Using a Hoodman with A7 Mk ii

[steve of stonehenge]

I am new to the Sony family and just got an A7 Mk ii.  I love to take sunrise and sunset photos.  I recently discovered the Hoodman   (http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1085425-REG/hoodman_hlpp3m_hoodloupe_3_glare_free.html )  while attending a landscape workshop at Death Valley.  The Hoodman is big plus keeping out glare on the monitor and also provides some magnification of the screen.  Since the camera automatically turns off the monitor when covered, thinking you are using the viewfinder, this is not working well.  I understand that I go to Menu/Custom Settings/Monitor&Finder (4) and select Monitor only versus auto.  Is there a better way of doing this?

 

[Golem]

That is the best way. 

[Golem]

The purpose of a hoodman is to provide an improved

live-view experience on a DSLR. DSLRs provide no

live-view in the finder eyepiece, so the hoodman can

be helpful to the DSLR user favoring live-view.

   

OTOH the Sony A7 series DOES provide live-view in

the finder eyepiece, so the hoodman, which involves

certain ergonomic compromises, is less rewarding to

the A7 user than to the DSLR user ..... possibly less  

rewarding to such a degree that it's a bad idea.

  

`

[iul]

For the A7, this makes no sense at all. What do you see on this display that you do not see in the finder ?

[steve of stonehenge]

You guys have obviously not used the Hoodman to make these comments.  It is useful to have a larger view of your image to see your results.  Do you do editing on a three inch monitor?  NO.  With the glare of sunrise/sunset I'll continue to use the Hoodman.

[Bobm]

The Hoodman on Mirrorless cameras works well in eliminating glare and distracting light. In that regard it resembles the dark cloth used by Adams, Sexton et al. Ive tried it on my A6000 and found it clumsy. I prefer an old dark cloth I used on my LF cameras. Additionally, the dark cloth can be fit about the body and since it's warerproof also protects the camera

[billg380]

There is a 'LightDim" tape that I have friends using that might work. See the article at DPReview. http://www.dpreview.com/forums/post/55623982

[rogermadsen]

I have a Hoodman that i used a lot on my previous DSLR and liked but I don't really see the point of carrying it around for my Sony A7II. If the screen has too much glare I just look in the built in "Hoodman", I.E the viewfinder...

 

/Roger

 

[reeltime]

I think everyone who has replied so far has missed a very important feature on the A7ii (and all A7 series) cameras.

 

The viewfinder LCD is 2.36MP  while the 3" LCD is only 1.23MP  So by using a Hoodman you are basically zooming in on your image at half the resolution as you would see through the viewfinder LCD!  It's like zooming in on an  SD TV image while you ignore the beautiful HD image in the viewfinder!  Also you can easily set up the viewfinder to have instant 7X or 14X zoom capability to fine tune focus or DOF when  using focus peaking.  

 

Another very important point is to gauge accurate exposure visually, the viewfinder brightness must be set to auto! Then it is calibrated to show the proper brightness of what the sensor is seeing.  The back LCD has no 'AUTO' brightness option which is why it is common for the back LCD image to look brighter or dimmer than the viewfinder image!  If you have ever ended up with a whole shoot coming out over or under exposed it is usually because the viewfinder has been set to a fixed brightness level and was not on auto.

 

If you want to test the resolution difference for yourself an easy way is to take any lens (preferable a very sharp one) and hold it 2-3' from you PC and use focus peaking at 7X or 14X to focus on the pixels in the text on this post...   Then simply look at the viewfinder image at any zoom level compared to what the 3" LCD shows....  It is literally like going from 1080P to 480i at all magnifications 

[steve of stonehenge]

I am seeing the benefit of not using the Hoodman now based on the wise comments of rogermadsen and realtime and Bobm.  I have hot had the occasion yet to try the viewfinder in high contrast glare of sunrise or sunset yet.  But I'm going to be stubborn and stick with a bad technique when better ideas are out there.  It might be that the cloth over the head would work if there is still too much glare when using the viewfinder.

 

I think everyone who has replied so far has missed a very important feature on the A7ii (and all A7 series) cameras.

 

The viewfinder LCD is 2.36MP  while the 3" LCD is only 1.23MP  So by using a Hoodman you are basically zooming in on your image at half the resolution as you would see through the viewfinder LCD!  It's like zooming in on an  SD TV image while you ignore the beautiful HD image in the viewfinder!  Also you can easily set up the viewfinder to have instant 7X or 14X zoom capability to fine tune focus or DOF when  using focus peaking.  

 

Another very important point is to gauge accurate exposure visually, the viewfinder brightness must be set to auto! Then it is calibrated to show the proper brightness of what the sensor is seeing.  The back LCD has no 'AUTO' brightness option which is why it is common for the back LCD image to look brighter or dimmer than the viewfinder image!  If you have ever ended up with a whole shoot coming out over or under exposed it is usually because the viewfinder has been set to a fixed brightness level and was not on auto.

 

If you want to test the resolution difference for yourself an easy way is to take any lens (preferable a very sharp one) and hold it 2-3' from you PC and use focus peaking at 7X or 14X to focus on the pixels in the text on this post...   Then simply look at the viewfinder image at any zoom level compared to what the 3" LCD shows....  It is literally like going from 1080P to 480i at all magnifications 

I am seeing the benefit of not using the Hoodman now based on the wise comments of rogermadsen and realtime and Bobm.  I have hot had the occasion yet to try the viewfinder in high contrast glare of sunrise or sunset yet.  But I'm going to be stubborn and stick with a bad technique when better ideas are out there.  It might be that the cloth over the head would work if there is still too much glare when using the viewfinder.  This is why I love a forum with the free flow of ideas that results in improved workflow.  Thanks to all

[Neroon]

I asked them and there will be an A7 Hoodeye released by the Fall.

In bright light the current eyecup sucks so much. It is the only thing I miss from my Canon days.

[Scottishlandscapes]

Pull the LCD away from the back the camera, the Hoodman works and if you need to see the finder view just lift the Hoodman to the side.