Hoodloupe Mag 3.0

[Jon Fairhurst]

The Hoodloupe Mag 3.0 is now available.

HOODLOUPE MAG 3.0-Hoodman Corporation

I put in my order. Hopefully, it works as well as claimed. I also have access to a Z-Finder, so I'm looking forward to comparing the two.

[Stan Chase]

Thanks for posting this Jon. I'm looking forward to your comparison. I have the HoodEYE 3.0 but if the new one's much better I'll be putting the old one on eBay.

I wonder if Hoodman is going to package the loupe, eye, and strap into a Cinema Kit II?

[Jim Giberti]

You must have got an email like me Jon. And you'll probably get to test it before me too, due to my Vermont mountaintop location.

[Jon Fairhurst]

Hi Jim,

No e-mail. I just checked the site and there it was. I think they ship from the West Coast, so mine should arrive here in the hills before it gets to your mountain top.

Out here, we avoid living on mountain tops. The closest one to me is this one: ;)

[Chris Barcellos]

Jon:

Just want to be clear on what you are talking about.

1. First, I buy HoodLoupe 3.0, latest version. It provides no magnification, but does have a focusable diopter so my old eyes can actually focus on screen ?

2. Then, if I want to magnify what I am seeing by 3x, I by the addition you are referrring to for $39.00 ? Are you able to view whole screen at once with the magnifier ?

[Tony Davies-Patrick]

I'm not too impressed with the original Hoodman loupe.

The Cavision isn't that great either. The LCDVF is a far better option. The Zacuto-Z is OK, but far too expensive for what it is.

An even better option is to use a Medium Format chimney finder from Zenza Bronica, Hasselblad, or Mamiya etc. The Bronica and Mamiya have quite strong magnification, but the Hasselblad is perfect at 2.5X and top-class optics with build quality a league above the Hoodman.

[Jim Giberti]

You had a chance to demo the new Hoodloupe Mag before it's release Tony?

[Jim Giberti]

Originally Posted by Jon Fairhurst

Hi Jim,

No e-mail. I just checked the site and there it was. I think they ship from the West Coast, so mine should arrive here in the hills before it gets to your mountain top.

Out here, we avoid living on mountain tops. The closest one to me is this one: ;)

Yeah Jon, I'm with you on your choice of location. I'd have a tough time getting 20 horses and 8 Labs off of here in a hurry. Fortunately my farm is on very non-volcanic footing. In fact, at one time the Green Mountains were the tallest on the planet. Now they're a benign, largely tree covered range.

Back on topic - regarding the LCDVF Tony. It's really not an option for a lot of us with out a diopter. For $40, it's a non-issue to enhance the Hoodloupe. I'll be able to compare it to the Z when it gets here.

[Tony Davies-Patrick]

You mean this one Jim where you remove the orginal eyecup? (Which has been available for a while from Ebay):

YouTube - HoodEye 3.0

I've tried the Hoodman and straps options but didn't like it much, especially on the 5D. Even my Kenko Pro-Loupe was far better quality for focussing.

The new orders of LCDVF are due to arrive in UK in April (held up due to a large backlog of orders).

Regarding the large format chimney finders, they are all very good quality and most of the models have diopter correction.

[Jim Giberti]

Originally Posted by Chris Barcellos

Jon:

Just want to be clear on what you are talking about.

1. First, I buy HoodLoupe 3.0, latest version. It provides no magnification, but does have a focusable diopter so my old eyes can actually focus on screen ?

2. Then, if I want to magnify what I am seeing by 3x, I by the addition you are referrring to for $39.00 ? Are you able to view whole screen at once with the magnifier ?

Hey Chris. The existing Hoodloupe has no magnification and does have a diopter that works great. Unlike some, we've had no trouble working with the Hoodloupe (except that you have to be centered on the glass to get a clean image.

No one knows how the new Mag 3.0 looks as it's just released today and I'm guessing both Jon and I are among the first orders. One of the Redrock boys posted about it in pre-production and said it looked great. For $40 it's a no brainer if you've already got a Hoodloupe.

In general, the Hoodloupe is light and well made. I have one mounted on a $10 ebay 5DII lens shade that I think is the best mounting solution for any of the VFs at any price. If you get one I'll tell you all about it.

[Jim Giberti]

Originally Posted by Tony Davies-Patrick

You mean this one Jim where you remove the orginal eyecup? (Which has been available for a while from Ebay):

YouTube - HoodEye 3.0

I've tried the Hoodman and straps options but didn't like it much, especially on the 5D. Even my Kenko Pro-Loupe was far better quality for focussing.

The new orders of LCDVF are due to arrive in UK in April (held up due to a large backlog of orders).

Regarding the large format chimney finders, they are all very good quality and most of the models have diopter correction.

No Tony. Hoodman just released the new Mag 3.0 today. It's a 3x magnifier that fits onto the original body the same way as the Hoodeye 3.0.

I never bothered with the rubber straps. Mounting a VF on one of the lens shades that are made for the 5DII is the clever way to do it. It goes on and off instantly, fits tight, weighs nothing and looks like Canon made it. All it takes is 5 minutes and a little glue to set it up.

[Tony Davies-Patrick]

Sorry, Jon and Jim, I was of course reffering to the Hoodman with Hoodeye Eyecup 3.0 and not the latest Mag version.
I look forward to hear how you get on with it and how much improvement it provides.

[Stan Chase]

Originally Posted by Jim Giberti

For $40 it's a no brainer if you've already got a Hoodloupe.

They're already on eBay - $34.79 after Bing and Mr Rebates cashbacks:

http://cgi.ebay.com/Hoodman-HOODEYE-...mZ370352406643

EDIT: Just bought one..there's 4 left.

In general, the Hoodloupe is light and well made. I have one mounted on a $10 ebay 5DII lens shade that I think is the best mounting solution for any of the VFs at any price. If you get one I'll tell you all about it.

Agreed. The T1i shade I was using fits my T2i just fine.

[Jon Fairhurst]

I agree with Jim that the Hoodloupe is well made and the diopter works well. (I love not having to take my reading glasses on and off.) The shortcomings are 1) the image gets soft if the eye is off center, 2) there's no magnification, 3) the stock eyecup is ineffective, and 4) they don't have a good, built-in mounting solution.

I'm hoping that the 3x Mag will take care of the first three items.

Regarding mounting, I've also got a lens shade. It clips on the view finder. I don't like that when I remove it, my viewfinder is naked. I used velcro to connect the loupe to the shade, but it's coming apart. Soon, I will receive a Hoodloupe mount from Red Rock. My only misgiving about their design is that it doesn't snap on/off easily. (It mounts between the camera and the mounting plate.) I'll see if I can come up with a way to quickly add and remove it.

This is less of an issue if you have a nice monitor. You can just leave the loupe on the camera full time. Pull the camera/loupe off the tripod/jib/slider and use the loupe on a shoulder rig. Put the camera back on the tripod/jib/slider, plug in the HDMI cable and view the monitor. The loupe can stay on the camera until you put everything away in the case.

[Leonard Levy]

Jim and Jon
Can you explain in more detail how you are mounting the hoodloupe on the camera. I just got a T2i and haven't tried mounting on that but it looks scary because the camera itself is small.

I agree the hoodloupe is pretty great the Mag eyepiece sounds like a no brainer. I use it on my Ex-1 also.