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03-09-2013, 08:15 AM   #1
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Clearviewer

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Has anyone used a Clearviewer with the Q? It is a lens which goes into the hotshoe and hangs over the LCD. It is mainly for people with sight problems, I think, but it does allow you to put your eye very close to a magnified view of the entire LCD so LCD glare would be reduced or eliminated. It costs about $50 so I do not want to jump without some indication that it works. This is the url - Clearviewer hotshoe mount. Apologies if this has been discussed. I did several searches and found nothing.

03-09-2013, 06:42 PM   #2
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I don't fully understand. How does this help people with sight problems where prescription glasses wouldn't do the same thing?
03-09-2013, 07:27 PM   #3
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I do not know what it does for eye problems but it can also be used as a view finder for seeing the LCD in bad light. That is why I am interested. It was called to my attention by someone with poor sight. It looks like it might be a substitute for a true EVF.
03-09-2013, 09:04 PM   #4
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QuoteOriginally posted by Mikesul Quote
Has anyone used a Clearviewer with the Q? It is a lens which goes into the hotshoe and hangs over the LCD. It is mainly for people with sight problems, I think, but it does allow you to put your eye very close to a magnified view of the entire LCD so LCD glare would be reduced or eliminated. It costs about $50 so I do not want to jump without some indication that it works. This is the url - Clearviewer hotshoe mount. Apologies if this has been discussed. I did several searches and found nothing.
It does look interesting and should help focusing manual lenses, It's smaller than the one I and several others here have been using. It's a hood eye piece see link below

Hans

2 8x LCD Viewfinder Extender Magnifier V5 for Nikon 1 J1 V1 Camera | eBay

03-09-2013, 11:09 PM   #5
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QuoteOriginally posted by hnikesch Quote
It does look interesting and should help focusing manual lenses, It's smaller than the one I and several others here have been using. It's a hood eye piece see link below

Hans

2 8x LCD Viewfinder Extender Magnifier V5 for Nikon 1 J1 V1 Camera | eBay
I like the one the OP posted but I think focusing in daylight would still be better with the hood. It does add a lot of mass to the camera though :/
03-10-2013, 05:06 AM   #6
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QuoteOriginally posted by Quij Quote
I like the one the OP posted but I think focusing in daylight would still be better with the hood. It does add a lot of mass to the camera though :/
In addition to focusing in bright light the hood also adds a brace point as you can rest the eye cup to your face and that helps with long teles, but the Clearviewer is very small and can be folded, it's tempting. The flash shoe is offset I wonder if they make one for the Q.

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03-10-2013, 05:11 AM   #7
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QuoteOriginally posted by hnikesch Quote
In addition to focusing in bright light the hood also adds a brace point as you can rest the eye cup to your face and that helps with long teles, but the Clearviewer is very small and can be folded, it's tempting. The flash shoe is offset I wonder if they make one for the Q.

Hans
They claim that they can adapt if for most cameras. I will ask them if they have made if for Q. I would really like the small foldaway design if it would allow focus in bright sun. I use a Hoodman now which is very bulky.

03-10-2013, 05:31 AM   #8
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QuoteOriginally posted by Mikesul Quote
They claim that they can adapt if for most cameras. I will ask them if they have made if for Q. I would really like the small foldaway design if it would allow focus in bright sun. I use a Hoodman now which is very bulky.
The small design would be great at concerts and ball games where the hood is too obtrusive. I have often thought of something like the folding hood on my old Rolleiflex twin lens would be neat, this is close. I think the downside for me is would have to remove my glasses I can leave them on with my hood.

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03-10-2013, 11:18 AM   #9
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QuoteOriginally posted by Mikesul Quote
Has anyone used a Clearviewer with the Q? It is a lens which goes into the hotshoe and hangs over the LCD. It is mainly for people with sight problems, I think, but it does allow you to put your eye very close to a magnified view of the entire LCD so LCD glare would be reduced or eliminated. It costs about $50 so I do not want to jump without some indication that it works. This is the url - Clearviewer hotshoe mount. Apologies if this has been discussed. I did several searches and found nothing.
This has been discussed before.

I really like the clearviewer. It is a magnifying lens and is very good in allowing one to focus a manual lens. If you have presbyopia, this will allow you to focus the Q at eyelevel, instead of holding the camera out infront of you.

It does nothing to correct for glare on the LCD outside.

A hoodman style loup will do a better job in eliminating glare and allowing better focus and eyelevel viewing. It, and other similar LCD screen loups, is very bulky.

