Using viewfinders for video?

In the last few years I have been doing a lot of land wildlife shooting with long lenses

For this I have tried monitor and tripod but it is not as flexible so I use a monopod and the EVF together with cage and handle

Using the EVF has several benefits

1. The OLED panel on my camera goes to 1000 cd/m2 it is very bright

2. The eyecup means no light goes it and contrast is much better than a screen

3. It is very stable as I have 4 points of contact hands, head and monopod while standing on my feet

I am not curious about using a viewfinder underwater, I have used it for photos and works well however the angle is awkward when you have to shoot low

I can see that pushing your face on the viewfinder can have some disbenefits underwater compared to a monitor however optically I think it is a superior option although of course the camera does not have all exposure tools that a monitor would have

I also think that screens and gaps of a housing greatly reduced the effectiveness of any screen  

I wonder if anyone has tried the viewfinder option for underwater video I can see clear disbenefits for macro on a tripod but for that I still have the camera LCD

Huge NO for me.

• It's feasible only on mid water subjects AKA WA shots.
• Between EVF and your eye-cup you have housing glass and mask glass.
• To hold the housing as close to the eye as possible, you exert a force with your wrists that ends up crating a tremor that is reflected in the footage. This is partially true when using the display too. The best position is having your arms relaxed at chest height.

3 minutes ago, Davide DB said:

Huge NO for me.

• It's feasible only on mid water subjects AKA WA shots.
• Between EVF and your eye-cup you have housing glass and mask glass.
• To hold the housing as close to the eye as possible, you exert a force with your wrists that ends up crating a tremor that is reflected in the footage. This is partially true when using the display too. The best position is having your arms relaxed at chest height.

 

 

the point about gaps is that you have less. Put your monitor in a housing and your 1000 nits are destroyed by boyncing light

On the tremor not really unless you exert force which you don't although on land the monopod holds the camera underwater provided your set up is neutral it holds itself

For me the big issue is that you need two a straight and angled on the other hand I can use a monitor for photos too...

Maybe using a proper (angled) underwater viewfinder is another story. i tried with the plain flat hoing hole and IMHO no way.

Then of course everything is possible but the success ratio is very low.  This is coming from someone who did macro for a year without a monitor... What did I do wrong to deserve this? 

I tried using the viewfinder for video but I cant see where I am going while diving even with a wide angel lens. I usually leave the 45 degree viewfinder off when shooting video, and use the LCD screen which is much easier to swim around with. Maybe I need to get used to swimming while looking into the viewfinder? 

3 hours ago, UWPics said:

I tried using the viewfinder for video but I cant see where I am going while diving even with a wide angel lens. I usually leave the 45 degree viewfinder off when shooting video, and use the LCD screen which is much easier to swim around with. Maybe I need to get used to swimming while looking into the viewfinder? 

Yes you need to swim looking into it which can be tricky

I wanted to provide an update on this topic

I am now systematically using the viewfinder for video. I have a solution where if I need the LCD I can still see it and if I want to do macro the viewfinder is convenient as it is angled

For sure it is not as flexible as a monitor but is also much less expensive and it drives less complications

More importantly it has not lag while HDMI has tons