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Home: Video University Forums: Digital Photography for Videographers:
Ordered Hoodman Hoodloupe

 
 


Brackish
Veteran


Jun 3, 2007, 7:58 PM

Post #1 of 11 (881 views)
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Ordered Hoodman Hoodloupe Can't Post


Gonna try it out.

I did an internet search and came up with about 8 user
reports - and all of them positive, saying it really
helps them out.


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"We'll always show up at the wedding with a gift bag for the bride. Inside we have these incredible fuzzy slippers in the teal of our branding."


Brackish
Veteran


Jun 5, 2007, 2:43 AM

Post #2 of 11 (859 views)
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Re: [Brackish] Ordered Hoodman Hoodloupe [In reply to] Can't Post
I had been leaning toward the Screen-Shade - until
I went out in the sun and used my hand to simulate
that device being on the cam.

With my hand cupped over the LCD, what I saw is that the

sun on my face reflected an image of my face back at me off

the LCD, making it still difficult to see the screen.




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"We'll always show up at the wedding with a gift bag for the bride. Inside we have these incredible fuzzy slippers in the teal of our branding."


(This post was edited by Brackish on Jun 8, 2007, 4:36 AM)


Brackish
Veteran


Jun 8, 2007, 4:28 AM

Post #3 of 11 (835 views)
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Re: [Brackish] Ordered Hoodman Hoodloupe [In reply to] Can't Post
Hi, guys.

Just wanted to let y'all know I got the Hoodloupe in.
I tested it out a bit outdoors. It really does make it
much easier to see the LCD. I have an actual shoot
this weekend so I'll know better after that how
it works in a real-life situation.

I will say it was a bit smaller than what I expected
from looking at the picture. It does have decent build
quality to it - i.e. it doesn't feel especially cheaply
made. The exterior is rubberized and there appears
to be a real glass magnifier used. The variable diopter
correction is appreciated. It hangs on an attached rubber
string around the neck. It comes with a nice leatherette
zippered case that you can clip on your belt.

Overall, I'm impressed and feel it was not excessively
priced. I'll report back after I've used it on an actual
shoot in the field.


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"We'll always show up at the wedding with a gift bag for the bride. Inside we have these incredible fuzzy slippers in the teal of our branding."


RustyB
Veteran


Jun 8, 2007, 3:52 PM

Post #4 of 11 (814 views)
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Re: [Brackish] Ordered Hoodman Hoodloupe [In reply to] Can't Post
I don't know that I'd use one of those at a run-n-gun wedding, and it might be one of those items that eventually ends up in that box of junk under the bed. BUT, I sure could have used one today, as I'm still learning to use fill-flash outside in the Sun. It was very tough to see the LCD, and impossible to judge the exposure just by looking at it, and I wasn't shooting RAW either since it was a shoot-n-burn/work for hire deal. That loupe would have been handy until I get more comfortable as to WTF I'm doing.

I grabbed the cash, threw the photo CD's on their desk, and ran. Laugh




the People's Video Collective blog
wedding video and the means of production


Brackish
Veteran


Jun 8, 2007, 10:04 PM

Post #5 of 11 (801 views)
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Re: [RustyB] Ordered Hoodman Hoodloupe [In reply to] Can't Post
In Reply To
I don't know that I'd use one of those at a run-n-gun wedding,
 Yeah, Rusty, I am planning to use the Loupe more for the outdoor formals, when you have a bit more time. What type of event did you do the photos for?


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"We'll always show up at the wedding with a gift bag for the bride. Inside we have these incredible fuzzy slippers in the teal of our branding."


RustyB
Veteran


Jun 8, 2007, 10:31 PM

Post #6 of 11 (798 views)
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Re: [Brackish] Ordered Hoodman Hoodloupe [In reply to] Can't Post
In Reply To
In Reply To
I don't know that I'd use one of those at a run-n-gun wedding,
Yeah, Rusty, I am planning to use the Loupe more for the outdoor formals, when you have a bit more time. What type of event did you do the photos for?

It was just a groundbreaking ceremony, golden shovels and all. I was so preoccupied with using my flash outdoors, that I really kinda botched it. Not to mention, it's tough to think of anything creative, when it's just a bunch of people standing around in a parking lot in front of some aluminum buildings. I don't have rights to the photos to post publicly, I guess, but if anyone wants to see'em to criticize'em...I can upload them to a private gallery....bad exposures...crooked horizons...poor framing...and all. Laugh




the People's Video Collective blog
wedding video and the means of production


RustyB
Veteran


Jun 8, 2007, 10:38 PM

Post #7 of 11 (793 views)
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Re: [Brackish] Ordered Hoodman Hoodloupe [In reply to] Can't Post
Holy crud, that thing is expensive, brack! It's got some good reviews on B&H, though.

