I'm thinking of buying a pair of Hoodman photographer's glasses. Have any of you had experience in using them and are they worth the money?
I'm getting tired of taking off/putting on my glasses every time I look in the viewfinder. I'm also afraid that I may lose or damage my delicate wire frame bi-focals in the field.
was what i meant. I've lost a pair of glasses in a mossy lake, had to fish em out, lenses never quite returned to normal, in the studio i use contacts, but i can't edit with them. (My vision is too poor, so the contacts are prescribed for med range.) Glasses that come on/off, would be wonderful, but those just look omg to me.
Thanks for correcting that. I'm really not concerned with how they LOOK. I'm interested in how well they WORK. I get paid to be behind the camera, not in front of it.
I'm just wondering if they're well made and would hold up for a couple of years. I already have a prescription and my optician could fit lenses for the frames. That way I could leave my regular glasses safely in my car and wear the Hoodman specs in the field. I need to be able to see with my left eye open while in looking in the viewfinder with my right eye. I often find myself in dangerous situations where I simply must keep an eye on my surroundings.
One more time, then I'm giving up and going back to Nikonians.
I wear prescription bi-focals. I need correction in both eyes.
I have a delicate wire frame, so if I take them off to shoot in the field, I'm concerned that I might lose or damage them.
I also experience some dizziness when I'm not wearing my glasses.
I have the diopter adjustment in my camera set up so I can see clearly with my right (shooting) eye. But I also need to see clearly out of my left eye, so I'm aware of what's happening around me. I shoot a lot of defense-related subjects. (If I told you any more, I'd have to kill you. No kidding.) They'd also come in handy for shooting corporate events, trade shows, presentations and the like.
The Hoodman glasses would allow me to flip up either the left or right lenses. I'd flip up the right side and still be able to see clearly with my left eye. So the glasses stay on my face and there's no chance of losing or damaging them.
I know these glasses aren't particularly attractive, but the shot comes first.
All I asked was if anyone on the board had used the Hoodman frames and what did they think of them. I don't want to buy them if other photographers have had bad experiences with them.
It's a niche product that hasn't been out all that long and it sounds like you are the ideal consumer for it. You are probably as good an early adopter as anyone in your situation and would be the perfect one to step up to the plate and buy one so that you can shed light on it for others to benefit from.
I checked Amazon on your behalf and discovered only one review and it runs counter to Ben's acquaintance:
Good Idea. Terrible Design.
The frames are a great disappointment. The hinge on the right eyepiece on the frames I received flops open when I look down which is very irritating. The hinge is difficult to tighten without damaging the frames and it needs to be tightened frequently. The frames are not deep enough to allow a reasonable bifocal zone which I need to read the LCD screen on my camera. I put high quality and costly polaroid prescription lenses in these frames so I'm pretty much stuck with them. I don't recommend this product.
bigbear1 wrote:
Mike,
I still need a lens in the right eye so I can see when I'm not shooting, so your suggestion won't help me. Thanks for trying.
John
2 Monocles?
Sorry, I couldn't resist. I've seen adds for them for quite some time, but I've never seen a review. If you buy them, I'd take a real hard look at the build and quality before getting your lenses put in them, you can always return them if you're skeptical.
Might I suggest you get a set of Croakies or something similar. I have one that is made of rubber ends that slip onto the temples of my glasses. A thick string (thin climbing rope fabric) loops around my neck. So when I'm looking through my viewfinder the glasses are hanging from my neck. I don't have to store them in a pocket or worse, lose them. Just a suggestion.
Tim
I tried them. My issue was that when the camera with a flash attached is at my eye, the flipped up lens pushes against my sweaty forehead, making the lens either foggy or smeared with sweat. Great idea, just doesn't work for me
