douglasf13
New member
Well, while we wait to see what Sony does in regards to an EVF on NEX, I decided to bite on a funky little accessory attachment that magnifies the camera's own LCD, and it is called the Clearviewer. http://www.clearviewer.com/
I received the Clearviewer today, and, to my surprise, it works a lot better than I expected. I purchased the premium lens version, and the whole LCD screen is surprisingly viewable. There is some distortion at the edges of view, but it isn't too objectionable in use, and things are clear and sharp. Since the NEX-5's LCD is relatively high resolution, this Clearviewer makes manual focusing even easier, and, in my limited use of the product so far, it seems to be a suitable alternative for when the tilt up screen isn't the best option. Plus, you can fold the Clearviewer out of the way to use the tilt screen, and there is a felt pad that protects your LCD from scratches when the Clearviewer is folded up. :thumbup:
It is gloomy here today, so I haven't been able to test in bright sunlight, but, based on reports from others, the Clearviewer does a pretty good (but not perfect) job of blocking out the sun, because the camera body and the shooter's head block most of the light. In fact, this thing makes the screen so bright that I actually turned the LCD brightness to minimum. The build of this accessory (some kind of polycarbonate?) seems to be okay, and it is very light weight. I don't really notice the extra bulk of having the Clearviewer attached. The finishing looks a little rough up close (looks hand made,) but it is fine.
While the Clearviewer isn't a perfect replacement for a super high-res EVF, I think it could be a nice stop-gap for many of us until Sony releases an EVF. I wish I would have thought of it. It is essentially just like the magnifier on my Hasselblad's waist-level finder.
Here are some quick pics from my mobile:
I received the Clearviewer today, and, to my surprise, it works a lot better than I expected. I purchased the premium lens version, and the whole LCD screen is surprisingly viewable. There is some distortion at the edges of view, but it isn't too objectionable in use, and things are clear and sharp. Since the NEX-5's LCD is relatively high resolution, this Clearviewer makes manual focusing even easier, and, in my limited use of the product so far, it seems to be a suitable alternative for when the tilt up screen isn't the best option. Plus, you can fold the Clearviewer out of the way to use the tilt screen, and there is a felt pad that protects your LCD from scratches when the Clearviewer is folded up. :thumbup:
It is gloomy here today, so I haven't been able to test in bright sunlight, but, based on reports from others, the Clearviewer does a pretty good (but not perfect) job of blocking out the sun, because the camera body and the shooter's head block most of the light. In fact, this thing makes the screen so bright that I actually turned the LCD brightness to minimum. The build of this accessory (some kind of polycarbonate?) seems to be okay, and it is very light weight. I don't really notice the extra bulk of having the Clearviewer attached. The finishing looks a little rough up close (looks hand made,) but it is fine.
While the Clearviewer isn't a perfect replacement for a super high-res EVF, I think it could be a nice stop-gap for many of us until Sony releases an EVF. I wish I would have thought of it. It is essentially just like the magnifier on my Hasselblad's waist-level finder.
Here are some quick pics from my mobile:
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