view hood worth it ?

[gliderbee]

I'm looking at this auction :

http://cgi.ebay.de/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?...ht_1660wt_1184

Does such a hood replace a dark cloth ? It seems a bit easier to work with, but if that's is indeed so, why doesn't everybody else use it ?

Stefan.

[BrianShaw]

These are usable if there are no other options avaiable. They are no replacement for a dark cloth.

[Sal Santamaura]

Depends on your lens, screen and eyesight. I've got a Maxwell screen with AR-Coated Beattie cover glass. Since I'm -6 diopters nearsighted, when using f/5.6 camera lenses, I can drop my eyeglasses on a neck cord, place my face right up to the open hood and work just as well as when under a dark cloth. Your mileage will almost certainly vary.

[rjbuzzclick]

I don't think it would replace a dark cloth, but I never use one (just my jacket sometimes). I use the hood on my Speed Graphic and most of the time it works well. The only issue is that it's too deep to use a focus loupe without taking the hood off. Luckily, I found an odd magnifier lens in a tube that is long enough to use with the hood on, so that's my usual setup.

[bobwysiwyg]

Makes it hard to use a focusing loupe also.

[Ari]

Yes, it's worth it, to me at least.
I really don't like using a darkcloth, especially in the wind and/or cold.
The viewing hood is a timesaver, and frees up at least one hand.
Get a longer loupe to put up against your GG; I have a Peak 5x plastic loupe, it's about 2.5 inches long, and it works perfectly with a viewing hood.
The only time the hood might be of no advantage is with very wide lenses; it's already difficult seeing the corners, and the hood doesn't help in that case.

Now, does anybody have a viewing hood for my Wista RF that they want to sell me?

[IanG]

Depends, it can easily replace a dark cloth in reasonably light, but not when lights poor.

Ian

[Frank Petronio]

I think they are great, they also fold up to protect the ground glass. Just get a loupe that is longer than 4" to fit.

Darkcloths are kind of dumb, if you want extra darkness just throw a dark jacket/towel/t-shirt over your head and the hood.

Although, sometimes a friendly woman will take off her shirt for you to use as a make-do darkcloth. In those cases I usually humor them.

[Alan Curtis]

Frank
Only you get women to their clothes off when there is a LF camera around. The rest of us have to look like the geek under the dark cloth.

[Tom Schaefer]

Although, sometimes a friendly woman will take off her shirt for you to use as a make-do darkcloth. In those cases I usually humor them.[/QUOTE]

Does it take longer to focus when they do that
Tom