Any Update on the Convergent Design Sunscreen Hood for the Odyssey

Pgale said:
Thanks for the update Mitch - a bit later than expected re shipping. Hopefully will get to the International dist in a week or so???
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They will leave our facility this week. I don't know how long it will take to get to various international locations.
 
I have had no update on my backorder from B&H and it has been on order since the end of April. I am just waiting to hear what the excuse will be for the next delay. Like we were out of zip-lock bags to package them in, so the shipment will be delayed another week.

Thank you,
Robert Pfeifer
www.pifemaster.com
 
Well it is the weekend so I have no way of finding ut what the current status is. I'll check tomorrow and let you know.

All I try to do is convey information. I do not create it. I do not falsify it. I am the guy who was in charge of the design of this particular product, but then it goes through other people for a physical manufacturing, inventory and shipping process.
 
We started shipping large quantities of Odyssey Hoods at the end of last week. Not sure if we fulfilled all current backorders from dealers, but we certainly did most of them. And in the next week or two we will have hundreds more units on hand in stock to fulfill orders at will.

I will not post what dealers we shipped to, and I have no idea as to what individual dealers did or did not promise to their clients. I also cannot state how long it will physically take for our product to arrive at the dealers or how long a dealer may need to process their incoming shipments before making the product available to clients.
 
B&H Photo just updated my backorder. They charged my card & assigned a tracking number just moments ago. If it ships out today, I will have it on Thursday. Otherwise, it may be Friday of this week.

Thank you,
Robert Pfeifer
www.pifemaster.com
 
For those in Europe, our EU distributor Symbiosis tweeted this morning that they have received a large shipment that fulfills all of their backorders and they now have units on the shelf for sale. Purchase through any Convergent Design dealer.
 
My bhphoto sunshade order just shipped. I only ordered it a few weeks back when Mitch said he was going with the rough skin version whenever that date was. Few weeks maybe. So peeps may well get it from the first shipment. Anyone order from BH in the last week?
 
timmytimetravel said:
My bhphoto sunshade order just shipped. I only ordered it a few weeks back when Mitch said he was going with the rough skin version whenever that date was. Few weeks maybe. So peeps may well get it from the first shipment. Anyone order from BH in the last week?
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Ordered last Wednesday, haven't heard any update from B&H.
 
Let us all know what you think when you get them. You cannot believe how hard it was to make what appears to be such a simple thing. Hope you like it, but I want the brutal honest truth so that we can make the best products for you possible.
 
Thanks Paul for the CVP tips, I just picked up the last one :)

From BH, from 4weeks I was on pre-order, until 2 days I have no news, so I canceled it and did 2 news order, one for the sunhood and other for some stuff, well, the new order for the sunhood was not in stock, so they said I need to wait until next week. Pre order first stock in first. (normal)
 
Mitch Gross said:
Let us all know what you think when you get them. You cannot believe how hard it was to make what appears to be such a simple thing. Hope you like it, but I want the brutal honest truth so that we can make the best products for you possible.
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Hi Mitch,

I just got mine. To be honest I'm a little disapointed with it - particularly for the price. I paid just under £100 for it from CVP. These are my thoughts:

1) A little flimsy and doesn't sit very square to the O7Q - maybe mine is bent a little. I'll try bending it into shape. I would have preferred a slightly stronger, more robust feel to it so it doesn't bend so easily.

2) More a shipping issue - The thumb screws are shipped in the same bag as the hood. This has resulted in the threads from the thumbscrews biting into the rubbery plastic of the sun hood, leaving thred marks and generally scratching it. I think it's likely that as this was shipped in a jiffy bag, pressure from other parcels could have caused this. However, if the thumbscrews were separately packaged, this wouldn't happen. I now have light circular and thread marks on the most obvious top face on the unit. OK only minor cosmetic but it does spoil the look.

3) where the living hinges meet the edge and the face of the O7Q, one of the hinges on each side is a little shorter than the other two. This results in a rectangular gap between the hood and screen. With bright light, you get light shining on the screen. Only a smallish gap but I can't see any reason for that gap being there. The other two hinges are fine and properly seal from the light.

4) Price - it's just quite expensive for what it is ;) OK, smaller runs etc make a product more expensive but it just doesn't feel right for the price.

5) Feels like the material will scratch and mark badly over time - at least from the scratches I have from the thumb screws it gives me that impression.

6) I've obviously not used it yet on a shoot but overall from first looks, it feels like it doesn't offer enough shade. I need to take it out on a test really. What would have been nice is a two part unit like Olof's - with a second wrap around material, covering all 4 sides and maybe even deeper - as previously discussed here.

Sorry to have all negative points - you asked for honest feedback. Not sure if I'm going to keep or return it - will decide after I've used it a bit more.

Thanks,

Paul.
 
