Hoodman EX1 KIT for improved LCD viewing
 

Hoodman here...
Fellow EX1 users wanting to improve your outdoor LCD viewing performance... Hoodman has just began shipping its EX1 kit. Here is a link that will give you all the information you need...
HOODMAN EX1 KIT-Hoodman Corporation

Thanks,
Lou Schmidt
Hoodman Corporation

Lou,

It looks like a winner! I'll be ordering one soon.

Just ordered mine today with overnight shipping. Hopefully it arrives by the time I need it for a weekend shoot.

Will report back on how it works.

Forrest

I just ordered the EX1 kit from Hoodman, which seemed to be in stock as of yesterday. With ground shipping and tax it totalled about $175, but hopefully will really come in handy for those times in low DOF situations where focus is critical and easy to get slightly off, only to realize when viewing on a larger monitor later.

I have a silly question- why not use a viewfinder then? I am not sure what is the advantage of turning an LCD into a viewfinder?

Not silly at all but the EX1's LCD is excellent and with a loupe on it rivals the sharpness and resolution of a highdef external monitor -good enough for accurate focus. Unfortunately, the EX1 viewfinder resolution is mediocre, hence the need for a good, reliable loupe for the LCD.

I'll probably get one, but Peaking has been working great for me so far.

Here are a couple of pictures of my new Hoodman attachment that arrived today via UPS. I haven't shot anything with it yet, but I'm pretty impressed...sharp image, nice design and build. The only thing is the eye piece seems slightly rigid, not like the soft rubbery kind that comes with the EX1. I'll just have to get used to it.

Attached at the bottom of the camera is a Quick Release Pro attachment manufactured in Portland, OR. It's great for attaching two wireless mics via velcro or for just placing the camera on the ground or any flat surface. I have it on my EX1 at all times.

Another nice thing about the QRP adapter and the Hoodman viewfinder combo is it makes it easy to brace the camera against my body, put my eye up to the viewfinder while supporting the combo with my left hand under the QRP. This is definitely the steadiest I've been able to handhold this camera without a shoulder mount...the extra weight from the QRP is a benefit. I can still reach the focus wheel with the fingers on my left hand.

Outside of interchangeable lenses, genlock and the other advantages of the EX3, the Hoodman really takes the EX1 up a notch. Looking forward to putting it to the test outdoors this weekend.

Forrest

You might try using Hoodman WristShot: http://www.hoodmanusa.com/prodinfo.asp?number=H-WS1. I have used it along with the HoodLoupe 3.0 (prior to the new adaptors) and it worked out quite well - frees up your left hand completely and transfers the weight to your right forearm.

I also like the new unit (Hoodriser etc.) - looking forward to using it for a real trial this afternoon.

What would be very interesting to me (and I guess to others as well), is to see a photo of a person actually using the EX1 with Hoodman loupe against his/her eye. Could some of you guys provide us with one?

Nice solution
 

from the looks of it, it seems to be just what the doctor ordered for ex1 users. I may have kept my ex1 if this existed a year ago.

good job hoodman... and much cheaper than zacuto.

Yes it does; however seeing the actual position of the hand-held camera, with the loupe against the operator's eye, would be worth more than 1,000 words...

In Forrest's grabs it seems to me like it's a bit too short for comfortable positioning the camera. The EX1's own viewfinder makes hand-held shooting very easy - what a pity its resolution is so low!

I flip the viewfinder up and out of the way and at least for me it feels comfortable.

I'll try to get someone to snap a couple of shots of me this weekend. I'll be giving it a workout during my daughter's soccer games on Saturday and Sunday in the Seattle area.

Anyone concerned that the hinge isn't up to the job of holding any additional weight or stress.

Marc, that thought occurred to me. Not so worried about supporting the weight, but it looks like if you bumped it the wrong way there would be a lot of leverage capable of breaking something.

I have an LCD hood, but it just pops off if you hit it. Will be interesting to read more reports after people put it to use in the field. Hopefully not an issue; looks very cool and should be well worth the price. I will probably get one myself.

I've actually completely snapped off the LCD before, breaking the metal bezel off, but the hinge mechanism and the mult-cable survived. I suppose I was lucky, the LCD, electronics, everything was ok except for the bezel that surrounds the LCD and connects to the hinge. I was actually able to get it functional by creating a makeshift bracket to hold the broken parts together. I was going to post about it, even took some pictures, but didn't have the time. A new bezel front and back was about $100, very easy to replace, not bad for what could have been catastrophic.

But what impressed me was the good build of the EX1 in this situation. The EX1 basically fell over while on tripod, toward the open LCD. The leverage of the EX1 and it's handle against the hinge, but the hinge survived fine and still works fine today. What gave was a thin part of the metal bezel along the hinge.

