Anybody shooting the Z8 with external Monitor?

[Michael]

Hi Guys,

as i got new gear now (was forced to move from my stolen D850-Kit to Z8) i was wondering if anybody shoots the Z8 with an external Monitor and if so - which one would you recommand? I got my new Kit (also Nauticam) as not all of my Ports were stolen, so i stayed with my trusted brand. I got the new version of the 45° Viewfinder but i'm thinking of getting a Monitor instead as my eyesight does not get better with age... (maybe i can still give it back to the shop as it is unused and the shop might get me a good quote)

The big questions are:
- What will the external monitor display when connected to the camera? The Z8 has two options for its displays (menu d9): show effects of settings or adjust for ease of viewing: will this also affect the external monitor or is it more of a standalone thingi which isn't affected with these settings?
- Another one: how does the external monitor behave if i shoot directly in the the sun from a relativ shallow part - will the monitor be too bright or is it still possible to guess what the outcome of the picture will be (i hope you understand what i mean?).
- Can one switch from the external monitor to the back monitor of the camera during a dive?
Maybe an important extra information: i just do stills, no video.

A friend suggested a WED-7 (but he shoots a D810) and is quite happy with it (7" is a large thingi to carry...). But this one has only 500 Nits. The newer ones are 1000 Nits or even up to 3000 Nits. So - many questions and decisions to make... 

Maybe the video-guys know more about that stuff than the just-photo-guys but happy to hear what you guys think!

Cheers,
Michael
 

Edited Thursday at 07:56 PM by Michael

[Chris Ross]

Can't help with the question of which monitor but I would say the choice between the two is probably quite personal and depends a lot on what you issue with vision is.  My closeup up vision is my issue and the dioptric adjustment on the viewfinder is what makes UW pleasant for me.  That and as I get older the idea of adding another piece of gear to lug around doesn't thrill me - especially doing stills for me.

[TimG]

I'm with Chris. Yet another piece of gear to lug, o-rings to faff about with and batteries and chargers.

 

Sadly I'm hitting Fading Eyesight age but have found +1.5 diopters bonded into the mask did the trick. Fairly inexpensive, seldom needs a battery replacement or charging, light for travelling - and you soon get used to the head-bobbing movement to switch between normal and SuperVision.

[Troporobo]

Another vote for vision correction from me, in the form of a prescription mask.  My reasoning is that I don’t look at everything through the viewfinder (although Mrs Troporobo would dispute that contention), sometimes I just want to poke my face up close to something for a good look.  And it’s cheap and easy to change those lenses. 

[TimG]

Just had a thought: if vision issues make reading a viewfinder (or say the labelling of housing controls) harder to read, will adding a monitor really help? Won’t it still be the same issue of struggling to focus closely? I guess you can stand back, so to speak, slightly more from a monitor but would that be enough to make a significant difference given the cost? 
 

I still love the idea one member suggested of having reading glasses on a bungee cord that you just pull down over your mask as and when needed. I thought that was brilliant! 

[Davide DB]

On 3/27/2025 at 8:55 PM, Michael said:

What will the external monitor display when connected to the camera? The Z8 has two options for its displays (menu d9): show effects of settings or adjust for ease of viewing: will this also affect the external monitor or is it more of a standalone thingi which isn't affected with these settings?

 

All mirrorless cameras have this option under different names. How the monitor and display get synced depends on camera settings and brand. Devil is in the details. So I suggest to connect a simple PC monitor  or your tv and test how it works.

On 3/27/2025 at 8:55 PM, Michael said:

Another one: how does the external monitor behave if i shoot directly in the the sun from a relativ shallow part - will the monitor be too bright or is it still possible to guess what the outcome of the picture will be (i hope you understand what i mean?).

 

If I understand correctly your question, it depends on the above settings: menu D9.

 

On 3/27/2025 at 8:55 PM, Michael said:

an one switch from the external monitor to the back monitor of the camera during a dive?

 

Yes, of course but better you do some test. Generally speaking a camera outputs on the hdmi exactly the same you see on the monitor. Then you can choose to have a clean signal without any overlay or exactly what you see on your monitor. My camera has a dedicated button to switch between display and EVF. HDMI follows the camera display.

 

Monitor or not?

 

I shot only video and I have strong problems with fading eyesight (presbiopia). Unfortunately a monitor doesn't help:

 

- You monitor is at same distance or even closer to you

- again, devil is in the details: on my GH5, HDMI fonts are way smaller than those on the camera display. Damn you Panasonic!

 

 

 

 

[Chris Ross]

7 hours ago, TimG said:

Just had a thought: if vision issues make reading a viewfinder (or say the labelling of housing controls) harder to read, will adding a monitor really help? Won’t it still be the same issue of struggling to focus closely? I guess you can stand back, so to speak, slightly more from a monitor but would that be enough to make a significant difference given the cost? 
 

I still love the idea one member suggested of having reading glasses on a bungee cord that you just pull down over your mask as and when needed. I thought that was brilliant! 

Definitely, you need good closeup vision to see what's going on on a monitor, particularly if you want to confirm focus etc.

 

The best idea I have seen is a pair of readers on a flip frame attached to a go pro mount, just flip them in and out as needed.

[Barmaglot]

6 hours ago, Chris Ross said:

The best idea I have seen is a pair of readers on a flip frame attached to a go pro mount, just flip them in and out as needed.

Does this actually work? For one thing, reading glasses are designed to be held a certain distance from the eye; putting them over a diving mask will increase that considerably. For another, refraction index of air and water is different, so lenses immersed in water will not behave the same way as they do in air. My best guess would be that in order to work, this will require considerably different lenses from what you'd use on land.

 

I've seen one Israeli diver use a pair of pince-nez glasses inside a mask; haven't seen anyone else do that though.

[Chris Ross]

38 minutes ago, Barmaglot said:

Does this actually work? For one thing, reading glasses are designed to be held a certain distance from the eye; putting them over a diving mask will increase that considerably. For another, refraction index of air and water is different, so lenses immersed in water will not behave the same way as they do in air. My best guess would be that in order to work, this will require considerably different lenses from what you'd use on land.

 

I've seen one Israeli diver use a pair of pince-nez glasses inside a mask; haven't seen anyone else do that though.

Yes according to the people who use them, I was speaking to one person yesterday and they said they used a pair of generic readers a few diopters stronger than they use on land .  If you hold your readers forward on your face  you'll see the power slowly decrease with distance but they still focus for you.  A few offering them for sale:

 

https://divediversions.com/products/divevue-mount-glasses-to-your-dive-mask

 

https://www.fotosub-shop.com/3600-10bar-maschera-subaquea-con-lenti-diottriche-flippabili.html

 

https://www.see-deep.com/

 

 

[TimG]

 

Here it is … from @bghazzal on the Prescription Masks thread. Thanks, Ben!