Just wanted to share that I'm very happy with the Hoodloup with strap that was delivered to me yesterday. HoodLoupe 3.0-Hoodman Corporation (http://www.hoodmanusa.com/products.asp?dept=1017)
I discovered that I'm able to make hand held steady shots with pans/tilts. . I press the camera to my face (the eyepiece of the Hoodloupe touches my left eyebrow) making the camera steady.
To be honest I was chocked with the results. Even with a 85 mm lens the footage was steady (used a 35, 50 and 85 mm)!
With my monopod I coudn't get such results.

Yesterday I had a make-over photoshoot for a magazine and between shots I grabbed the 5d. People weren't even realizing that I was taking video footage...
Unfortunately I can not share this footage as the production manager wants to keep it private, but I'll try to upload something else soon.
I finally have a working tool for run & gun situations.

By the way, I don't have any acquaintance with the Hoodman Company. Just sharing my joy with this new accessory.

Eugene

EUGENE HERTOGHE Photographer Belgium - fotograaf Gent Belgie (http://www.eugene-hertoghe.com)

Hey thanks for posting.. Interesting.. I saw their video it looks like the product does not attach to the camera, so what do you do? Do you just squeeze the hoodloup between your face and the camera?

I'm also a glasses wearer, so I don't think I can press the hoodloup against my glasses, or can I? I would love to hear your thoughts.

I discovered that I'm able to make hand held steady shots with pans/tilts. . I press the camera to my face (the eyepiece of the Hoodloupe touches my left eyebrow) making the camera steady.

Thanks Eugene. I've been looking for a loupe, but it didn't occur to me it could improve stability. Is the magnification/size okay for focusing? How well does the Hoodman fit over the 5D MkII's LCD? Can you see all the LCD okay? I can't quite tell from the picture.

Hey thanks for posting.. Interesting.. I saw their video it looks like the product does not attach to the camera, so what do you do? Do you just squeeze the hoodloup between your face and the camera?

I'm also a glasses wearer, so I don't think I can press the hoodloup against my glasses, or can I? I would love to hear your thoughts.


You have also to order the strap that attaches the loupe to the camera.
I wear glasses and it works for me (don't have big glasses though)

Thanks Eugene. I've been looking for a loupe, but it didn't occur to me it could improve stability. Is the magnification/size okay for focusing? How well does the Hoodman fit over the 5D MkII's LCD? Can you see all the LCD okay? I can't quite tell from the picture.

Magnification is ok; You see much better with the loupe than without.
But for precise focusing it's better to use the x5 and x10 magnification from the camera before you record your shot;

Fits perfectly over the 5d's lcd. It moves around a little (maybe I didn't tied it enough), but nothing to worry about

Thanks for the report Eugene, this item is going on my shopping list. I never would have thought of that added bonus without your feedback. Cheers!

See this version: Zenfolio | FOTOGRAFIJA | 5D Mark II: camera porn (http://sisoje.zenfolio.com/p706557289)

How does the camera hang around your heck with the hoodman attached? I assume the the finder will rest against your chest? does it stay put? or will that be forceful enough to knock it off?

I still think using a hoodman stuck with plastic epoxy and a modified LCD screen hood is the best/strongest option having seen a lot of others. Have a look at my original thread here http://www.dvinfo.net/conf/canon-eos-5d-mk-ii-hd/143007-my-second-vid-shanghai.html

That said I might add the hoodman rubber band thing for extra security but it looks like it might be difficult to add some tripod plates to the camera with it on.

Dan

How does the camera hang around your heck with the hoodman attached? I assume the the finder will rest against your chest? does it stay put? or will that be forceful enough to knock it off?

Good point. Can't really hang the camera around your neck anymore, but it doesn't bother me

I still think using a hoodman stuck with plastic epoxy and a modified LCD screen hood is the best/strongest option having seen a lot of others. Have a look at my original thread here http://www.dvinfo.net/conf/canon-eos-5d-mk-ii-hd/143007-my-second-vid-shanghai.html

That said I might add the hoodman rubber band thing for extra security but it looks like it might be difficult to add some tripod plates to the camera with it on.

Dan

Hey Dan, It is thanks to you that I bought the hoodman loupe (seeing your rig in that thread). I'm actually working on making a one handed shoulder mount with a counter balance weight in the back. That way I can handle the focus myself without the help of an assistant. So far it works well.

I have the hoodman attached to my 5D with one 12 inch heavy duty rubber band. It works great even though it might look klugy. Just loop it over the Hoodman, once around the camera (vertically works best) and then back over the Hoodman. The best part is it's adjustable just by tensioning the rubber band. And if it breaks (which mine hasn't in 1 month of use), just pull another one out of the bag.