So, yes it is possible to snap the LCD off, and maybe the Hoodman would exacerbate that. I'll post back with some feedback when I receive the Hoodman, should receive it in a couple days.

I share your reservations, Boyd - also because one would like to press the eyepiece against his eye socket a bit, in order to create that additional support point when shooting hand-held. This is how the in-built EVF would be used; but while the stock EVF will certainly withstand, I'm not so sure about the LCD hinge...

Here are a couple of pics of the Hoodman unit at work this weekend. Overall I have to give it very high marks. Very little, if any slippage once the thing is attached, and when properly positioned I saw no light spilling in. I shot two soccer games and had no discomfort to my eye. It does add some weight to the LCD screen of course, but I don't really feel it's too much to cause harm to the screen's hinge. Very easy to get on and off.

Overall, IMHO worth every penny I paid for it!

Forrest

Thanks Forrest.

Any chance of some hand-held shooting pics?

Piotr - Look at the first pic from Forrest and extrapolate that if the viewfinder were pointed downward - his face would be snug against the camera body - I believe that is what would happen if you used this with the Redrock shoulder mount apparatus.

Barry - this is exactly why I'm interested in using the Hoodman loupe when shooting hand-held only, if at all.

To help me decide, I'm once again kindly asking anyone having the loupe to post their pictures, showing a person actually shooting with the naked EX1, with the Hoodman loupe against his/her eye.

TIA.

Piotr,

The handheld positioning of your head will be very similar to the pictures I posted. Because of the EX1 viewfinder in the back you'll most likely need to angle the HoodLoupe upwards so you're ear doesn't come in contact with it and the EX1 handle.

I suppose the disadvantage is that the EX1 will be slightly lower than eye level. But the BIG advantage is that you can push the EX1 up next to your body and cradle it by keeping your elbows tucked in.

With the Quick Release Pro I have attached to the bottom (previous pics) the cradling is very easy by supporting the camera with your left hand under the QRP while still having access to focus and iris. This combo seems to make for a very nice handheld situation. I haven't recorded any footage yet but it feels very stable...MUCH better than trying to handhold the EX1 without a shoulder mount. Also, you can attach wireless mics and such to the QRP. From my early tests this combo may well produce handheld shots that rival shoulder mount cameras because you're using your whole body as a tripod of sorts.

I'm under heavy deadlines now so I'm not sure when I'll be able to post some handheld pics, but hopefully this helps. As I said before, the HoodLoupe setup definitely takes the EX1 up a notch. You can now effectively get critical focus outside without having to block the sun from the LCD or use an external monitor. Great for running and gunning. It attaches quickly, doesn't slip around very much and effectively blocks light from spilling in.

This is a very well designed, well built product and I will be using it a lot!

Forrest

Forrest - I certainly agree with your assessment of the HoodLoupe but am having a bit of difficulty in understanding how you can cradle the camera with your left hand and make focus and iris adjustments on the run. I tried that before (without the QRP) and found it quite tricky - that is why I use the WristShot to completely support the camera with my right hand thus allowing my left hand the freedom to make constant focus and iris adjustments. Since I am (hopefully) going to use the QRP to mount a Nanoflash I am also going to experiment with a shoulder mount because of the extra weight ( approx 2 1/2 pounds - Nanoflash, QRP, battery) - don't think I could handle all that with one hand for prolonged periods of time.

Barry,

You're probably right about a true run and gun situation. Due to the nature of most of my work (corporate and medical) I rarely shoot handheld. But it would seem in a little more controlled handheld situation you can use your left hand to support the camera/QRP and still have access to the focus and iris rings with your fingers...not ideal for sure but pretty doable. And, I don't have long fingers!

I'll try to post some pics when I get time, but imagine having the EX1 viewfinder snug against your shoulder, right eye in the HoodLoupe which would be angled up, your elbows snug against your midsection, left palm flat under the QRP and your right hand on the EX1 grip at about a 45 degree angle. It just seems very stable to me, but again, this would be under a controlled situation and not so much in a wedding and/or run and gun news situation. A true shoulder mount would be better for sure.

Hope that helps.

Forrest

I just received my QRPro2 in the office - a very nice unit - very solid - I also made a to-scale mockup (including photos on the box) of the Nanoflash and it does fit nicely - will try it on my camera when I get home. I can visualize your "shooting stance" and it does sound fairly stable - I have also found bracing the camera (with the large Sony battery protruding out the back) against my chest does help.

