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Eva

by Petr Újezdský

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Maybe a stupid question for some, but here we go. I just recently return from sea side holidays. One of the problems that I had was checking photos "on spot" when most of the time it was sunny, with very little shadow. Do you have some tricks/tips to overcome this situation beside capping hands around screen? Or did I perhaps somewhere in manual missed function how to view photos through viewfinder like many compacts have (I have Canon 500D).

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That's natures hint to let you know this is not a good time to take pictures ;) – Itai Jul 21 '11 at 18:44
@Itai well can you resist not to take interesting photo :P – peter_budo Jul 21 '11 at 21:35
No, it's nature's way of saying that where the photographer is standing, it is bright. The subject itself may be very nicely lit, under some shade or canopy. – ishmaiel Jul 21 '11 at 23:15
@cmason you just 4 months too late with comment that is not really helpful – peter_budo Nov 8 '11 at 9:57
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7 Answers

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I had a sun shade on my D100 years ago... that lasted exactly one shoot. I'd look into the HoodLoupe. I have a couple. Great product.

They're made by Hoodman Corporation — http://hoodmanusa.com/.

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Bryce Alan Flurie in deed seems to be practical product. Thank you for suggesting it. – peter_budo Jul 21 '11 at 21:31
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I have a hoodloupe, goes round my neck, doesn't add anything flimsy to the camera and works great - better than any LCD shade. – Matt Grum Jul 21 '11 at 23:02
Matt - exactly. Great that it doesn't actually attach to the camera... but you do look like a dork when you forget it is around your neck and you walk into a restaurant. Happens to me at least once a trip... – Bryce Alan Flurie Jul 30 '11 at 1:59
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up vote 5 down vote

I just use a toilet roll, which I covered in black tape, then colored the inside with a black permanent marker. Good news is it is cheap, folds flat, has almost no weight and readily available in a pinch.

Poormans LCD viewer

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I have a 3" loupe for examining the viewfinder in bright sunlight, but if you can get the same effect with a homemade solution at almost no cost then that's great! – Matt Grum Jul 21 '11 at 22:58
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up vote 2 down vote

You can buy shades which clip on on to the LCD and flip out. However, if like me you don't mind looking slightly odd if it saves you money, you can just keep the inner cardboard tube from a toilet paper roll in your kit, then you can just put it against the LCD and look through the other end. Works a treat.

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up vote 2 down vote

Your DSLR has an optical viewfinder (thank god...) rather than EVF like in those compacts, so no - you did not miss such settings.

That said, you do have a brightness settings on your menu to enhance the rear LCD. Might not help in full sun, but can make the difference in less demanding situations. Note that it eats your camera's battery faster, though.

In addition to @ishmaiel's link, you can actually construct such a hood from scrap cardboard.

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up vote 1 down vote

This is a very common problem. No LCD will be bright enough to compete with the sun and the glare off the front of the screen.

There are a large number of LCD shades available, which mitigate the problem by allowing you to view the image in a darkened environment.

I haven't tried any of these. Other than the added bulk, they look like a good solution.

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up vote 1 down vote

you can use something like this - costs only 12 USD.

enter image description here

But I mostly use my baseball cap, to shade the screen.

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up vote -1 down vote

Try a Giotto's glass screen protector. Your 500D's screen does not need a bulky, annoying hood loupe thing. You just need a decent anti-glare screen cover, and set your screen brightness to maximum!

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-1 Screen protectors are good thing, but in this case it is off topic – peter_budo Nov 7 '11 at 9:28
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