Zigview S2 Review - Design and Usage
The Zigview is made of hard plastic, which some of you might not like. It didn’t really bother me, because the construction is quite sturdy and doesn’t feel like it is going to break if you rotate it or push to hard on the buttons.
- Introduction
> Design and Usage
- Motion detection, Timer and Bulb
- Samples, Conclusion and Comments
Tilting the screen
If you pop it onto the viewfinder of the camera it can move a small amount vertically when adjusting the screen, which can be seen on the Zigviews S2 LCD. But it does go back to it’s original position if you are done adjusting the screen.
When you tilt the screen in it’s various positions, it does make a loud clicking noise in all directions. I probably won’t be using it in this configuration much, the first thing I did is detach the screen so I can view it remotely using the Transceiver Cable. But for those of you who like to use it attached to the camera, the clicking noise could be a thing to think about. In my humble opinion, the Zigview S2 is more versatile when detached. Which was also one of the main reasons I ordered it!
Battery performance
Using it for just over one hour and seeing the battery still displayed on the screen as full, was quite a surprise. It seems the screen (set at 3/5 brightness) and the Zigview S2 camera were not the power-hungry battery devourers I thought they were going to be! The low power LED color TFT is doing it’s job quite nicely!
The manual tells me the battery can last up to two hours.
Screen performance
To test the Zigview S2, I took a stroll trough t’Gorecht Park, the pictures I took can be seen on the Samples, Conclusion and Comments page. The sun was shining pretty brightly, which was a good test to see how the screen would perform. I took pictures at various locations in the park. From bright conditions out in the open, with the sun shining brightly to taking pictures underneath dense canopy areas.
The screen performed good enough in the bright areas, if I shielded it from the sun using my own shadow. In the darker forest areas, the screen did a good job of showing me what the camera actually sees. Mind you the Zigview S2’s camera did have some trouble with highlighted areas next to dark areas. Overexposing the view for about 2 seconds before being able to adjust, but for framing the shot it still performs good enough!
Focusing using the screen takes some getting used to, the screen shows the in focus areas pretty well. But in bright sunlight it is somewhat hard to see. But again it is still good enough. The awesome perspectives you can create more then make up for this!
The colors displayed on the screen seem a little bit unsaturated, this is probably due to the amount of pixels (and bit depth) of the screen or Zigview S2 camera. But the screen or Zigview S2 camera are not taking the picture, so it has no influence over what the camera actually captures.
Shielding it from the sun with either your own shadow or your hand, does make it useful. However the screen has better visibility in indirect sunlight. Definitely something to keep in mind, when taking it out on a bright and sunny day!
> Design and Usage
- Motion detection, Timer and Bulb
- Samples, Conclusion and Comments
If you pop it onto the viewfinder of the camera it can move a small amount vertically when adjusting the screen, which can be seen on the Zigviews S2 LCD. But it does go back to it’s original position if you are done adjusting the screen.
When you tilt the screen in it’s various positions, it does make a loud clicking noise in all directions. I probably won’t be using it in this configuration much, the first thing I did is detach the screen so I can view it remotely using the Transceiver Cable. But for those of you who like to use it attached to the camera, the clicking noise could be a thing to think about. In my humble opinion, the Zigview S2 is more versatile when detached. Which was also one of the main reasons I ordered it!
Battery performance
Using it for just over one hour and seeing the battery still displayed on the screen as full, was quite a surprise. It seems the screen (set at 3/5 brightness) and the Zigview S2 camera were not the power-hungry battery devourers I thought they were going to be! The low power LED color TFT is doing it’s job quite nicely!
The manual tells me the battery can last up to two hours.
Screen performance
To test the Zigview S2, I took a stroll trough t’Gorecht Park, the pictures I took can be seen on the Samples, Conclusion and Comments page. The sun was shining pretty brightly, which was a good test to see how the screen would perform. I took pictures at various locations in the park. From bright conditions out in the open, with the sun shining brightly to taking pictures underneath dense canopy areas.
The screen performed good enough in the bright areas, if I shielded it from the sun using my own shadow. In the darker forest areas, the screen did a good job of showing me what the camera actually sees. Mind you the Zigview S2’s camera did have some trouble with highlighted areas next to dark areas. Overexposing the view for about 2 seconds before being able to adjust, but for framing the shot it still performs good enough!
Focusing using the screen takes some getting used to, the screen shows the in focus areas pretty well. But in bright sunlight it is somewhat hard to see. But again it is still good enough. The awesome perspectives you can create more then make up for this!
The colors displayed on the screen seem a little bit unsaturated, this is probably due to the amount of pixels (and bit depth) of the screen or Zigview S2 camera. But the screen or Zigview S2 camera are not taking the picture, so it has no influence over what the camera actually captures.
Shielding it from the sun with either your own shadow or your hand, does make it useful. However the screen has better visibility in indirect sunlight. Definitely something to keep in mind, when taking it out on a bright and sunny day!