Manual Focus Loupe

ah5168

ah5168

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I am looking varios methods of improving MF accuracy, has anyone tried a screen loupe or viewfinder magnifyer, any solution needs to work on a D700 and D300.
 
I've used the Hoodman Loupe and Liveview on a D3 with a PCE-45 tilt-shift.
- Couldn't do without it for focus in tilt!

They do an add-on elastic cord to fasten it onto the camera, if you need it.
 
Don't your cameras have screen image magnification in live view? Using that with my 5D2, I can focus on a knat's whiskers with incredible accuracy - either manually or using live view AF. Hoodman Loupes are good and handy for lots of things, but not really for focusing - they just allow you to see the screen dots more clearly ;)
 
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Both have screen magnification but I always struggle to get the focus at its sharpest possible point, particularly in bright sunlight.

I have tried using the 10x loup that I use with my large format camera but its to higher magnification. I was thinking of getting one of the Hoodman Loupes as Stoptime suggests as they are on 3x and block the sunlight, but was wondering if there was an alternative.
 
Seriously, I use a toilet roll to view the screen in bright sun :D But those Hoodmans are nice.
 
ah5168 said:
I was thinking of getting one of the Hoodman Loupes as Stoptime suggests as they are on 3x and block the sunlight, but was wondering if there was an alternative.
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I've used an LCDVF (good value for money but sadly didn't suit my eyesight) and now use a Zacuto Z-Finder.....excellent piece of kit IMHO.

Bob
 
I recently got a Hoodman Loupe. I agree with earlier posters that for accurate focussing the magnified live view is great, but the loupe is handy in bright light. I also find it useful if I've got the camera mounted on a tripod in an awkward position - very low or high - it somehow makes it easier to see the screen when at full stretch or bend! Also handy for looking through to picture composition framing - dunno whether it looks less pretentious than togs who go round making a frame with their fingers whilst closing one eye and cocking their heads to one side.
 
Looks like the Hoodman is the best solution then, anyone seen them at a good price.
 
jacob12_1993 said:
I got one off the bay, its good but the lcd on cameras isn't really high enough resolution for really detailed inspection
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That's not my experience at all Jacob, I find it pretty damn good.

I did a little maths (maybe flawed somewhere) and came up with this....

I use a 1DMkIV with a 16.1Mp sensor and a 307Kp LCD
The sensor is 4896 pixels wide and the LCD is 680 pixels wide.....ie, approximately 1 LCD pixel for every 7 on the sensor.
Zoom in to 10x magnification in Liveview and it seems that the LCD is actually a higher resolution that the sensor in this mode. At 5x magnification, we're seeing about 80% of the sensors resolution.

There could well be an error in my calculation but that's how I see it.

Bob
 
I use an LCDVF and I find it invaluable when trying to focus manually, although I only use it when shooting video.
 
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