCD for spot focus ...however with my old eyes I certainly wouldn't like to have to rely on those conditions to do a manual focus.. In fact my dipoter adjustment is already at max so I have ordered a close up lens to screw into the EVF so I have a little more adjustment if I might need it.

Chris

Chris Harding · March 10th, 2013, 11:28 PM

Hi Guys

OK I found something that works great ...it's a little 1" square PVC "T" joint that is used to join 1" aluminium tubes together so you can make your own coffee table called "connect-it" ..However I think any PVC square tube would work fine... I got quite complicated and ripped 3 plastic wheels from an old cupboard door slide so the actual viewfinder had a bearing surface but it wasn't necessary...so all I have now is a chunk of square PVC tube with Velcro on one end and I made it 32.5mm long and it stops the viewfinder folding inwards so it's a kind of "door stop"

Works well for me as the bit of foam I was using kept falling out at weddings.

Chris

Noa Put · March 11th, 2013, 01:51 AM

That looks great Chris, so if I understand you right you have glued a velcro strip to the camera and one to the pvc block so the block is connected to the camera all the time?

Chris Harding · March 11th, 2013, 02:53 AM

Hi Noa

Yep.. the velco mat is on the camera handle and the hooks on the end of the PVC fitting so it sits there and doesn't fall off ...It doesn't actually touch the LCD hood section at all so there is about 0.5mm clearance so it doesn't scrape the hood body either ..when the viewfinder wants to fold inwards, the piece of PVC simply acts as a door stop ... to come to think of it you could quite easily use a rubber/plastic door stop too..just trimmed to the correct size .... I just found that with nothing there the viewfinder always seem to want to move towards the body so your left hand had to keep it pulled away the whole time ...even tightening the knob doesn't help and also with the knob tighten you have no swivel up/down facility...It must be the way I shoot I guess but it's certainly better now!

Chris

Al Yeung · March 11th, 2013, 04:11 AM

It seems like this loupe has the same basic design and some of the same problems as that of the FS100 and FS700 (and actually the F3 too), particularly that its length encourages swiveling and tilting whenever you push your face against it.

Many users of the FS100 and FS700 have shortened the loupe, which makes both cameras less unwieldy and easier to hand hold. I suspect the same (very simple and reversible) operation could be done to the EA50 loupe, but not having used one, I don't know how this would affect ergonomics. Your hand would be closer to your body, but more of the weight of the camera would go towards your shoulder and center of gravity.

Chris Harding · March 11th, 2013, 05:26 AM

Thanks Al

I can see the logic in that... however if that was done then the shoulder pad would need to come under the camera a fair bit as well .... How much length do you lose with the mod just for interest ... Would it be significant to totally rebalance the camera with the stock lens ...I don't think that front heavy is an issue with the guys that use mainly primes .... I actually found the camera ended up as back heavy with a little Sigma 19mm instead of the 18-200 Servo Zoom ...when you put the camera down it actually fell backwards as their was so little weight up front!! For the guys that have done the tube shorten mod, does the extra lens in the cup bring it back to standard magnification ..with the obvious shortening you will lose a fair amount of magnification plus I'm far sighted at my age and I have to add a 52mm close up lens to the tube otherwise the diopter adjustment sits at max!! With the mod can you still add the extra CU lens or not or does the lens in the cup compensate?

Chris

Chris Harding · March 12th, 2013, 07:56 PM

Hi Guys

Ok I put my 2nd block in the 2nd camera and did a Realty shoot yesterday and they work like magic..so simple yet so effective ...you can basically loosen the thumbwheel on the LCD now and tilting the tube is feather soft yet due to the "stopper" it stays where it is supposed to.

Ok next job is is sort out the silly cable clip for the mic..I see it's removeable so I now need to figure how I can close it over the top so the cables stop jumping out and getting tangled right in front of the stop/start button. I'll figure out a neat mod for that unless someone has thought of one already???

