HoodmanModel HLVKIT Live View Kit DSLR Camera Viewfinder Sun Shade

This is essential for live view and video work. I had used the HoodCrane in the past but this is light years ahead of that product. The mount is made of metal and is adjustable, heavy duty and secure. It even fits my Canon EOS 1DX mark III which is a huge body and the screen lines up perfectly. This makes it easy to see the screen and blocks out peripheral light. It also makes using the rear screen while steadying your camera very easy.

I use this with the Custom Brackets mount supplied by Hoodman for the unit on a gripped Nikon D850 for macro work with non-stationary subjects (no way to make practical use of a tripod and macro rail) because this improves AF without front/back focus AF corrections. I tried a previous Hoodman screen loupe on a Nikon D800 several years ago, and the optics were very inadequate -- no sharp focus over the entire rear screen. This model seems to have addressed the issue -- the subject and the written image data are in focus over the entire screen that I need. However, the "gold" knob that locks the bracket into place and then releases the bracket when the loupe is not needed does not protrude quite far enough out on the gripped D850 (MB-D18) to allow easy access but does work. The only field case I have found for the loupe with the bracket attached (leaving the camera plate for the bracket on the camera) is a Think Tank Skin 50 ASIN B079Y7LDWY. Also, the focus collar on the loupe does not have a "hold" (unlike say the diopter adjustment on the optical viewfinder) and shifts due to face contact -- requiring refocus. I have solved this with gaffer tape to "lock" the collar into position once focused. Overall, with Live View point AF on the D850 and an AF stabilized macro lens, using this unit has yielded me a larger fraction of usable images.

This is great. It’s very adjustable and sturdy.

ONly complaint is that the diopter focus ring on the back doesn't stay put. You can't get it right and lock it down. It constantly, albeit slightly, moves with use. Every 5-10 minutes I have to readjust it so that the screen is clear again.

I’m an IR photographer and it allows me to see what I’m shooting through the LV with a filter in place

Well built but focus drift ALL the time. Once you realize you have to refocus it constantly, then you can use it. There severe distortion on the edges but about 80% of the image is fine. I used it to review images outdoors in really bright sun and it worked fine.

This viewer really helped with focusing. My film was very clear. Love it

This Product has the worst optics in any viewfinder I ever tried, extreme barrel distortion resulting in a "fisheye" effect so sever it`s hard to gudge focus correctly. after 20 minutes gave me a headache.A real shame becuse it also has one of the best construction quality ever, a lot of metal and high quality silicone, a lot of customization options so you can fit it in any camera now or in the future it feels like it's built to last, overall love the build quality but its the optics that count the most and they really screwd that up.