Using a Viewfinder/LCD Hood with SX-50
View attachment 579664
I have an
Xit XTLCDMVL Professional Viewfinder waiting for me when I get home tomorrow. I wear vari-focal specs and have a terrible time using the EVF. I have taken some good (for me) photos with my SX-50, but have also missed quite a few due to the miniscule EVF and the less than satisfactory diopter adjustment. I am hoping that this bit of kit wil help ameliorate that situation. Fingers crossed!
Woodbadger,
I'll be interested to see how you go with this.
It's a style of product I've been looking at for a while.
I hope I'm wrong but this one looks like it will need a bit of a mod.
It looks like it requires the tripod socket to be central to the lcd.
On the SX50 it's offset to the right (looking from the back)
Sorry it has taken awhile to get back on this.
The hood/viewfinder comes with a tripod screw, two brackets, a carry lanyard which secures by a metal ring behind the rubber eyepiece (I removed this) and a padded bag/case. The eyepiece provides 3.4x magnification of the LCD screen when installed.
As GrahameNZ speculated I needed to make a bit of a mod. However, it was NOT to do with the offset to the tripod socket.
The length of the "rail" on the bottom of the viewfinder unit is long enough (just) to compensate for the offset of the tripod socket in relation to the LCD screen. The unit comes with two different brackets, which allow for vertical adjustment of the hood in relation to the camera body and therefore the LCD. However, even using the lower profile bracket results in the hood obscuring most of the exposure information and the bottom of the screen.
In order to rectify this I realized that I would have to install a spacer/shim between the bracket and the body. The problem with this is that when I did that the tripod screw was no longer long enough to contact the socket on the camera body.
So, this is what I ended up doing.
- I ordered a replacement tripod screw with and extra long (15.5mm) post. This to accommodate the spacer.
- For the spacer I bought a packet of heavy duty, self-adhesive felt blankets; the kind you would use to protect a hard floor from the bottom of furniture legs (see picture below).
- I cut a piece of the felt to cover the top of the low profile bracket arm (where it would contact the camera body). I then used a craft knife to cut a slot in the felt to match the slot in the bracket.
- Inserting the new, longer tripod screw through the bracket and felt, I secured the bracket to the camera, attached the rail on the hood to the bracket, and slipped the shock cord over the top of the camera viewfinder.
- The viewfinder now is low enough to expose the entire LCD screen!
- The flexible eyecup is large enough to use with eyeglasses and provides enough light exclusion to make using the LCD screen as a viewfinder in strong light easy!!!
I went to to South Padre Island (Texas) on Saturday to experience the front end of migration. The use of the viewfinder afforded a much improved view and easier focusing than the EVF, as well as improving stability over using the LCD "naked".
I am very pleased with this c.$30 mod to my SX-50. Now if I could only improve my photographic skills!!!! 3
Pictures attached.
