PortKeys $399.00 very compact EVF

Personally I just need something to check focus under bright ligt.

Isn't that what the tilting 1500 nits LCD is for, which has focusing aids that the EVF appears to lack?

That said, I'd like to check out the EVF in person before finalising an opinion on it.

Personally I just need something to check focus under bright ligt.

Isn't that what the tilting 1500 nits LCD is for, which has focusing aids that the EVF appears to lack?

That said, I'd like to check out the EVF in person before finalising an opinion on it.

I don't like external monitors it cluttered my system. Just a simple light and clean solution. I also have a hood that gives me enough to check settings but not for focus. Forgot to mention that my eyes are not what they use to be. So to be.


Ricardo Marty

Here's my finished rig with the LEYE EVF, a battery sled that I modified and velcroed to the back of the EVF and a Canon LP 6N battery. It's light, well balanced and works great for focusing in bright daylight.

IMG_3785-1.jpg

The Canon battery should run the EVF for 5-6 hours continuously.

This is my handheld B-Roll camera, and I find the internal camera battery to be adequate for my use. I carry a V Lock battery that I plug into the AC in on the camera between scenes to recharge the camera battery, and that actually does a good job of keeping the camera battery usable for a full day of shooting for me, but I still carry 2 spare Canon batteries for back up if needed.

How did you mount this? Can you list the tools to buy to make it possible?

Thanks!

I have the Z CAM and it's excellent. A bit bulky and heavy but great big diopter and the wireless monitoring feature takes it to a whole new level -- adds to the viewfinder's "portability" if you were going to need to mount, e.g., a director's monitoring solution anyway.

I'm even tempted to mount it onto my new BMPCC6K Pro when it arrives, instead of the new mini viewfinder. Only con will be the need for external power, currently using a battery sled from Tilta that powers both the BMPCC4K and viewfinder at once from an NP-F970.

Then again, with those dinky NP-F550 batteries that actually aren't much better than LP-E6 (the hype this week has been funny about our battery dreams being fulfilled), maybe I'm sticking with the NP-F970 battery sled anyway for dual-powering.

I have the Z CAM and it's excellent... currently using a battery sled from Tilta that powers both the BMPCC4K and viewfinder at once from an NP-F970.

How is the weight and size of the Z CAM EVF working out for you with the Pocket 4K?

I have the Z CAM and it's excellent... currently using a battery sled from Tilta that powers both the BMPCC4K and viewfinder at once from an NP-F970.

How is the weight and size of the Z CAM EVF working out for you with the Pocket 4K?

Mounted onto a cage, instead of trying to construct a whole shoulder rig around it and the BMPCC4K (not a suitable configuration anyway), it's great because I'm keeping everything mounted on a tripod. Monitoring features aren't critical on any EVF though, since it's always preferable to use the Blackmagic OS's built-in monitoring which offers fantastic flexibility for choosing what to pass through HDMI.

The Z-Cam EVF looks nice but a bit pricey. If they bring the price is around that of the BMD P6KP EVF, then IMO it would be a reasonable purchase.

The Z-Cam EVF looks nice but a bit pricey. If they bring the price is around that of the BMD P6KP EVF, then IMO it would be a reasonable purchase.

I've put thoughts of an EVF on hold because I've purchased an Easyrig that I plan to use with an articulating arm and external monitor (not sure there's a role for an EVF), but I still want to check out the Portkeys L-EYE and Z CAM in person. The Pocket 6K Pro EVF is camera specific and more limited than the Z CAM in flexibility and function, which may be fine for some Pocket 6K Pro owners, but I'm not surprised that the Z CAM is more expensive. Zacuto says that it's also working on a new EVF, but Zacuto prices suggest that it will be no bargain.

I like the PortKeys $399 compact EVF but it only supports HDMI. If I get an EVF, I like it to have both the HDMI and SDI so I can use it on my P6K or my UMP G2. I don't have an immediate need for one but it is on my list to have. Therefore I am wishing that either the Z-CAM comes down in price or goes on sale (wishful thinking) or something in the $399-$499 range will come about.

I like the PortKeys $399 compact EVF but it only supports HDMI. If I get an EVF, I like it to have both the HDMI and SDI so I can use it on my P6K or my UMP G2. I don't have an immediate need for one but it is on my list to have. Therefore I am wishing that either the Z-CAM comes down in price or goes on sale (wishful thinking) or something in the $399-$499 range will come about.

Initially, Z CAM said that its EVF would be US$800. CVP made the first video on the Z CAM EVF and did so on the basis of that price. The price got bumped $200 at the last minute, with the result that CVP had to make a correction in its YouTube description and answer a lot of questions about price in comments. That history suggests that there's some room on price and that Z CAM is monitoring sales at $1000.

Hi thanks for this very interesting thread.
I think the Portkeys EVF is going to be a very well used accessory. It might not even go on my camera I have the cineye which will transmit to iphone/iPad and they have a lightning to HDMI port so the Portkeys may well connect to this. I kinda like the head mount option too but I can set this up with an iphone or ipad mounted on my feiyutech hyperlink remote. This looks like it will work with everything. from my bmpcc to my 4K even my DSLR and GX80.

I wonder if it would work with a hdmi splitter. the 3 watt power draw is about 600mA so even a tiny power bank should be good for over 6 hours. I saw a video that got basically 16 hours on 10,000mA power bank which works out to be 625mA draw.

I found even with a sunhood i wasn't really able to see well enough the 4k screen even with my reading glasses. Which meant a lot of struggle to get focus.

looking forward to this now

I have this EVF and have used it on many shoots.

-Depending on how you put your eye up to the cup sometimes it looks a bit distorted because the diopter is so large.
-I got a Nap35 Animophic projector lens I'm rehousing and the Animophic squeeze setting are easy to access and adjust.
- The eyecup is great outside and good enough to block enough light to not need to be any bigger.
- Using the EVF and (the cheap) battery grip means I got a P6K instead of the P6K Pro and saved some money since it's the same sensor.
-I use a small rechargeable battery from the dollar sotre to power the EVF and velcroed it to the top. I get 3 hours of monitor life from each battery so I got 6 . I have other batteries just in case.

-I wish it was smaller but I do not shoot without it on the P4k and P6k

I wish BMD or some 3rd party will make an adapter with a 1/4-20 mounting base that will allow the use of the Blackmagic P6K Pro EVF on the Pocket 4K/6K and even on the URSA G2.