Pgale said:
Hi Mitch,

I just got mine. To be honest I'm a little disapointed with it - particularly for the price. I paid just under £100 for it from CVP. These are my thoughts:

1) A little flimsy and doesn't sit very square to the O7Q - maybe mine is bent a little. I'll try bending it into shape. I would have preferred a slightly stronger, more robust feel to it so it doesn't bend so easily.

2) More a shipping issue - The thumb screws are shipped in the same bag as the hood. This has resulted in the threads from the thumbscrews biting into the rubbery plastic of the sun hood, leaving thred marks and generally scratching it. I think it's likely that as this was shipped in a jiffy bag, pressure from other parcels could have caused this. However, if the thumbscrews were separately packaged, this wouldn't happen. I now have light circular and thread marks on the most obvious top face on the unit. OK only minor cosmetic but it does spoil the look.

3) where the living hinges meet the edge and the face of the O7Q, one of the hinges on each side is a little shorter than the other two. This results in a rectangular gap between the hood and screen. With bright light, you get light shining on the screen. Only a smallish gap but I can't see any reason for that gap being there. The other two hinges are fine and properly seal from the light.

4) Price - it's just quite expensive for what it is ;) OK, smaller runs etc make a product more expensive but it just doesn't feel right for the price.

5) Feels like the material will scratch and mark badly over time - at least from the scratches I have from the thumb screws it gives me that impression.

6) I've obviously not used it yet on a shoot but overall from first looks, it feels like it doesn't offer enough shade. I need to take it out on a test really. What would have been nice is a two part unit like Olof's - with a second wrap around material, covering all 4 sides and maybe even deeper - as previously discussed here.

Sorry to have all negative points - you asked for honest feedback. Not sure if I'm going to keep or return it - will decide after I've used it a bit more.

Thanks,

Paul.
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I received mine today. I have to completely agree with Paul on his points number 1, 3 & 4.

Regarding point 1, I feel the lip could have extended further onto the Odyssey to help seal out any light. I have a noticeable gap at the top between the sunshade & the odyssey.

Regarding point 3, the gap appears on the 2 side living hinges and there is no gap on the top living hinges.

I wish the thumb screws were captured better to the sunshade. Ideally, a "E" clip on the inside of the sunshade to fully capture the screw. I can see myself loosing the screws as time goes on.

Thank you,
Robert Pfeifer
www.pifemaster.com
 
Thanks for the feedback.

I'll talk to shipping about the packaging.

The material is pliable so that it can be easily bent back into place should it get warped.

Once mounted on the Odyssey, you should be able to seat the hood very cleanly to prevent light leaks.

There are small thread tabs in the tie-down screw sockets so the knobs should remain on the hood even when not mounted on the Odyssey.

Regarding price, it costs thousands of dollars to create a mold form. If we were selling 100,000 hoods we could probably price them at $10 each, but that's just not the scale of the enterprise here. This is not a high-profit item and we did in fact lower the price from the original US$90 to US$80.

Not wishing to sound defensive, just trying to impart information. Please keep the dialog open.
 
$80 wouldn't be so bad but the whole UK price think makes it pretty expensive. Nothing new there though :(

its t's sitting pretty well now but how about those gaps in the hinges?
 
Well, I was so happy to recieve mine tomorow that I hope it will perfectly match on the 7Q without any light leak as my old atomos ninja blade sunhood did when I used it. Seriously, I never would like to compare the CD products to the other guys, but if for 115 euros with shipping this sunhood is crap, it's just a joke.

Will see tomorow, keep my finger crossed and hope I will have a good news with it.
 
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Pgale said:
$80 wouldn't be so bad but the whole UK price think makes it pretty expensive. Nothing new there though :(

its t's sitting pretty well now but how about those gaps in the hinges?
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Can't do anything about international costs. The way of the world.

The gaps are part of the design. The magnesium case of the Odyssey features four small tabs that extend forward about one millimeter from the front surface of the OLED screen. They are there as a point of protection should someone lay an Odyseey down on a surface face down. They are four little legs to raise the screen off the surface so that it doesn't get scratched. They were placed close to the corners to make the platform as stable as possible, but unfortunately this also means that they are located right next to where the living hinge must be. If you look at the lower hinge on each side of the hood you can see where the material is stepped back to allow for these tabs. There are another set of step backs near the tip ends of the hood. The way the liquid material is injected into the mold meant that the hinge needed to maintain that same profile, so we wind up with a small one millimeter step back on either side.

Actually getting any light onto the screen is very difficult. Try taking a flashlight (Brits call it a torch, correct?) and shining it in through the gap. There is a very small angle at which light can come in and hit the screen. And because of the wraparound nature of the monitor edge of the hood, there is no way to have this light shine back ino the operator's eye.

So yes, in theory it is possible to get a light leak but in practice it is extremely rare and fairly minor.

Next time (as in the next product we ever make with a monitor on it) I'll ask for the tabs to be located a few millimeters away so we can eliminate this issue. It's our first monitor and sun hood design.
 
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