When I made this device:

Prototype Shoulder Brace for 5D Mark II on Vimeo (http://www.vimeo.com/3530465)

All I knew was that camera shook to much and was unstable when hand held. The shoulder rest eye piece concept I used seems to work well because it changes to the dynamics of the camera. I shot a few brief moments yesterday, with the eyepiece only attached, at a birthday party, and still came up with shaky and jelloed footage. Had I not been lazy and attached the shoulder mount, the results would have been different. As far as movement left to right, and up and down, the shoulder mount changes pivot point of the camera to the shoulder mount. Camera itself moves less. The same applies to tilt. With the camera off set to the left side of the shoulder mount axis, the left or right tilt is not as pronounced or jarring. The setup certainly seems to reduce rolling shutter effect.

Here's an attachment method that I fabricated in my garage. It allows the Loupe to be attached/detached easily and doesn't yank on the screen protector I put on the LCD. I also added the Hoodfinder to make the hard rubber on the loupe more comfortable and it blocks more stray light. Used it on a couple of shoots and its worked pretty well. Some light still sneaks onto the screen at times. If you improve on this please post!

Loupe (http://www.normanbonney.com/hoodloupe..html)

So just happened by a rack of sun visor shades for $ 1.00 at Michael, I bought a couple cause I though it might be useful for fashioning a shade to add to my device. I brought it home, removed that band, cut off some of the ends, and had the balance stitched to create a loupe shade. While it is not light tight, it seems to work very nicely.. pictures attached.

The Hoodman strap says one size fits all but has anyone used it with the battery grip attached?

I received my loupe yesterday and am very happy with it. And yes, it can be attached even with the battery pack snapped to a camera, and the attachment strings are not in the way when mounting the camera onto tripod. Works fine, especially for the people with spectacles (like myself) as there is diopter adjustment. I do not know how would I focus in exterior without this product.

Can anyone, please, please measure the actual size of the Hoodloupe 3 frame? (the side that fits on the monitor). I've been trying to get an answer to this question in another thread on this forum, but to no avail! In centimeters preferably but inches will also do of course. I would like to use it on the monitor of my Sony HVR-Z7, but even on the Hoodman site the measurements are a well kept secret...

65mm across x 48mm deep is the internal measurements of the rubber bit that touches the camera. the rubber is about 3mm thick all round so add 6mm to the above figures for the outside measurements. hope this helps

Just got mine this morning and I have to say I am disappointed with it. The image seems dark and not sharp except for in the centre area. Is this how they are supposed to be? ill play with it more later and see if I can't get a better user experience with it.

hmm.

Thanks very much for the information, Wayne. From these measurements I understand that it will be a bit too small for my Z7's screen. That means it must be way too small for your 5D-smonitor, doesn't it? Anyway, probably I can cut small slits in the corners and bend the vertical parts a little outwards, so that I can see the full monitor screen.
I suppose most loupes will have soms unsharpness in the corners. Altough for the price, that should not be the case with the Hoodloupe...

It's actually spot on for the 5D2 screen Luc. The viewable area seems to be 65 x 43 mm

There is a hard plastic shell inside the rubber that touches the camera which you might have difficulty bending. I suspect it would break if you tried to bend it.

Anyone else any comments on this to help Luc?

It's actually spot on for the 5D2 screen Luc. The viewable area seems to be 65 x 43 mm

There is a hard plastic shell inside the rubber that touches the camera which you might have difficulty bending. I suspect it would break if you tried to bend it.

Anyone else any comments on this to help Luc?

It fit my Mark II perfectly, but like Wayne I was very disappointed with how bad the picture looked. I sent mine back.

Bruce

Bruce:

What specifically looked bad? Was it blurry, low contrast, etc.?

Dan

I'm finding it difficult to keep my eye against the Hoodloup in the 'bang on' centre where I can see if things are in focus on the screen. as soon as you start panning and tilting (using monopod at the moment for extra stability) things start to shift and it's difficult to see.

I appreciate it'll take some practice, but still, I expected to see pretty sharp pics quite easily. Maybe not too easily but certainly better than I'm finding it.

just my opinion.

Avey

Bruce:

What specifically looked bad? Was it blurry, low contrast, etc.?

Dan
I wouldn't say it was blurry, just generally not nearly as good an image as when you just look at the lcd screen.

Bruce

I wouldn't say it was blurry, just generally not nearly as good an image as when you just look at the lcd screen.

