The Alphatron EVF-035W is getting closer to launch. I was able to play with one in Las Vegas at NAB and image in the finder really was very good. I’ve used Cineroid and Zacuto finders and they are not nearly as clear or as sharp as the Alphatron. With the Alphatron I found that I could see the image come in and out of focus quite clearly without resorting to large amounts of peaking, nor could I easily make out the pixel structure of the screen as I can with my Cineroid. With the peaking activated, the fine resolution of the screen means that the peaking edges themselves are much finer so they don’t obscure the image making the peaking more precise and less obtrusive. The Alphatron EVF also has a manually operated shutter in the monocular eyepiece which allows you to prevent sunlight from accidentally burning the LCD screen, that’s a nice touch, I’ve seen many viewfinders destroyed or damaged by the sun. There were still some bugs to be ironed out in the prototype that I used, but TV-Logic make good kit and I’m sure that once the firmware is sorted the Alphatron EVF-035W will become the gold standard by which other aftermarket EVF’s are compared. Looking into the Alphatron reminded me of looking in to a Sony C35W EVF. The Sony costs in excess of £4k while the Alphatron is going to be around the £1k mark. Looking forward to testing a full production unit.
Hi Alister… How is the viewfinder mounted on the camera in your video? What do you use yourself? Thanks!
For the tests I just used a Manfrotto articulated arm, but on my F3 cameras I have a cheese plate on the top of the camera and a rigid VF bracket.
Same display as Iphone, but still burns in sunlight like the other EVF’s? Can I get some clarification on that?
It is the magnifying lens in the monocular that focusses the sun into a tiny spot on the screen and that burns the screen. ALL monocular viewfinders suffer from this.