EVF (GH4) is giving me a headache, this happening to anyone else?

[vampire]

Hi,
I've had a GH4 for several weeks. I love it. But when I use it for stills I use the EVF and I'm getting a headache and nauseous after about 30 minutes of use. I've tried both the 30 & 60 fps refresh options. I'm using it with off camera flash. Not sure if that's affecting me too. But I've never had anything like this with numerous optical viewfinder cameras. This is the first EVF I've had. Let me know if anyone else is experiencing this and any suggestions for minimize/fix it.

Thanks!
Josh

[degrub]

Do you wear glasses or have mild astigmatism ?  Is the diopter correction set ?

Frank

[capital]

This is not a medical opinion, but it sounds like Computer vision syndrome.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Computer_vision_syndrome

[Slobodan Blagojevic]

Ha!

This is funny! Not that your headache is a laughing matter, but the following coincidence:

About a year ago I posted somewhat humorous and hyperbolic take on EVFs here. This is a part of what I said:

They should come with a Surgeon General warning! If I suffered from seizures, I would have certainly got one on the spot. All that flicker, jittery movement, frozen movement when shutter half depressed...

[vampire]

I don't wear glasses and no eye problems that I know of. But I read that medical arrival. I'll try some eye drops and also try my right eye, instead of my left and see if that helps.

Thanks

[uaiomex]

My Sony A6000 manual warns about this. I thought it was an extreme measure to be protected for the "remotely possible case". But I see, this must be some kind of common.
Eduardo

[bcooter]

Ha!

This is funny! Not that your headache is a laughing matter, but the following coincidence:

About a year ago I posted somewhat humorous and hyperbolic take on EVFs here. This is a part of what I said:

I don't get it, not to make light of a health related problem, because I had a detached retina about 6 years ago and some screens give me fits, especially the new two new 27" imac I bought.

I dunno, I'm used to working around the limtations of a camera and viewfinder.

I just finished a large project where I worked RED evf's, gh4's, leica and contax ovf and other than the first few seconds of realizing what to expect from the viewfinder it takes me no time to adjust.

In fact it's not the finders I have to adapt to, it's the lag time, some evf cameras like the olympus are lightning quick, some ovf like my contaxs I know there will be some lag and adjust.

It's always been that way.

I guess what I don't get is the whole world seems to spend 85% of their waking hours staring at some screen, for work and play and doesn't seem to mind, but stick one in a camera and some purists just lose their mind.

I think there is room for both for different reasons, even in one camera since most cameras produce a live view image anyway, why not have a clip on finder like the oly ev4 that allows you to use efvs with the mirror up, or ovf with the mirror down.

We're so close to having cameras that can really and truly cross from motion to stills in one click of switch or a module and not ones that take twenty four add ons and a $15,000 stabalizer to make work.

evf's will lead the way to some amazing imagery that just wasn't possible before, like drones, stabalizers, remote mounts.     This is coming more commonplace per day and I see a time where the possibilities are just endless.

The only real gripe I have is the lack of standardization.   I'd love to see a show of hands of photographers that would like one standard menu system for all cameras, because if anything gives me a headache is remembering what button and trackpad, moves what to where to add a setting.

Anyway, I hope you work it out with your gh4 because I know eyes problems are a b**ch.

IMO

BC

[Christopher Sanderson]

...I'm using it with off camera flash. Not sure if that's affecting me too....

Can you elaborate? Are you subjecting yourself to strobe flash at high rates?

[vampire]

BC- Don't get me wrong, I love this camera! For whatever reason, I'm having some issues with the EVF and my eyes. I'm hoping I'll be able to figure it out. I've used an evf before with my Fuji X-E1 and no issues. Though I haven't used it on a real shoot. More casually on vacation, etc. But I didn't have a hint of any issues. So for some reason the GH4's evf is affecting me. The evf has a lot of great features. I'm hoping I get this worked out and use the GH4 for video and other still shoots and use my Hassy/Phase combo for portraits/high end stills. Allowing me to sell all my Nikon stuff. I'm shooting with it again today and will try the eye drops.

In terms of flash. Using two sb-800's off camera. Shooting fairly quickly, but not in bursts. I'm shooting pieces of furniture, so shoot one angle them turn it and shoot again. I do think the flash is having an effect. But will continue to try different things until it works or I give up. I'm not going to give up easily though!

[vampire]

So it seems to be directly related to using the flash with the evf. I've gotten by taking an Advil before I start to shoot and get this... closing my eyes right before I take the picture. Haha. So funny that I have to close my eyes after I focus and before taking the picture. At least I have somewhat of a solution for now. I'm going to try to test it some more outside this weekend without flash.

[rljones]

Headache and nausea can be symptom of migraine. Most common trigger is stress. Ignoring the headache part, then maybe it's a motion sickness type of problem.

People who look through microscopes and whip the slide back and forth rapidly can visually induce motion sickness. In other words, the same mechanism of motion sickness that is created while on a moving boat can be triggered visually even if your body is not moving.

(I have this problem with any viewfinder if I try to constantly look through it while on a helicopter. If I use the screen, I'm OK; otherwise I feel horrible after landing for the rest of the day.)

One test is for you is to compare using the finder vs the screen. If it only happens with the finder, the motion sickness issue might be the problem. I suppose the other issue might be the subject. Are these static subjects? Or are you scanning what's in front of you through the finder, rapidly moving the camera around? If the latter, then try scanning more slowly.

[tnargs]

I don't wear glasses

Maybe you should. Have an updated test. 30 minutes is too short for onset of headache and nausea. It's clearly not the screen itself, it's the user. You have to figure out what aspect of 'user' needs to be adjusted.

[stamper]

Time to buy a new set of eyes?

[vampire]

I'm convinced that it's a combination of the flash and this evf, which has an effect on me obviously. I definitely fit into the equation. But there is something different about this evf than others I've used. Luckily other people don't seem to be having this issue, which is great. It's gotten better since I close my eyes right before I take a picture. It's furniture, so it's not moving, so the problem is 80% solved.

Just waiting for metabones to release a canon ef to mft speedbooster!


And I'll keep my eyes, they've served me pretty well!!! Haha

[RobertJ]

It's funny I stumbled upon this thread, after just screwing on my Hoodman custom finder LCD loupe on my DP3 Merrill, looking through it at the live view on the LCD, and kind of getting dizzy for a few seconds, but after that, I was fine.

I do have vertigo.  It sounds like you have vertigo as well or something similar.  I get motion sickness very easily on airplanes, cars, etc, but there's over-the-counter pills that work miracles for me if I have to travel.

[barryfitzgerald]

I have Vertigo (diagnosed via a doctor) and I have medication for it.
It's not really got anything to do with EVF's or screen displays it's a malfunction of the inner ear mechanism which effects balance, it can make you feel sick and in extreme cases you can not stand up or lose your balance (wrong balance signals from the ear you can't level yourself) Rapid head movement can also make you lose balance or fall over. That's the worst case, I rarely get it but it can be quite dangerous and unsettling (even lying down the room can spin around - not alcohol related I would add)

The medication is strong, it's also used in the treatment of schizophrenia (honestly!) It blocks a brain signal at least that is the information I got on it and makes you feel sleepy and carefree (house could blow up and you wouldn't even be bothered by it). Good news is I get attacks very infrequently and 98% of the time no problems. I'm reluctant to take the medication as it's "one flew over the cuckoos nest" strong!

Back to EVF's I think we spent a lot of time looking at displays and I have EVF cameras, there are times I just crave a normal view and I can find looking through an EVF tiring after a longer period. I got used to it (I hated them at first) bottom line looking at pixels isn't the same as normal vision.