Bruce

Yeah, it's like it's suddenly a low res image or something

Odd

Well that's no good. I think I am leaning toward the Z-Finder from Zacuto. I susupect that it will work very well as all of my Zacuto stuff does. Expensive? Yes but probably worth it. Unless the Hood Pro guy gets his act together and figures out how to fit the Hood Pro to the 5D MKII. That would be ideal.

Dan

Well that's no good. I think I am leaning toward the Z-Finder from Zacuto. I susupect that it will work very well as all of my Zacuto stuff does. Expensive? Yes but probably worth it. Unless the Hood Pro guy gets his act together and figures out how to fit the Hood Pro to the 5D MKII. That would be ideal.

DanDan Chung already spotted that the $395 Z-Finder comprises a $150 Schneider loupe & an eye cup. For those who find the Hoodloupe optics unsatisfactory it may be a cheaper option to replace them with the Scheider part.

Right, but it is that custom rubber part on the front of the loupe to mount it, the Velcro setup and the eyepiece rubber cup that make the Z-Finder worth it to me.

I know some guys have reverse engineered it and that is fine but where are you going to get that custom piece from? I doubt if Zacuto will sell it to you separately ;-) It is fine to purchase a Schneider 6x7 loupe but how do you space it for correct FOV of the LCD without that piece and how do you cleanly mount it? Also, the rubber eyepiece cup helps with eliminating stray light and making it more comfortable to use for long periods of time.

DIY costs money because it takes time, effort and more time. I will definitely not have time to DIY this, I go straight into production in May.

Dan

It's actually spot on for the 5D2 screen Luc. The viewable area seems to be 65 x 43 mm


I now see the mistake I've been making: the 5D's screen is 4:3 while the Z7's is 16:9. That explains why the loupe will be a trifle too narrow for my camera. Anyway, I ordered one and I'll try to make it fit somehow. Thanks for the help!

Dan Chung already spotted that the $395 Z-Finder comprises a $150 Schneider loupe & an eye cup. For those who find the Hoodloupe optics unsatisfactory it may be a cheaper option to replace them with the Scheider part.

Wish I'd bought a Schneider now…

For those of you who are DIYing with the Schneider Loupe, it would be interesting to hear how many hours it took you to formulate your idea for mounting and how many hours it took to research, hunt down the components/material needed and what the cost was in merchandise and labor. I think it is totally do-able but I am reading about people who are buying the Schneider Loupe, then custom fabricating the front piece from scratch using CAD, molding, fiberglass, extrusion and all sorts of other manufacturing process.

The DIY side of me is saying, "Cool that you can do that, wish I could do that. Wish I had the skills, knowledge and multi-hundreds of thousand dollars facility to do CAD/CAM, fiberglass fabrication, etc."

The practical side of me is saying, "wow, your time must be really cheap for you to be able to devote that many hours to making a DIY 5D MIII viewer"

I guess it makes sense if the people doing that are going to sell their creation but for a one off? There are some crazy people out there.

Dan

Dan,

As you know I agree with you about time costs of making a finder. I just wish Zacuto were a bit more forthcoming in letting someone like you test the z-finder for the rest of us, and answering my questions about the quality of the velcro fastening in a rough environment. I guess this may be a little academic as after NAB their waiting list for the z-finder may be so long that I have to make one anyway :)

Dan

Me? They should have you test it, you are a working video journalist out on the streets of the world every day, shooting in gritty, real life environments. What am I doing? Sitting in an antiseptic conference room tomorrow, shooting boring interviews with salespeople for this corporate video for a new product line. My shoots are so easy on gear compared to what you do.

When I am running around France in June, shooting all over the country, on the street, that will be a lot more like what you do. I am looking forward to it, all of this office boring stuff is getting me restless.

You should ask Steve Weiss to send you one so you can write a review. I am still waiting for my 5D MKII to be delivered, I did freebie "slow boat delivery" ;-)

Dan

I now see the mistake I've been making: the 5D's screen is 4:3 while the Z7's is 16:9. That explains why the loupe will be a trifle too narrow for my camera. Anyway, I ordered one and I'll try to make it fit somehow. Thanks for the help!

Just received my Hoodloupe with the elastic velcro attachment and it fits quite nicely over the monitor of my Sony HVR-Z7. There's only a small rim of about 3 mm of the image missing. The fixing is sturdy, but the optical quality could indeed be better: in the corners the image is blurry. Anyway, with an investment of 144,- euro's I've made a shoulder camera from my Z7. Too bad Belgian customs kept the Express mail (!) package for three f... days, just to calculate their tax of 10,- euro's. Disgusting.

