Anyone tried/bought the Zigview s2 ?

Hi all,

Looks pretty useful.

Its a bit expensive at the moment because its new technology but someone may have some experience with it...

I'll wait and see if the price comes down.

Thoughts...?

http://www.photography​-on-the.net/forum/showthre​ad.php?t=231344

Ooops...

Thanks

Hi all
Thanks for the info, I looked at all the comments and then...went to see one; sadly it could not be assembled to test on my 20D because part of the assembly had no threads tapped in it so the screws could not be inserted. I am hoping that another one will be available for me to view shortly but I was not very impressed by that. Also, there are three versions and it needs a different version for the 20D and the 400D so I won't be buying two. My advice to anyone contemplating purchase is to see the unit assembled before parting with the dough!!!
Regards

WOW now that is cool especially the detachable screen that you can trigger from 10 meters...hmm looks like a good next year christmas gift...

Brandon

I want one!!!

simmo2006 wrote in post #2310245
Also, there are three versions and it needs a different version for the 20D and the 400D so I won't be buying two.

The difference between the 20D and 400D is a different remote cable (20D is N3, 400D is E3 - a 2.5mm jack plug). zigview.co.uk has the cables listed as separate items, so you should be able to use one S2 with both cameras. For that matter, they also have the eyepiece adapters listed separately, though you should need the same one for the 20D and 400D.

It looks as if the different underlying S2 models are for different crop factors (can anyone confirm?), but it would seem pretty crazy if you can't use the same S2 on two 1.6x cameras that differ only in the remote socket.

David

Hi Well the guy in the "website supporting photograpic outlet" tells me that the reason for the different models is that the optical viewfinders on the 20D & 400D are different sizes and the field of view presented to the sensor in the Zigview is different. Nothing was said about the different connections to the shutter release socket. The one I saw, which could not be assembled, did have lots of little packets labelled Nikon; Canon; Olympus; Fuji, etc: but the main agents appeared adamant that I would need two models for my two cameras. Hope this helps in that respect, but, it does look as though it would be an extremely usefull bit of kit with the motion dectector; 10 metre remote cable and video output to name a few.
I'm still waiting for one to arrive at my photographic store to have a look at/buy.

Regards all

Another interesting fact on these is they don't show the viewfinder information. When using it remotely it would be nice if you could tell if your exposure was still where you wanted it to be. In certain instances I could see where this unit would be helpful but for the price it makes you think twice.

I bought the Zigview S2 a few weeks ago in the hope of making my life a little easier.

I often use my 20D on a mono pod holding the camera about 8’ in the air.
I would use a wide angle lens and hope my subject was within the frame. Most of the time cropping and image stabilization gave me an acceptable image.
I also used a Marshall 5” monitor to verify my focus and to make sure my image was composed properly. (Talk about chimping!!!) I always had to shoot 3 to 5 shots to get one really good one. I know it sounds like hit and miss photography but it beat hauling around an 8’ ladder all day. The Marshall monitor came with a battery the size of a brick and unless I remembered to turn it off between shots was only good for about an hour.

Enter the Zigview. Small, light, and battery seems to last for hours.
Extra batteries are only $29.00 each but haven’t needed an extra one yet…
If you turn the unit on when it is not attached to the camera the image is sharp and clear. Also a little to much contrast but still works for my needs. Once attached to the eye piece of the 20D the image gets a little noisy. The faster the lens the better the image. The more light on the subject the better the image even with a 3.5 lens… If the image is sized properly on the Zigview screen you will see everything you see in the eye piece of your camera including the camera settings at the bottom. (it took me a few minutes to figure it out)

The Zigview S2 has many features I may never use. Check the web site for features to many to go into detail here. All things considered a very cool little tool that really expands the way you can use your DSLR. I love how I can go from eye level to 8’ or higher off the ground to shoot above a crowd or avoid people walking in front of me. I can spin my mono pod upside down and shoot at floor level and never get dirty. I can fire the camera from the viewer or set it to fire on motion detection.

I paid about $450.00 for the S2 plus an extra $80.00 for the remote cable. The price for both items seems excessive but necessary if you want to use the unit remotely. (I know I could have bought a sweet point & shoot with a tilt LED for less, but hey, I never said I was sane!)

Is it perfect? No.
Is it worth the price? For me? Yes.
Do I miss the chimping on the Marshall 5” screen? Yes.
If lost or stolen would I replace it? Yes.
Did I tell my wife what I paid? No. (I never said I was crazy either!)