Chris

Noa Put · March 13th, 2013, 03:00 AM

Chris, can I use your photo for my blog? I"m trying to gather any useful info I can find about the camera.

Chris Harding · March 13th, 2013, 04:35 AM

Hi Noa

Of course you can!! No problem at all ... Hints and Tips help everyone!!

Chris

March 9th, 2013, 10:29 PM	#1
Chris Harding Inner Circle Join Date: Jul 2009 Location: Perth, Western Australia Posts: 8,441	Mod for viewfinder tube??? Hi Guys Just wondered if anyone had come up with a mod yet to stop the viewfinder tube from folding inwards when you are hand holding the camera....even if you tighten the screw it still tends to fold inwards and that also restricts up and down movement. My current mod is a bit rough as it's simply a piece of closed cell foam wedged between the viewfinder tube and the body ..it does work but it would be neat to have something that keeps the tube parallel to the body but allows unrestricted up and down motion ... I think one would need maybe a slightly curved track velcroed on the tube and the body and then a spacer between them that runs in the track. Doesn't anyone else have an issue with the tube tending to fold inwards??? Chris

March 10th, 2013, 05:25 AM	#2
James Manford Trustee Join Date: Jan 2013 Location: London, UK Posts: 1,393	Re: Mod for viewfinder tube??? Am I the only one that's not using the tube at all ??? it's literally packed away in the attic in the box. I hate viewfinders for video unless im using a DSLR to take pictures.

March 10th, 2013, 05:53 AM	#3
Chris Harding Inner Circle Join Date: Jul 2009 Location: Perth, Western Australia Posts: 8,441	Re: Mod for viewfinder tube??? Hi James You want to try and film here in the bright sun and 40 degree heat and see if you can see the LCD!! The only time I flip down the tube is inside a Church or at the reception when my A-Cam is on a tripod. How do you manage in bright light??? Chris

March 10th, 2013, 05:06 PM	#4
James Manford Trustee Join Date: Jan 2013 Location: London, UK Posts: 1,393	Re: Mod for viewfinder tube??? No, fair enough, your absolutely correct. It's a different story here in the UK. Barely do any weddings outside in the blazing sun!

March 10th, 2013, 06:50 PM	#5
Chris Harding Inner Circle Join Date: Jul 2009 Location: Perth, Western Australia Posts: 8,441	Re: Mod for viewfinder tube??? Hi James I also am used to using an EVF so for me it's a natural thing so I even use the EVF indoors at night!! The only reason I have to flip down the viewfinder is when I'm on tripod (wedding speeches/ceremonies) and need to use spot focus ... I must admit that the front half of the viewfinder makes quite a good LCD hood too... I guess you are using just the bare LCD....Even in bright sunlight and with the tube unclipped and tilted down I could still use the LCD for spot focus ...however with my old eyes I certainly wouldn't like to have to rely on those conditions to do a manual focus.. In fact my dipoter adjustment is already at max so I have ordered a close up lens to screw into the EVF so I have a little more adjustment if I might need it. Chris

March 10th, 2013, 11:28 PM	#6
Chris Harding Inner Circle Join Date: Jul 2009 Location: Perth, Western Australia Posts: 8,441	Re: Mod for viewfinder tube??? Hi Guys OK I found something that works great ...it's a little 1" square PVC "T" joint that is used to join 1" aluminium tubes together so you can make your own coffee table called "connect-it" ..However I think any PVC square tube would work fine... I got quite complicated and ripped 3 plastic wheels from an old cupboard door slide so the actual viewfinder had a bearing surface but it wasn't necessary...so all I have now is a chunk of square PVC tube with Velcro on one end and I made it 32.5mm long and it stops the viewfinder folding inwards so it's a kind of "door stop" Works well for me as the bit of foam I was using kept falling out at weddings. Chris Attached Thumbnails

March 11th, 2013, 01:51 AM	#7
Noa Put Inner Circle Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: Belgium Posts: 9,510	Re: Mod for viewfinder tube??? That looks great Chris, so if I understand you right you have glued a velcro strip to the camera and one to the pvc block so the block is connected to the camera all the time?

