Is This an Example of Viewfinder Flare? (video included)

Karl Lee · November 1, 2015

Hi everyone.

I shot some 16mm over the summer and recently had it transferred, and I noticed a few momentary spots of what appear to be light fogging on the transfer. Initially I was concerned that it might be due to a light leak in the mag, but the more I thought about it, a persistent light leak probably wouldn't result in momentary flashes of fogging. That's when it occurred to me that the flashes appear near the beginning or at the end of shots and at times when I may have momentarily removed my eye from the viewfinder, so I'm wondering if what I'm seeing is actually viewfinder flare.

I've shot a fair amount of 16mm with my SR3 and haven't noticed this fogging before, but then I realize that many factors can contribute to viewfinder flare, and it could be that on the day I was filming, the angle and intensity of the sun and position of my viewfinder were just right to cause the flare.

I've uploaded a short clip of the transfer showing two instances of the suspected flare. The first occurrence is pretty bad, the second isn't so bad but is nonetheless noticeable. So, is what I'm seeing in these clips actually viewfinder flare, or could it be something else?

Thanks for any advice!

Phillip Mosness · November 24, 2015

The second one (8 second mark) looks like the ones I've had in my footage. The first one (2 second mark) is stronger than I've had, but outdoors on a sunny day it's certainly my guess.

It would make sense if you were looking through the eyepiece to make sure you were getting your sync light and then momentarily looking away to put the unit away somewhere.

The fact that it's a steady shot and that it comes and goes so quickly tells me it's not a light leak.

Mark Dunn · November 24, 2015

Does it have an autoclosure eyepiece , and if so, is it sticking, so that it doesn't close when you take your eye away?

Edited November 24, 2015 by Mark Dunn

Robin R Probyn · November 24, 2015

If I remember the SR has a screw down mechanism for the self closing eye piece.. i.e. fully screwed down it will always be open.. unscrew and it will close when no pressure from your eye/head..

Gregg MacPherson · November 25, 2015

Hey Karl,

When you operate outside in bright sunlight do you wear a hat/cap/sunshade, that shades the viewfinder?

You need to keep a tight seal between your eyesocket and the viewfinder. Leather eye patch helps.

Fiddling with an external device doesn't (help)

Karl Lee · November 29, 2015

Thanks for all of the replies. If nothing else, I'm a little relieved to know that the light leaks were likely a result of viewfinder flare and my own error, and not a leaky camera or mag! In the past, I haven't always worn a hat or visor when filming, but I'll definitely keep that in mind from now on, especially when filming outdoors. More importantly, I'll definitely be more careful to not remove my eye from the viewfinder when filming, since I now know from experience what can and will happen if too much light enters the viewfinder when filming.

In this case, I think it was largely due to the fact that I was fumbling with the LED sync box in my other hand, but I'm already working on a new sync LED system that will affix to the inside of the French flag on my matte box. The idea is that I'll be able to flip down the French flag prior to filming, start rolling and immediately (well, when the camera is at speed) mark a sync point with the small LED assembly mounted on the underside of the French flag, then flip up the French flag and begin filming. I'm hoping this kind of configuration will work much better than having to fumble with a separate sync box, especially when I'm solo shooting run-and-gun, which is what I'm doing most of the time.

To answer Mark's question, the SR3 eyecup doesn't have auto-closing iris / shutter...at least not the eyecup I have, but I don't think I've seen an SR3 eyecup with an auto-closing iris. It does have a lever that can be used to manually close and open the shutter, but it doesn't close automatically.

Robin R Probyn · November 29, 2015

ok sorry.. the SR1 and 11 had this pressure VF auto closing affair.. but just about everyone just screwed it down to open all the time.. as you had to put quite a bit of pressure on to open it..

A really easy thing you can do, if you want to have a look around while shooting.. is just put your hand over the VF.. not right in the middle of the aliens landing of course.. but if you want to see whats happening around you without cutting..