5 D mk2 / Hoodman Hoodloup = steady shots
 

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
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

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.

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.

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)

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

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...-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

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

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.

Rubber Bands
 

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

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.

Hoodman loupe attachment/enhancement
 

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

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.