Any Update on the Convergent Design Sunscreen Hood for the Odyssey

Mitch Gross said:
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.
Click to expand...

Flash light / torch / piece of wood with a burning end! ;)

The gap on mine is a little larger than than depending on how tightly you push the hood to the screen before tightening the thumb screws - 1-2mm. As i said, a pretty small point and hopefully it wont be a problem although you can definately get a strong distracting reflection inside from those two corners if you're viewing slightly off-centre. Maybe I'll stick some gaffer to it! I understand what you mean but maybe the hinge part could have extended one mm or so like a small tab - that would have done it.

I still think there's a need for a deeper four sided hood, particularly for outdoors shooting. Maybe i'll look at Olof's or make my own.

Oh, and the thumb screw retaining threads work well for me - they don't fall out.

Cheers.
 
Just recieved mine, not more than all the Paul mentionned point, it's cloody here actually, he do the job, will see with more sun and the lights leaks.
 
Some of you pointed out the European pricing was much higher than our US list. There are a few factors that contribute to this and our EU distributor has provided me with some numbers.

First off there is a 20% VAT. There is also an import duty of 3.5% plus shipping costs of about $10 per unit (remember that they are both shipped in to the distributor and then out to the various dealers). The distributor really makes very little money on a product like this, just a few dollars. And then EU regulations allow the dealers to mark up the price as they wish so that they can get some profit. No one is getting rich off the these hoods, including Convergent Design, but perhaps this gives a perspective on why pricing varies on products in different parts of the world.
 
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