AF100 eyepiece cover

G

Greg Smith

Veteran
Mac's bad experience with his Cineroid reminded me that I damaged the LCD screen on my HMC80 by leaving it out where the sun could track across the viewfinder eyepiece on its very first outdoor shoot last fall. Fortunately, it is still usable and it is usually possible to ignore the scar when the LCD is illuminated, but it does have a groove in it as though somebody dragged a hot soldering iron across the screen surface.

I'd like to get a cover for my AF100's EVF eyepiece to close it off and avoid any possibility of similar damage -- which I think is a real concern since you can't flip the magnifier out of the way as on many ENG cameras. Ideally, this would be something I could attach permanently so I wouldn't have to keep track of another small gizmo in the field, and could then attach or flip into place easily when I take my eye away from the camera. Of course, it shouldn't get in the way of any ordinary camera operations.

I use the stock eyecup now and would like to add one of those chamois covers to it soon for more padding and absorption. Whatever I end up with would need to work with those (or replace them with something even better).

Anybody have a good suggestion? Thanks in advance.

- Greg
 
I've had a lens pouch over the EVF on my AF101 to cover it from sunlight. But I tried the protective cover for my Z-finder and it worked fine on the AF101 also. Not a snuggle fit but it does fit pretty well.
 
Film cameras - at least the pro level reflex ones - had/have flip lever shutters that block the eyepiece.. admittedly, not for the same reason (it was because light entering the viewfinder could fog the film if you took your eye away while shooting). But with this new concern over LCDs, it seems that a similar device would be a good idea fro both the external EVFs and the camera's finder.

To be honest, I never even considered that a few seconds of sunlight could do the kind of damage that has occurred to both my Cineroid and Z-Finder, and I hadn't even thought about the camera's finder. Gonna have to get a big black bag to keep this camera covered with a little slit for the lens.
 
And don't forget to protect the sensor too.

I keep heavy ND, & stop down the lens (or better yet, just use a lens cap), whenever the camera is Sunlight, & not running. If nothing else I'll at least defocus the lens.

I've seen Leica shutters burn, & don't want that happening to the AF's, or GH2's, sensor.

-B
 
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