The last piece of the puzzle (shoulder mount) arrives tomorrow and will have to see how that works out - the QRPro2 is rather hefty and together with the Nanoflash (same weight) -I don't think I could handle that handheld for any period of time.

Let us know how it works. I think you'll find the QRP 2 to be quite useful.

Forrest

Hoodman review, Handheld EX1 impractical
 

I received the Hoodman, I like it a lot. It's actually pretty dense because a lot of it is made with fairly thick rubberized material but I don't sense it will over stress the hinge. The focusing lens is high quality, it stays in place fairly well, and slips on and off easily once adjusted. I'll probably wind up using it often in situations with shallow DOF.

Regarding Handheld with the EX1:

I have an EX1, but using it handheld for any length of time is not practical. I have a few solutions, a really largish Dvrig Pro, which is fine for long shoots because you can even add batteries and all kinds of attachments to the unit. Quite large and imposing though.

I recently got an inexpensive rig called the Tiffen Davis & Sanford Steady Stick, it was less than $100 at Amazon.

The unit is actually quite useful and fairly compact and less imposing than the DVRig Pro, and it distributes the weight to your hips, rather than arms. You can then aim with the right hand and focus/aperture/zoom with the left or right, which is the important for run and gun.

Real-World Use of the Hoodman
 

I had a chance yesterday to use the Hoodman, along with my Steady Stick, for a 2.5 hour 'run and gun' type of shoot, completely hand-held the entire time. In this situation I'd normally just use the open LCD, but for that shoot I used the Hoodman 100%.

Overall I liked it, but with a few of caveats:

1) It would be nice if the inner surface of the Hoodman was a little more light-absorbent. There is a little too much reflection off the internal surface. It's not bad now, but I'd like it to be velvety black that just absorbs light. I'm contemplating seeing if I can paint or apply something that will reduce those internal reflections.
2) On the EX1, because of the location of the Hoodman in relation to the body, to get a straight on view of the LCD through the Hoodman lens, you really have to press the right side of your face/cheek against the EX1 body. Not sure if there is a solution to this, so if you have an exceptionally wide face it might be a bit uncomfortable over time. It didn't bother me too much but I did notice it.
3) The contoured eyepiece cup is too small. This was an indoor setting so there wasn't too much bright light that I needed to block, but with my head positioned for a straight-on view of the LCD and my check very firmly pressing against the EX1 body there was still some open space on the right side of the eye cup. I probably will need to find a way to improve this. I have a iCuff that I got for another bad eye cup for another consumer camcorder, that one isn't quite right for this but maybe another iCuff or other eye cup would work. If anybody has hints, including Hoodman about a practical solution please let me know.
4) Attaching to the LCD is adequate, but not elegant. Once you have it strapped to the LCD for a session, you really don't want to take it off. It's also not very precise in it's positioning. It can and does move around a bit. I would have preferred something that snapped around the LCD, with some contoured plastic that you could easily and repeatably slide on and off. I'm considering adding some plastic pieces to do just that and eliminate the velcro attachment piece.

Overall, it's an improvement on the only other EX1 loupe I've used. I wish for the $150 that it was more optimized for actual use without me having to do mods to it, but as another poster said (maybe in another thread) it seems to be a collection of parts from other Hoodman products to make something that works, rather than a unit expressly made for the EX1. Since the EX1 is wildly popular I would expect Hoodman to sell a lot of a more precise unit.

So I just received my Hoodman and did a quick testing, overall the built quality is good.
As mentionned previously, the contoured eyepiece cup is too small. I was a little worried about the 1:1 view before ordering but that as proven to be good. Optics are great.

I did some handheld shooting and I will have to come up with several minor modifications in order to have it stay in place. I wear glasses, so the unit must be perfectly centered in order to have a full coverage of the lcd. I also tried it without my glasses and I was able to have a comfortable viewing but I prefer having my glasses on while shooting.

What striked me most: I did noticed in dark areas that the top portion of the lcd always looks darker than the bottom. At first it isn't so obvious, but if you slightly pan down and up again, you will notice it, unless my lcd is defective. But without the Hoodman, my lcd looks fine.
It makes manual exposure control a little harder to evaluate, since you can hardly see any detail in dark areas, like dark hair being in the top portion of the lcd, so you would overexpose that area in order to pick up some detail but you shouldn't.

It would be great to have others comment on this.

I will also try to recalibrate my lcd, maybe that could help a little.

Otherwise, I think it's a good piece, after making minor modifications, I will have a real field test handheld.

Rob

Nothing much I can add to what's already been said about this unit other than this. I was forced to shoot handheld with my EX1 a few days ago. Thanks to the Hoodman loupe it wasn't too bad at all.

