I have a Sinar F2 4x5 and live in the Atlanta area. It is hot and humid here and being under the dark cloth can be brutal. I wondered if a reflex hood would be a good option and allow fine detail focusing?
When I get close enough to use my loupe to fine focus, it's tough. This may seem like a stupid issue so if you have ideas please help.
Generalizations are made because they are Generally true...
When I had my Toyo 45AX I had a reflex hood for it, primarily for the issue you mention. I really liked using it, but: 1) it is bulky (not heavy) so it takes up a lot of room in the pack and 2) you can't use a loupe to fine focus with the hood in place. The Toyo one swings out of the way easily (don't know about other brands). I think most reflex hoods provide some amount of magnification, so that might be enough if your eyes are really good - mine aren't
Bob
I sold mine. I did not find it very practical especially carrying it around. Perhaps if you were shooting long landscapes without too much critical foreground.
I have a Sinar Reflex hood and it's very good.
Because it contains a pair of magnifying lenses, it's easy to perform critical focusing. No more dark cloth required, no loupe, no reading glasses.
You have to be standing above it so that you can look down into it. For most scenes that works fine.
The magnification issue is one I have to consider for sure! Ken, it's obvious after you pointed it out but I hadn't thought about having to be taller than the viewer...
Is the problem of being steamy under the dark cloth just one of those things you have to live with???
Generalizations are made because they are Generally true...
One of Fred Picker's tricks which probably came from Ansel was to use a dark cloth which is white on one side, and black on another. This helps keep things cooler, but won't keep out the steam and heat if the air itself is steamy and hot. Using a reflex hood will certainly minimize that.Originally Posted by stradibarrius
Searching the auction site for "Sinar Reflex Hood", you'll find some which are monocular, but from what I can tell you still need to examine the image from above.
Barry there are also "in line viewing hoods." I'm not familiar with the Sinar system so don't know whether one is available for your camera.
One other advantage of a viewing hood (the Sinar anyhow) is that the image is no longer inverted vertically. It appears right-side up. To me, that's a great advantage, aesthetically.
The image is still reversed left-to-right, but I find that far less of a problem.
Another nice feature of the Sinar version is that the magnifying lenses flip away with the turning of a lever (which you can see in the image below: there's a lever on both the left and right side to accommodate left and right-handed users). Additionally, there is a knob on both sides, towards the bottom, which lets you adjust the mirror. This is handy when using shorter lenses which project a "bright spot" at different parts of the ground glass.
I'm glad you asked your question, you've reminded me just how nice it is !
Ken do the magnifiers come in different values and if so are they available?
Generalizations are made because they are Generally true...
One other thing...thanks for the great response and good info. I was expecting more cynical responses.
Generalizations are made because they are Generally true...
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