Hello everyone. 

 

What's the difference between: 

 

1- the old and new Nauticam angle viewfinders

 

2- 32º/1:1 vs. 42º/0.8:1

 

I have a Nauticam housing for the Sony A7Rv.

I'm considering a 45°.

 

Would an Inon unit work? 

 

Thank you

The new viewfinders are designed for the electronic viewfinders of newer mirrorless cameras, which are physically larger so need a viewfinder with a larger field of view to render them sharp across the frame. The net result is the older viewfinders are blurry in the corners on the newer mirrorless cameras.  The older viewfinders are fine on DSLRs generally.

In addition to Chris’s explanation, the new viewfinders come in both a 1:1 and 0.8:1 options.  I find the 0.08:1 more desirable as it gives a little extra corner and overall full view over the 1:1.  It’s personal preference, but I feel that little extra width in the viewfinder easier to use when viewing settings while composing the scene. 
 

I understand it’s another added cost, but I find it a valuable piece of gear as I use it on every dive and literally every frame I make. 
 

Edited August 25, 20241 yr by ChipBPhoto

Thanks, gents. 

 

How does the Inon for nauticam model fare in comparison? 

2 hours ago, ChipBPhoto said:

In addition to Chris’s explanation, the new viewfinders come in both a 1:1 and 0.8:1 options.  I find the 0.08:1 more desirable as it gives a little extra corner and overall full view over the 1:1.  It’s personal preference, but I feel that little extra width in the viewfinder easier to use when viewing settings while composing the scene. 
 

I understand it’s another added cost, but I find it a valuable piece of gear as I use it on every dive and literally every frame I make. 
 

I am still using my old 1:1 45deg Nauticam viewfinder on my new Z8. The Z8 has an option to make the viewfinder display slightly smaller which allows it to work just fine with the older models. That's $1700 you do not need to spend! 

 

I am sure the new models work slightly better, but not that much better. 

Regarding the INON , a review here of the original Nauticam and it mentions it's better than the INON:

 

https://wetpixel.com/articles/thoughts-on-viewfinders-and-mini-review-nauticam-45-degree

 

Sounds like the original Nauticam 45° can work OK on the Z8 but other makes may not have that option.  I have an original Nauticam 45 and the corners of my EM-1 MkII and my OM-1 are a bit blurry.  

I have used the Inon viewfinder for many years. Then Seacam and now the Nauticam viewfinder for 8 years. Optically, the Inon viewfinder cannot keep up. It is much darker and has a narrower field of vision. On the other hand, there is almost $1000 in between. Nevertheless, as with lenses, money is well spent on good glass.
Dave's tip with the viewfinder reduction in the Nikon Z8 is really great.