The BP-U60 pressed into my body just under the shoulder blade. Right hand took most of the weight. Left hand on the focus ring and / or bottom of the lens hood. Managed to get focus right and pull off mostly stable shots. It was murder on my right arm though, still hurts, not from the weight as much as from the unnatural position of it. I can't see anyway to avoid this. Move the camera forward and the viewfinder / loupe is too far from the eye.

I was mixing it with a few ENG guys at the event. Those digibetacam cameras are just so much easier to live with. Everything fits onto the camera, the mounting is strong enough so you can simply fold the legs and hoist camera and legs over the shoulder and walk to the next spot. Obviously they are a dream on the shoulder. I cannot understand why Sony do not have an XDCAM EX camera in that format.

my quest is over!
 

Guys,

Sorry if I sound too enthusiastic to those with different opinions - but having just tested my EX1 with the Hoodman kit, all I can say is: WOW!

I'm not going to repeat the reviews other have given here to this product; it's elegant, well made, etc. while at the same time, it could be even better in some aspects...

What is important is that - for hand-held, naked camera (with just a PAG light and a shotgun on it), run-and-gun shooting - the Hoodman loupe makes it possible at last to hold the camera close and tight to your body (thus stable), while providing ability to use the LCD at its full glory even with full sunshine.

What I could add is:

- when trying to use the EX1 just like another hand-held camera, using its stock viewfinder, not only is the viewfinder not good enough, but also it makes you stretch your arms so that the camera is positioned further away; this causes more fatigue and less stability. With the Hoodman kit, you can hold it tighter as mentioned above - resulting in a much more stable picture and less fatigue (yes Bob - the only gripe is that after a considerable period of time, your right arm gets tired because of the tight angle it is at the elbow; this is probably what EX3 users experience as well)

- equally important to me is the ability to use the LCD with the Hoodman on, with the camera on the Redrock shoulder mount - thus getting rid of the heavy monitor (see my comment in the relevant thread here: http://www.dvinfo.net/forum/sony-xdc...d-ex1-3-a.html

Congrats Hoodman; thanks Lou!

So the camera is not too high off the shoulder (with the Redrock Shoulder mount) to be able to use the HoodLoupe?

Barry, I'm surprised myself - but it's just OK!

Yes, even with the smaller (circular) eyepiece that comes with the kit, my cheek is touching the rear (fat) camera body, but otherwise, I can use the loupe just fine - and the whole rig is soooo much more manageable now :)

Piotr I trust your reasoned look at things and will now order one of these units.

I'm sure you won't be disappointed, Bruce.

The diopter adjustment allows to use the loupe even with glasses on; also it doesn't need to seat deep in your eye socket in order to see the LCD clearly; pointing down it doesn't need to be absolutely light-tight. This is why it can be used even with a rig as awkward as the one I'm using with Redrock shoulder mount.

With a hand-held, naked camera, and the large eyepiece, you can actually press it against your eye socket enough to seal out most of the unwanted light (which is important, as in this scenario, it's pointing upwards).

Oh, and one more thing: yes, as some people mentioned, it does move around the LCD a bit - however, I guess this is actually good, as it will never put excessive strain on it.

Piotr, do you also own the Hood One sock loupe? Is the Hoodman EX1 kit much better?

My Hood One box couldn't withstand a few months of use. I tried to repair the corners, but the carboard material itself buckles, in part from the tight elastic used for the sock loupe. It's ok if heavier plastic is used. I'd rather pay more for a product that lasts more than a few months.

Gints, you mean the Hood-Pro, right?

Well, it also has advantages; even if left unattended it will prevent frying your LCD by the sun. Also, it's absolutely black inside, so the LCD looks really gorgeous.

But yes, the hood edges could be better. As to the durability, we have to wait and use Hoodman solution longer to compare, I guess.

All in all, I much prefer the Hoodman solution as it can stay in the same position once adjusted, and it can create the additional contact point between you and the camera.

If it proves to last long as well, it's the winner hands down. Frankly, if I ever wished I could have waited and bought the EX3 instead of my EX1, I don't any more (granted I don't need the extra connectivity it offers, and I'm using 35mm adapter rather than removable lenses).

I have only used the Hood-pro sock loupe, and it works pretty good once you get it positioned right, but to be honest it looks cheap. At least this Hoodman looks like it belongs on the camera, and for that alone I am willing to buy one. The sad thing is, perception counts with my clients, who are all used to camera ops turning up with Digi-betas. I am buying a Matte-box, not for it's practical uses, but purely so my clients can be rest assured they are employing a pro

But once you get it, you will start using it - one of the things I consider a must for some outdoor shooting is a grad ND filter, for instance...