canon 5d mark III

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Screen shot 2011-05-16 at 8.19.17 AM

The Proaim DSLR View Finder is nothing new, and personally I would prefer the VF Prime or Seagull VF, but Proaim looks to have a 'one-up' on the competition. This morning I was turned onto a recent BasePlate addition to Proaim's View Finder [Thanks Greg]. Looks like they're the next in line to follow in the recent trend of converting all LCD View Finders over to baseplate mounts.

Screen shot 2011-05-16 at 8.19.57 AMScreen shot 2011-05-16 at 8.19.51 AM

The BasePlate looks to be an all metal construction that still allows you to mount a Quick Release Plate underneath. The ViewFinder claims Anti-Fog coating on the lens, and a minimal Diopter for less than perfect vision. To get further correction, you can stack the extension frames between the LCD and View Finder. Can you see that small hole on the BasePlate? The Proaim viewfinder also comes with a short Aluminum Rod that you can use has a handle (probably not very functional).

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If you're wondering, it looks like a 3" LCD View Finder, but for Canon T2i, T3i, and 60D owners who really want this setup expect to lose just a 1mm crop on each side (IF it can line up properly).

Screen shot 2011-05-16 at 8.26.55 AM
find-price-button Proaim View Finder with BasePlate

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Swing out LCD's are great for odd shooting positions, but posed some problems for DSLR LCD View Finders. The Canon 60D and T3i fall into this category. The solution is to use a frame that mounts under the camera body, but the pricing has been out of reach. Or has it?
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Has anyone caught these new LCD Viewfinders for both 3" and 3:2 DSLR LCD Screens? Claims to be compatible with the 60D and T3i cameras, as well as the older 5D/7D cameras.

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I'm not seeing very much adjustments on the frame, so i'm wondering how they could get it to line up against so many different camera bodies? Sure the LCDs are a basic size, but the position on the body isn't always the same. There's definitely two different versions from the photos i've seen. One is a square 3" and the other a more rectangular 3.2". These VF's have the obvious large eyecup but no diopter. No luck for you battery grip users, straight body mount only. Uses magnets to hold onto the frame - which the frame is mounted under the camera body with a Tripod mount still available. Fetches for mid $30's US.

DSLR LCD View Finder 60D
find-price-button LCD View Finder Canon 60D, T3i, 5D Mark II, 7D, Nikon

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If you've registered for Amazon Prime shipping, you know you can get something fast (two day FREE). I needed a set of batteries, and instead of going to my usual over seas and 4 weeks waiting store, I took a chance on the Vivitar branded version. Yeah I know they probably don't make them and who knows what they are really called. It charges on OEM, shows battery, the camera registers battery information, and seems to be doing fine (so far). We'll see how it holds up, but at least the price was about the same as elsewhere, and claims a 5 year warranty.

vivitar-lp-e6find-price-button LP-E6 Replacement 'Intelligent' High Capacity Battery (2000Mah)-5 Year Warranty

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When Panasonic announced the AG-AF100, there were claims that DSLR video was dead. Sure the Panny is a good camera, but they were too far from the idea of what DSLR’s really were. It seems they were designing around the needs of the high end filmmaker, but the largest community of DSLR shooters are from basic consumers. Today Sony announces a new NEX-FS100E, a nice balance between the influence from DSLR cameras as well as addressing more professional filmmakers. Depending on the price of this unit, some might say that Panny’s AF100 is dead. Vimeo member Den & James from F-Stop Academy had the chance to input all the good qualities of DSLR’s as well as the bad.

Sony NEX-FS100E

Some features and controls are said to be influenced from the EX1, but Sony’s NEX-FS100E will have the ability to use interchangeable lenses with Sony’s Super 35mm motion picture sensor. There’s also 1080@60p available, the top swivel LCD remains on even when another monitor is plugged in on the full size HDMI. XLR inputs with phantom power, Shotgun Microphone with top handle, manual audio levels, and even a bunch of ¼ x 20 mounting points built directly into the Sony camera body. There’s a ton of other features explained in the video (above) and more found at Sony’s Press Release page: https://www.sony.co.uk/biz/content/id/1237480587665?en_GB=

Sony new NEX-FS100E

I personally love the way this Sony camera was put together. Keep it small, that’s the whole appeal of DSLR’s. Today I can carry 4 Canon DSLR cameras + lenses to a location in a single roller bag. If manufacturers design these bodies too big (or too expensive), they’ll be losing the largest market of DSLR shooters. One thing I can safely say is that even this new Sony won't kill DSLR's. It's designed to have more ergonomics for Video rather than for Photographers. You might think this isn't a big deal, but having both a still camera and video camera in one tiny form factor is still appeals to a huge audience. The opposite side of the spectrum are cameras designed to have more ergonomics for Photos rather than for Video. Dedicated interchangeable lens 'still cameras' with 'a little bit of video' will still be a tool for a big audience. Sure I would love to throw this Sony NEX-FS100E in my bag, but it would be along side a DSLR. I'm not ready to give up a fast and professional Photography camera. There’s no word on pricing, but my guess is cheaper than the Panasonic AG-AF100. [Update] I guess pricing comes in at about $6550. This is definitely great news and could appeal to serious vide shooters who 'work around' the lack of features in DSLRs today, but it's early in 2011. Canon might still be dropping a 5D Mark III....