Also lens can cost more than the camera and be well worth it.
Lenses are usually used much longer than a camera. A good EVF could be also long lasting tool.
Well put Kim, both are more of an investment that can span several cameras these days.
Dmitry, EVFs are not really “new”, they have been around in one form or another and long time, and go back to the beginning of 1970’s electronic news gathering cameras for TV Broadcasting. They started out as miniature CRT tubes, with a high end optical lens system in front. A good ENG Camera EVF can cost from $3K to $6K, so $1500 to $2K for a new OLED EVF is a bargain in my book.
In the Cinematography world, EVFs go back to film cameras, at the end of the 20th Cent. When prism blocks were used to split out the lens image and send it to a small camera mounted on the camera to feed a director’s monitor snd later a EVF for the camera operator. These setups cost even more $.
But yes, inexpensive EVFs (under $3K) are relatively new, and Zacuto has been a leader in this field, with it’s first low cost EVF the ZFinder EVF Pro (which I still have). While a EVF can cost as much or more than a camera, is a rather recent event, with the drop in cost of good cameras, like BMDs Pocket ($995) and the new Pocket 4K at $1400. Previously, a GH5/S was the other small camera choice, and it was $2K, and when the Zacuto EVF came out, the BMCC was $4K, the AF100 $6K, and a Red Camera 10K and up.
So it is not that EVFs cost more than a Camera, their price is fairly stable, $2-4K, but their quality has improved with the release of OLEDs, bit rather the cost of good cameras has gone down. My original Sony EVF was a B&W CRT, that mounted to a specific Series of Sony Cameras. Have a Panasonic ENG camera, and you need to buy their EVF. Red also has an expensive EVF as does ARRI, most of which cost twice what a Zacuto Gratical Eye costs.
I took BMD’s Ursa Mini EVF and did the Wooden Camera mod, to get it down to a smaller size, with removable cables. The only thing it lacks is a HDMI input, which the new Zacuto EVF solves. Now, only if BMD would step up to the plate again, and do with a good EVF with HDMI/SDI inputs for use with cameras like the new Pocket 4K.
While we do not complain when buying a good $3K lens for a $1500 camera, why are we complaining about spending $1500 to $2K for a good EVF, so you can see what your are doing? In today’s ever changing camera market, the camera is becoming the least expensive part of the Video/Cinema camera rig.
Cheers