Just received my Hoodloupe with the elastic velcro attachment and it fits quite nicely over the monitor of my Sony HVR-Z7. There's only a small rim of about 3 mm of the image missing. The fixing is sturdy, but the optical quality could indeed be better: in the corners the image is blurry. Anyway, with an investment of 144,- euro's I've made a shoulder camera from my Z7. Too bad Belgian customs kept the Express mail (!) package for three f... days, just to calculate their tax of 10,- euro's. Disgusting.

Yeah, Mine got caught by customs too. AND THEN the Parcel Force people took that as an opportunity to slap on their own exorbitant charge as a 'handling fee'. Ridiculous.

Getting the hang of it now though. With practice you can keep your eye in the centre. Looking for an eyecup to put on the end now.

Anything cheaper than Dan's suggestion anyone?

The new Z-Finder is on its way to me, hopefully it will arrive by the end of next week.

Dan

The new Z-Finder is on its way to me, hopefully it will arrive by the end of next week.Dan, are you sure that yours will arrive next week? I had thought that because of short supply that these weren't available for purchase except with the full Zacuto rigs. Actually I just checked their web site & they are only available for pre-order with no stock before the 20th May.

Hi Nigel:

I have a connection there who told me that my Z-Finder is shipping today. They received a very small amount, I was on a pre-order list from way before NAB. They are not anticipating regular amounts of them to replenish until May 20th.

Will definitely do a review when it arrives and I have had a chance to use it.

Dan

Looking for an eyecup to put on the end now.

The big eyecup that comes with the Z7 fits over the Hoodloupe perfectly.

Dan, Do you have the hoodman, or played with it so you can compare the two...

No:

I have read too many posts complaining about the substandard optics on the Hoodman and to me, after years of shooting HD, the main challenge is focus. Always focus. I can see trying to shoot and focus with just a bare 3.0" screen, my eyes are not that sharp anymore.

Dan

Does anyone know what the Z7 eyecup part number is and where can one order it from...

For those looking for a way to mount the Hoodman view finder onto the 5DMKII body...

Here is another option... for $13.50

On Ebay item # 260383728507

This is the LCD Pop-Up Screen Hood Shade Cover for CANON 5D Mark II

All you have to do is take the three flip up/out panels off of the unit and mount
the Hoodman view finder on the frame of the cover... you can use glue or gaff
tape..

you can do this in about 5 minutes.. and you wont have to use rubber bands or any thing else to hold it on the camera...

And the whole setup is very easy to remove... no modification to the camera is required

So can anyone compare the Schneider and the Hoodman quality? Has anyone used both?
I'd be interested to know since I;m thinking of selling the hoodman and buying a schneider if there's much difference the DIYing the thing to the cam myself.

I used the Hoodman all day yesterday at a wedding and it works better the more you use it but when hunting for perfect focus especially at longer lengths, the occasional 'jaggies' that you sometimes see on diagonals can throw off your confidence that you've nailed it.

Reviewing footage this morning I find I was pretty spot on most of the day, but it didn't feel like it at the time.

Anyway, if any one has had a chance to play with both together let me know your thoughts would you?
Ta

Avey

I will have the Z-Finder on Wednesday, I will probably write an article on it once I have used it a bit. The Z-Finder IS a Schneider loupe, so I can't see what the difference would be other than the Z-Finder is already setup and ready to use and if you buy a Scheider loupe, you will have to engineer the front piece, mounting system and buy the eye cup separately.

The quality of the image should be identical because we know that the loupe portion of the Z-Finder is the Schneider loupe.

Dan

I will have the Z-Finder on Wednesday, I will probably write an article on it once I have used it a bit. The Z-Finder IS a Schneider loupe, so I can't see what the difference would be other than the Z-Finder is already setup and ready to use and if you buy a Scheider loupe, you will have to engineer the front piece, mounting system and buy the eye cup separately.

The quality of the image should be identical because we know that the loupe portion of the Z-Finder is the Schneider loupe.

Dan

OK Dan, looking forward to hearing what you think of it. A bit wary of the (what seems to me, far too much) extra cost for the Z-finder over a stock Schneider. Maybe you can let us have your thoughts on whether Zacuto's fixin's are worth the extra dosh too.

Cheers

Avey

Thanks Ray Bell for that useful suggestion about the LCD Pop-Up Screen Hood Shade Cover.

How does the cover mount on the 5D MKII? If I get a HoodLoupe and mount it on the cover you describe will I be able to quickly attach it to the 5DM2 and remove it at will?

it mounts on the 5DMKII eyepiece... on the camera body you sqeeze the eye piece and
pull it up... takes a little effort, just sqeeze and rock it back and forth as you pull it up.

Then the Shade cover just slips onto the eyepiece slot...

Thanks Ray. Sounds like a great solution.