Toyo 1.5x Rubber hood, any experience?

[genecrumpler]

I saw one of these on e-bay yesterday and decided to investigate it's usefullness.
At Danny Burk's Fall workshop last fall, he showed the group a reflex finder that he had modified to fit his Ebony. Seems like a good idea.

The Toyo is not all that expensive and should reduce the need for hanging out under a black cloth in July-August.

Comments, please

Gene Crumpler

[Ralph Barker]

I'm not sure if you are referring to the Toyo reflex finder or something else, Gene. The reflex finder, which I have, is made of metal, so it's rather bulky. As such, it may not be convenient for field use. Personally, I don't find the magnification sufficient for critical focusing. I still need to use a loupe.

[genecrumpler]

The hood I'm looking at looks like a large Hasselblad Critical focusing hood. You view directly the GG, no reflex mirror. It is rubber so it just bunches up and should be quite compact and lite weight. I'm currently using a Toyo CF45 because of it's weight.

[raucousimages]

I use one in the studio for portraits on a Toyo 45GX. I use it for composition because it is fast when I have a client sitting there but I flip it out of the way and use a loupe to do the fine focus on the eyes. I tried useing it in the field so I would not get my darkcloth wet from the ground but I just could not focus as well as a loupe and cloth. I never took it out again. Also DONT FOLD IT. It will tear over time. Mine is now held together with gaffer tape.

[George Stewart]

I use one with a Wisner 4x5 Pocket Expedition. I puirchased it new and adapted it to a small wood/velvet frame that friction fits the camera back. My wood-working skills are not great and mine could be improved. That said, it folds compactly and is better than a focus cloth. Recommended.

[genecrumpler]

George,

How long have you had yours? I'm wondering about the previous post. The finder fits a toyo back, so no adapter needed, plus, it swings out of the way for critical focusing.
How about weight?

Thanks for the feedback, everyone!

[Ed K.]

I have one, which I use on a Toyo 4x5. It is a monocular viewing hood with an eye cup and inexpensive "magnifying glass" ( not an acromat doublet ) built-in. On the Toyo, it does a good job of blocking out unwanted light for viewing in bright conditions, and does tend to speed up the shooting process.

I got a cheap set of surplus diopters in a cool little box from Surplus Shed. All I had to do was unscrew the eyecup plate, drill out the holes to make them accomodate longer small bolts from the hardware store, and then just drop in a slightly more powerful diopter that works for my closeup vision. True, I suppose I ruined it, but you can't tell by looking at it. It works perfectly for me, and is easily better than a loupe with a heavy darkcloth pulling on the camera or falling off all the time. Since I got the rig together, it takes me 1/10th the time to grab a shot, and every shot is tack sharp.

They don't cost too much new either - so you should check Calumet for the price before paying too much on the iyeeblah.