it seems hard to find a loupe that fits the t2i screen because of its abnormal dimensions, which ones do you guys use?

my zfinder version 2 fits on it just fine.

jeez, is there any other viewfinders that are cheaper? i dont really wanna pay close to 400 bucks for one

You think half the cost of your t2i is expensive?(-:
research the lcdf viewfinder, the hoodman, the cavision...

There was a thread on this here recently:

http://www.dvinfo.net/forum/canon-eo...-your-t2i.html

It's really not rocket science to make a usable loupe yourself, many people who are interested in saving money including myself take this route.

making a loupe yourself? how do you do that?

The Z-finder comes with a frame you stick to your camera, to which the main body clips on to. You can buy this frame for £5/$6. It's a great starting point for a DIY loupe. I made one from a butchered food container, electrical tape and the glass from a £5 reading loupe. Very effective actually.

My next effort was based around a £50 professional 6x7 slide viewer which I sawed up, tapped a hole in, and mounted to a plate mutual to the camera. It is optically superb with great contrast, no CA and perfect corner sharpness.

You could also use a chimney finder. These things look like DSLR loupes. It just happens that old 6x7 cameras used to come with these, and they are used for the same job, to magnify a screen to assist focus.

Ones made by Mamya and Hassleblad are great optically. You just need to find a way to mount them.

ok, i am about to make the purchase, is there anything i should know before i commit? best place to buy it from? seems like the cheap places are 850 with the kit lens