OT:Z1 vs.FX1 viewfinder

winrockpost wrote on 3/22/2006, 10:31 AM

Having never used a Z1 is there a significant difference besides the B&W feature over the FX1 ,and is the viewfinders B&W feature a benefit, can you see the lighting,shadows etc better than the color,,OK, i guess what I'm asking is it any good.

thanks

Comments

Spot|DSE wrote on 3/22/2006, 11:16 AM

MUCH easier to see lighting, focus, etc in a B/W viewfinder.
This is the main reason that most broadcast/ENG cams are B/W viewfinders.

Serena wrote on 3/22/2006, 3:27 PM

It's all a compromise with video. I really miss through-the-lens-reflex where you can actually see what you're shooting and easily pick focus. The shoot in a forest (the one CF is messing with) was made quite difficult because the electronic viewfinder doesn't show the level of detail needed. Fortunately the "rushes" proved that I'd got it right, even if I couldn't see it with confidence at the time. I think that this sort of thing demands a much bigger screen, whether colour or monochrome. If it had been a staged production I could have had that.
People often say that video cameras don't have a shutter so there isn't a means to build a mirror reflex system, but Pathe and Palliard-Bolex managed it on their 16mm cameras with a fixed diverter that diverted about 10% of the light. The best still digitals cameras now have TTL viewfinders -- come on Sony & Canon!! The swing-out LCD can provide the electronic assist tools.