By site editor Dan Chung:
The Sony FS7 is an amazing well specified camera at a great price. In many ways it is ergonomically better than anything else around. But the one thing Sony’s engineers didn’t do the best job of is the EVF. They essentially took the rear screen and loupe of the older FS700 and relocated it to the front of the camera. The quality of the loupe is adequate, but it is too long and forces the user to place a long way forward in order to get the camera balanced.
As soon as I had my hands on the camera I was looking for a better solution. It didn’t take me long to figure out that the Zacuto Z-finder for Blackmagic Pocket Cinema Camera (BMPCC) fitted perfectly. I found the optical quality to be much better than the Sony original.
The only problem was that there was no really good way of attaching it. I used a Zacuto sticky frame, but this wasn’t great because there was no way to flip up the loupe if you wanted to just view the screen directly. To do this I had to remove the Z-finder entirely and then find somewhere to put it while shooting. This slows things down a bit too much during busy moments.
Zacuto have now come up with a much better solution – a custom mounting frame that clamps over the FS7 screen and securely mounts the large Z-finder. It also has a flip-up function that means you won’t have the problems I had before. I’m looking forward to testing it out but from what I can see this is the best solution short of buying a dedicated high quality EVF like the Gratical.
It is available now from the Zacuto webstore as a kit with the Z-finder and flip-up frame for $475. If you already have a BMPCC Z-finder then you can just add frame for $275.
This from the Zacuto website:
The Zacuto FS7 Z-Finder is specifically designed to suit the shape and size of the monitor included with the Sony FS7. The FS7 z-Finder comes with a flip up frame designed to clamp onto the FS7 LCD. The Zacuto Z-Finder will pop on and off the frame for quick shooting. The red lever at the bottom of the frame allows you to quickly flip the Z-Finder up without removing it from the frame. It can be flipped open to 140 degrees. If a producer/client/director etc. wants to see into the viewfinder, you can flip it open instead of having to adjust so they can get their eye to the loupe. You can also pop off the Z-Finder and use the FS7 LCD as a monitor.
This Z-Finder model includes a newly designed sun mask to reduce the possibility of damage to your camera LCD screen. Zacuto has completely redesigned its optics system to include three glass diopters that can be used to alter the amount of optical correction needed depending on your eyesight. This state-of-the-art eyesight correction technology slides in front of the lens of your Z-Finder making it custom to your vision. The FS7 Z-Finder includes 4 diopters, 0, +1, +2, and +3 so you can correct it to your vision, right out of the box. You’ll be able to purchase an additional -1, and/or +4 diopter if needed.
The most important part of all Zacuto Z-Finders is our newly improved anti-fog formula that is coated on all of our new diopters. The 0 diopter gives you fog protection with no optical correction. It doesn’t matter how good your optical viewfinder is, if it fogs, it’s game over. It’s the single most important factor in making a viewfinder purchasing decision. You can take our patent pending fog protection formula from an air conditioned interior to the most humid exterior and it’s guaranteed not to fog. These fog filters diopters are really truly amazing!
WARNING: The Z-finder is a magnifier and as such will magnify the sun which can damage the LCD screen if the sun is allowed to shine directly through the Z-finder lens. Use the enclosed lens cap to block light from entering your Z-finder when not in use. Using the Zacuto Z-Finder shortens the length of the overall FS7 “viewfinder” helping to achieve balance and comfort. Read directions to learn more.
Full disclosre: Zacuto is an affiliate partner of Newsshooter.com