Ya know, with "Live View" becoming standard on all Olympus DSLR's and the new Canon model...and probably all their newer models, something like that might work extremely well. You could take the shot using LiveView, and chimp the shot, without taking your eye off the loupe, and nobody would know the difference. Tongue




the People's Video Collective blog
wedding video and the means of production


Brackish
Veteran


Jun 9, 2007, 3:22 AM

Post #8 of 11 (784 views)
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Re: [RustyB] Ordered Hoodman Hoodloupe [In reply to] Can't Post
In Reply To
Holy crud, that thing is expensive, brack! It's got some good reviews on B&H, though.
 Like I said, it's not especially cheaply made. It's got a rubberized covering and the glass seems to be real glass, not plastic. The case it comes with is nicely padded and convenient for clipping on a belt. One thing that kinda swayed me to get it is the user feedbacks I saw, in addition to B&H, when I googled it. Everyone who had it recommended it when folks asked about it. Not a single person (that I ran across) said "don't get it". The only negative-type comments I saw were a couple remarks that it caused pixilation of the LCD when it was viewed through the magnifier. I really didn't notice any pixilation and, if fact, find the mild magnification to make for easier viewing. There was a comment that there was mild barrel distortion when looking through the glass but it's nothing I really noticed and it certainly wasn't bothersome.


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"We'll always show up at the wedding with a gift bag for the bride. Inside we have these incredible fuzzy slippers in the teal of our branding."


Brackish
Veteran


Jun 9, 2007, 3:27 AM

Post #9 of 11 (781 views)
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Re: [RustyB] Ordered Hoodman Hoodloupe [In reply to] Can't Post
What type of event did you do the photos for?

It was just a groundbreaking ceremony, golden shovels and all.
Well, congrats, Rusty! Nice to see someone starting to make
some money off photography. Nice not to have to do any
post and just get paid. Ever think of doing an in-cam video edit
and handing over the tapes at the end of the night? Laugh


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"We'll always show up at the wedding with a gift bag for the bride. Inside we have these incredible fuzzy slippers in the teal of our branding."


RustyB
Veteran


Jun 9, 2007, 4:31 AM

Post #10 of 11 (778 views)
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Re: [Brackish] Ordered Hoodman Hoodloupe [In reply to] Can't Post
In Reply To
What type of event did you do the photos for?

It was just a groundbreaking ceremony, golden shovels and all.
Well, congrats, Rusty! Nice to see someone starting to make
some money off photography. Nice not to have to do any
post and just get paid. Ever think of doing an in-cam video edit
and handing over the tapes at the end of the night? Laugh

I'm definitely inexperienced when it comes to photographing events, but yeah, it was nice. I shot pics for less than an hour, and when I was done, I had shot about 190 JPG's. I deleted about 10 of them in the camera, then downloaded the CF card to my computer. Then all I did was run an Action, that opened each picture did an Auto Levels, USM, and saved it as a new JPG in a new folder. So post processing took one mouseclick and about two minutes. I didn't crop or straighten anything, add fuzzy glows or crazy JC S-curves, just burned the customer a couple of copies on disc, which took the longest time because I stupidly only brought DVD's instead of CD-R's. I put together a "Work For Hire" contract, because I had no interest in the photos...just the cash...and that means I'll never have to look at them again once I handed them the disc. Pretty good feeling. If I had went out there and shot video for an hour, I'd have came home with days of capturing, editing, scoring music, stealing MP3's, making titles, custom making cases, menus, surface artwork, buring DVD's, etc, and then crossed my fingers that the customers didn't want something changed and have to do it all over again.

I know we've talked about it before, but I still keep trying to figure out ways of selling a super cheap in-cam edit for wedding video. I don't have some ego that prevents me from doing it. BUT, I just can't make the numbers work. I'd still have to charge what I charge now, since I currently don't charge for editing anyways, so there's not going to be much incentive for a customer to book me for a $999 in-cam edit, when they can get a full blown edited package for the same price. Another one of the biggest prohibiting factors these days, is the fact the video has to be on DVD. So even a straight burn from MiniDV to DVD, is going to mean hours of post production back at home. I just can't figure a way to make wedding video worth the while. Crazy




the People's Video Collective blog
wedding video and the means of production


Brackish
Veteran


Jun 11, 2007, 7:09 AM

Post #11 of 11 (739 views)
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Re: [RustyB] Ordered Hoodman Hoodloupe [In reply to] Can't Post
Just a follow up on using the Loupe in a real shoot.

I just had an outdoor shoot for a client where I
had the Loupe around my neck. I didn't use it
a lot - but I did use it some ... maybe a dozen
times or so during the hour I was shooting.
Those times I used it I was glad I had it because
it made checking the image very easy. What's
nice is that you can be secure in knowing that,
even when shooting in the brightest direct sun,
whenever you want to check out the LCD you
can with no problem. I'm definitely glad I got
it.

Like I said, I didn't use it a lot but the times I
did use it it worked with no problems. One
concern I had before I got it was that it would be
difficult to be focused off at a distance on your
subject and then move your eyes to a close inspection
of the LCD through the Loupe but there has
been no problems in this regard.

There's really no other product like this that I've
seen. I'm glad I didn't go with the Screen-Saver.

Off the top of my head, I really can't think of anything
bad to say about it. It covers a 2.5" diagonal screen
comfortably. It comes with a nicely made padded case that
can clip on your belt or even clip on a strap of
a ShadowSac. It has variable diopter correction
for different folks' eyesights. And it's actually
smaller than what it might appear in some pictures - it's
about as big as a shot glass.


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"We'll always show up at the wedding with a gift bag for the bride. Inside we have these incredible fuzzy slippers in the teal of our branding."