March 11th, 2013, 02:53 AM	#8
Chris Harding Inner Circle Join Date: Jul 2009 Location: Perth, Western Australia Posts: 8,441	Re: Mod for viewfinder tube??? Hi Noa Yep.. the velco mat is on the camera handle and the hooks on the end of the PVC fitting so it sits there and doesn't fall off ...It doesn't actually touch the LCD hood section at all so there is about 0.5mm clearance so it doesn't scrape the hood body either ..when the viewfinder wants to fold inwards, the piece of PVC simply acts as a door stop ... to come to think of it you could quite easily use a rubber/plastic door stop too..just trimmed to the correct size .... I just found that with nothing there the viewfinder always seem to want to move towards the body so your left hand had to keep it pulled away the whole time ...even tightening the knob doesn't help and also with the knob tighten you have no swivel up/down facility...It must be the way I shoot I guess but it's certainly better now! Chris

March 11th, 2013, 04:11 AM	#9
Al Yeung Regular Crew Join Date: Oct 2011 Location: Berlin, Germany Posts: 59	Re: Mod for viewfinder tube??? It seems like this loupe has the same basic design and some of the same problems as that of the FS100 and FS700 (and actually the F3 too), particularly that its length encourages swiveling and tilting whenever you push your face against it. Many users of the FS100 and FS700 have shortened the loupe, which makes both cameras less unwieldy and easier to hand hold. I suspect the same (very simple and reversible) operation could be done to the EA50 loupe, but not having used one, I don't know how this would affect ergonomics. Your hand would be closer to your body, but more of the weight of the camera would go towards your shoulder and center of gravity.

March 11th, 2013, 05:26 AM	#10
Chris Harding Inner Circle Join Date: Jul 2009 Location: Perth, Western Australia Posts: 8,441	Re: Mod for viewfinder tube??? Thanks Al I can see the logic in that... however if that was done then the shoulder pad would need to come under the camera a fair bit as well .... How much length do you lose with the mod just for interest ... Would it be significant to totally rebalance the camera with the stock lens ...I don't think that front heavy is an issue with the guys that use mainly primes .... I actually found the camera ended up as back heavy with a little Sigma 19mm instead of the 18-200 Servo Zoom ...when you put the camera down it actually fell backwards as their was so little weight up front!! For the guys that have done the tube shorten mod, does the extra lens in the cup bring it back to standard magnification ..with the obvious shortening you will lose a fair amount of magnification plus I'm far sighted at my age and I have to add a 52mm close up lens to the tube otherwise the diopter adjustment sits at max!! With the mod can you still add the extra CU lens or not or does the lens in the cup compensate? Chris

March 12th, 2013, 07:56 PM	#11
Chris Harding Inner Circle Join Date: Jul 2009 Location: Perth, Western Australia Posts: 8,441	Re: Mod for viewfinder tube??? Hi Guys Ok I put my 2nd block in the 2nd camera and did a Realty shoot yesterday and they work like magic..so simple yet so effective ...you can basically loosen the thumbwheel on the LCD now and tilting the tube is feather soft yet due to the "stopper" it stays where it is supposed to. Ok next job is is sort out the silly cable clip for the mic..I see it's removeable so I now need to figure how I can close it over the top so the cables stop jumping out and getting tangled right in front of the stop/start button. I'll figure out a neat mod for that unless someone has thought of one already??? Chris

March 13th, 2013, 03:00 AM	#12
Noa Put Inner Circle Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: Belgium Posts: 9,510	Re: Mod for viewfinder tube??? Chris, can I use your photo for my blog? I"m trying to gather any useful info I can find about the camera.

March 13th, 2013, 04:35 AM	#13
Chris Harding Inner Circle Join Date: Jul 2009 Location: Perth, Western Australia Posts: 8,441	Re: Mod for viewfinder tube??? Hi Noa Of course you can!! No problem at all ... Hints and Tips help everyone!! Chris