If you want a shade, then look for the Kaiser digishield, it moounts via the tripod screw. It does not do anything for easier focus on the LCD. With the built in focus assit zoom and the contrast focus peaking, the need for a loup is reduced.

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/controller/home?O=&sku=575049&is=REG&Q=&A=details

Ricoh/Pentax would solve many issues for nature photographers if there was an accessory electronic viewinder developed for future Q varients.

Last edited by GXRUser; 03-12-2013 at 07:07 AM.
03-12-2013, 06:57 AM   #10
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I use one of these which work well

Delkin 3.0" Digital Camera Pop-Up LCD Screen Sun Shade Hood & Protector - Black | eBay

They JUST fit the Q, you have to watch you don't interfere with the battery door opening on the left of the screen (as viewed from the rear). They include an anti reflective protection screen and when the hood is closed totally mechanically protects the rear screen from scratches when the camera is carried in a pocket, as mine tend to be.

They add around 6mm to the depth of the camera when fitted. The hood part can be removed and replaced easily and quickly. The hood does help in strong sunlight.

Chris
03-12-2013, 07:03 AM   #11
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Q

QuoteOriginally posted by Mikesul Quote
They claim that they can adapt if for most cameras. I will ask them if they have made if for Q. I would really like the small foldaway design if it would allow focus in bright sun. I use a Hoodman now which is very bulky.
I just ordered a clearviewer specifically for the Q. (they will fabricate specifically for the Q either as shoe mount or tripod screw mount.)
03-17-2013, 10:10 AM - 2 Likes   #12
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Clearviewer in use

QuoteOriginally posted by hnikesch Quote
The small design would be great at concerts and ball games where the hood is too obtrusive. I have often thought of something like the folding hood on my old Rolleiflex twin lens would be neat, this is close. I think the downside for me is would have to remove my glasses I can leave them on with my hood.

Hans
My "custom" made clearviewers arrived yesterday. As I was opening the box, I received a call offering my tickets to a concert in 3 hours. Of course I decided to take the Q, the tripod mounted clearviewer and the 06 lens to the concert.

I was very pleased.

The clearviewer allowed a very good posture. It was easy to hold the Q steady and operate the Q. The close distance between the clearviewer allowed a near classic viewing... I no longer was holding the Q away from my and viewing the screen with the "dirty diaper hold". It was like using a classic camera again. I use glasses and the clearviewer allowed me to hold the camera near my eye instead of at 15" away.

The fact that the clearviewer folded reminded me of using a TLR in the sixties with it's fold away lens in the folding viewer. In fact, clearviewer has a modified shoe mount version designed to be attached to a folding LCD screen. It was developed for the NEX, but there is no reasion it should not work with any folding screen. The Kaiser digishield would be perfect since it is attached via the tripod socket.

I liked the folding clearviewer so much that I have both the tripod mount and the shoe mount. The shoe mount is more secure, but does not fold for transport. I think it will work better with the K mount adapter with the camera on a tripod. The folding clearviewer was very convenient. I used it for all pictures.

It is so useful, that for the first time I can consider using a camera without an EVF. It is all about how the camera is held and how easy it is to compose and confirm proper focus. In the dark arena, I found that I frequently needed to use the manual focus ring to get close to proper focus and when I pressed the shutter, the autofocus was near instant.

Here are some images:

1) Shoe mount clearviewer with lens folded away.
2) Shoe mount clearviewer with lens extended for viewing the screen.
3) Folding clearviewer folded against the screen for storage.
4) Folding clearviewer extended for viewing screen
5) Concert Image

Outside, the closer distance to the screen helps. I can see the screen with a baseball hat on or by using my hand to shield. A hoodman style may be better in very bright light. The clearviewer is a great solution in the absence of version of the Q with an EVF. This conclusion also applies to the Pentax MX-1 and the Sony RX-100.
Attached Images
         
03-17-2013, 01:24 PM   #13
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Great report. This adds another dimension to the Q and K-01. The hood lupes are so large compared to the Q. This is much better. I like the classic camera usage style. Glad you tried the Clearviewer and it worked so well for you.

Wonder if something like the Clearviewer isn't the future? I have the evf for the Olympus EPL-1. I hate the flipping back and forth to lcd screen. Actually used camera far less after getting evf. Maybe camera with eye detect auto switch would be better. Have heard many owners hate that technology too. Hard to beat a single lcd source.
thanks
barondla
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