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Topic on Director's Viewfinders
  • qwerty123qwerty123
    Director's Viewfinders can be very helpful on a shoot or preplanning to see what different focal lengths look like for a particular framing without having to actually change lenses (especially useful if you are shooting with primes). So, let's start a topic to discuss and recommend some!
  • 7 Replies sorted by
  • Vitaliy_KiselevVitaliy_Kiselev
    Discounted Panasonic TZ10? :-)
    I think any cheap ultrazoom with 24-25mm wide end will do.
  • itimjimitimjim
    Compact camera won't give you:
    - Equivalent focal length
    - 2.35 aspect

    Well, easily anyway. Opteka do a cheap small viewfinder for about $99.
  • PhenixonePhenixone
    What about a GF-3 and you use either a zoom, or the actual lens you will be using. Small, wide screen, you can even take a picture and show it to your cam operator.
  • Vitaliy_KiselevVitaliy_Kiselev
    Compact camera won't give you:
    > - Equivalent focal length

    They have indicator of focal length.
    It takes very little time to learn focal length from it :-)

    > - 2.35 aspect

    I really do not care about this specifically.
    They have 16:9 and 4:3 this is all I need.
    But use sticky tape if you need 2.35.
  • qwerty123qwerty123
    Compact camera solutions aren't ideal for a number of reasons.

    Among other advantages, I believe some director's viewfinders allow you to see focal lengths for different sensor sizes (film sizes). I know there's the Artemis App, but I don't want to rely on my phone's camera....

    @itimjim have you tried Opteka or any other viewfinders?
  • itimjimitimjim
    @qwerty123 I've only tried out the Opteka Micro at a store in London. The view was a bit too tiny for my liking. The standard size one is probably a lot better, but I've not tried it. I'm a fan of directors viewfinders though, and while I appreciate the use of a compact as a previsualisation tool, I think they can be a bit limited, even though they have some advantages.
  • RobertoRoberto
    Get a removable viewfinder from a Bolex H16. (You'll make friends in the street, too!)
    http://www.ebay.com/itm/Vintage-Paillard-Bolex-H16-Side-Viewfinder-6-Focal-Lengths-Used-Exc-/110779184676?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item19caf43624
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