By site editor Dan Chung:
This week Zacuto launched their Gratical X electronic viewfinder, as we reported here. The idea is to take the same hardware as the original Gratical HD EVF, but to make all the firmware features available on an a la carte basis. This means the base price of the EVF can be brought down to $1650, then you pay to enable the extra firmware options that you need. This really makes sense if you don’t need every bell and whistle that the original Gratical HD has.
As an affiliate partner of Zacuto we have worked out a special deal that allows Newsshooter readers to get what I consider to be the best package of essential options if using the EVF for news and documentary work.
Focusing and exposure are key. Any extra help you can get in these departments is invaluable. For that reason the $350 bundle of peaking, red line peaking, zebras and scopes (histogram, waveform, vectroscope) is utterly essential. Buying all four together represents an $85 saving over the individual prices.
The one thing that is missing from this package is the 1×1 magnification to check precise focus. Most shooters find this an absolute necessity – especially because cameras like the C300 and FS7 don’t magnify the image going to the EVF over SDI. Normally this function costs $95, but the best part is that as a Newsshooter reader, if you buy the bundle you’ll get this for free.
I believe this is the best deal around – for $2000 you’ll get an EVF that has all the functions you really need to go shoot. And you can still add more functions if you wish, either now or later.
To get this offer all you need to do is follow this link, buy the EVF and add the $350 essentials kit, then add the coupon code NewsshooterZOOM when checking out. The 1×1 option will then automatically be added to your EVF. (The 1×1 option won’t show up in the checkout but Zacuto will add it before shipping).
Gratical X Product Update from Zacuto on Vimeo.
Technical Specifications:
MICRO OLED DISPLAY
Screen Dimension – 0.61” diagonal
Resolution – Full Display 1280×1024, 16×9 1280×720 HD
Contrast Ratio- 10,000:1
Refresh Rate – 60Hz
Color Depth – 24 bit RGB
Luminance – 120-250 cd/m^2
Pixel Info – 2687.21 PPI
5.4 million pixels
16.7 million colors
INCLUDED VIDEO PROCESSING FEATURES
Color Processor – RGB, saturation, brightness, contrast
Test Pattern – (color bars & Macbeth)
Four programmable buttons
Frame Rates – 23.98p, 23.98PsF, 24p, 24PsF, 25p, 25PsF, 29.97PsF, 50i, 50p, 59.94i, 60i, 60p
CONNECTIONS IN
HDMI – 1.4b compliant, resolutions up to 1080p/60
HD-SDI – Resolutions up to 1080p/60, loop out
POWER
Compatible with LP-E6 battery (7.8V 1800mAH LiON)
Battery run time ~ 3-4 hours depending on features used
ADDITIONAL FEATURES AVAILABLE FOR PURCHASE
Custom Scaling/User Presets
Zebra Stripes – Customize width, color, thresholds
Vectorscope
Waveform (3D)
Histogram (RGB, Luma)
Audio Meters
LUT import and editing
Red Line Peaking (multi-color)
False Color
Frame Store Feature
HDMI output
SDI output
Cross Conversion – HDMI to HD-SDI, independent LUT on output stream
