Shooting outdoors.. LCD is so worthless!

[Michael Carter]

Originally Posted by Howard Neill

Have you looked at the Hoodman Pro Cinema Kit? It seems to do away with the rubber bands.

I looked at their info for that piece, but needed a setup before the "crane" was available.

I've never shot with the crane, but I it seems to me the cavision's got a simpler elegance - the crane looks like a complex answer to a simple problem. And honestly, I rarely even use the "swing out" function, but even with it, the attachment method is very unobtrusive and looks pretty slick.

My point was more that adjustable diopters haven't been necessary for me - and my eyes are pretty bad up close.

Lots of folks on these forums toss around words like "useless", "unprofessional", etc... (but then a lot of those guys have PVC pipe shoulder mounts) (painted black, of course). When "simple" gets the job done just as good, I'm usually there.

[Ted Ramasola]

Originally Posted by John C. Chu

I'm also thinking that a do-it-yourself paper bellows hood might be a solution too.

Have to figure out how to fold one, or buy one pre-made.

Going DIY I made this;

DIY Loupe/Finder for VDSLR - DVXuser.com -- The online community for filmmaking

Hope it helps.

[Sam Kanter]

Originally Posted by Michael Carter

Nope, just a ton of magnification - and I'm far from 20/20.

Hoodman is cheaper, and it's great if you like to wrap your camera in rubber bands (or use that terrible redrock plate). Cavision has a really useable, swing-away mounting system - and it looks great on my rig, which does matter to me. The first spot I shot with it is running on Comedy Central/etc, I've used it on every commercial gig since. I can press every button on the camera and the baseplate clears the battery door. I could have purchased the Zacuto but I don't like their glue-it-on solution. the Cavision never leaves my rig.

The only issue one might have with the Cavision is it has some barrel distortion - if I was doing something like architectural films, I might shop around some more.

When I use a loupe on film, or use a magnifying glass, I never see the need for an adjustable diopter, and I need readers for reading and never long to turn a knob on those - magnification is magnification, I can see every pixel and have had zero focus issues. After my first daylight shot without a loupe, I'm in focus heaven, for under $200. Awesome little piece of gear, and like most Cavision stuff the baseplate is covered with tapped holes for adapting to whatever rig you come up with. I've used it on three different rod systems with no issues.

"Useless" - that's funny.

Useless unless the magnification is perfect for your eyes. In your case, it must be, but most people with glasses need a dioptor to adjust to their individual vision.

I tried Cavision loupe with hardware from B&H - it didn't fit on my T2i. The Hoodcrane is completely adjustable for any camera, and works perfectly. It's great that it swings away and back at will.

In any case, glad Cavision works for you - for me it was useless in many regards.

[Michael Carter]

Originally Posted by Sam Kanter

Useless unless the magnification is perfect for your eyes. In your case, it must be, but most people with glasses need a dioptor to adjust to their individual vision.

I tried Cavision loupe with hardware from B&H - it didn't fit on my T2i. The Hoodcrane is completely adjustable for any camera, and works perfectly. It's great that it swings away and back at will.

In any case, glad Cavision works for you - for me it was useless in many regards.

B&H should have known - for the T2i, you need a spacer plate - the LCD is positioned differently than the 5D. With the plate it's a perfect fit.

The issue with my eyes may be that they're just jacked. Even with bifocal contacts I can't focus closer than 10" or so. I've played with a hoodman and used various handheld loupes - when I'm at around 3x, everything's fine.

I haven't seen Cavision adding more spacer plates for their system though; I'm using Nikon lenses that I've owned for years on my T2i - I make a chunk of my living from stills and the D90 makes me very happy as a still shooter. Crossing my fingers for the rumored D95 - week or so and we should know. Would love to see the D90 "look" with less jello, manual controls, and a codec that (at least) matches Canon. But so far I hear nothing about 60fps at 720 - I use the T2i slowmo often.