Unless you follow 8K technology closely you may not be familiar with Astro Design. They made the world’s first 8K camera back in 2013 and have been at the forefront of high resolution imaging technology. At Interbee in Japan, Astro Design were showing off a prototype version of their new DF-3515 full 1920×1080 OLED viewfinder. It has been designed to work with high resolution cameras where accurate focussing is critical.
The DF-3515 features both SDI and HDMI inputs and a wide range of image adjustment tools including brightness, contrast, colour temperature, gamma, gain and offset controls. It also has x2 and x4 magnification functions and frame guides for 1.33:1, 1.88:1, 2.35:1, 2.39:1 and 1.85:1. Other functions include peaking, image flip and intelligent input configuration circuitry that automatically adjusts the viewfinder no matter what source or frame rate is being fed in. The viewfinder can even take a 4K signal over HDMI and downscale it to 1920×1080 for its display.
The viewfinder’s screen is 8-bit and has a 10,000:1 contrast ratio. There are also three custom function buttons you can set up, plus a record tally light. The viewfinder draws 7W of power and weighs in at 400 grams. It is very solidly made and looks like it would withstand the test of time.
From my quick play with the viewfinder on a 8K Astro Design camera I found it to be super sharp and very colour accurate. The DF-3515 will be available early next year for an expected retail price of $7000 US.
The DF-3515 supports the following SDI and HDMI frame rates and resolutions:
SDI
1920×1080/ 47.95p, 48p, 50p, 59.94p, 60p
1920×1090/ 50i, 59.94i, 60i
1920×1080/ 23.98p/sF, 24p/sF, 25p/sF, 29.97p/sF, 30p/sF
HDMI
1920×1080/ 47.95p, 48p, 50p, 59.94p, 60p
1920×1090/ 50i, 59.94i, 60i
1920×1080/ 23.98p, 24p, 25p, 29.97p, 30p.
4K 48p, 50p, 59.94p, 60p, 23.98p, 24p, 25p, 29.97p, 30p (60p, 48p, 50p, 59.94p (4:2:0 8bit)
