Anti reflective screen for Canon

The cover over the screen on the Canon DSLR's as I understand is user removeable, it's a ~ $15 part. How hard would it be to get a decent anti reflective cover and have it cut to size as a replacement? I would happily pay $100 for a screen that is useable outdoors on my 5D unlike the present one which is unuseable in even bright overcast light and renders the damn screen, digital's biggest asset (when you include the histogram), useless for outdoor photography. Come on guys, someone must know how to make a anti reflective screen, cut it to size and make money off of all us canon shooters....

I wonder if a strip of polarizing filter material would do it? There are several 'hood' type covers but they need lifting to view the LCD, OK for landscape or static subjects, useless for when I'm desperately trying to hold shadow and highlight with fill flash during an outdoor wedding ceremony in bright sunlight with an almost opaque screen!

Of course on a camera costing that amount it is utterly inexcuseable that such a solution should be needed, I fully expect the Sony Alpha screen to put the screen on the top level DSLR's to shame as digi P&S's have done for years now. Canon, get your act together!

Ben,

You have bright sunlight over there? That's news to me.

I think you're out of luck tho'. IMX the problem really isn't reflections, it's the relatively low brightness of the screen and the high ambient light stopping your eyes down. You can check it tho', you probably have some anti-glare picture glass in a frame and a polarizing filter available.

Hmmm... I'd go for a remote viewer monocular goggle gadget connected by radio to the camera. Looking like a cyborg wouldn't bother anyone in Los Angeles.

Will_Perlis said:

Ben,

You have bright sunlight over there? That's news to me.

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You think L.A. has the monopoly on sunlight?...no.....just bad earthquakes

David

Will, the screen is whiting out due to the reflections, acting as a mirror, that isn't a brightness or eye problem!

Ben,

It certainly wouldn't hurt to try some anti-reflective, polarizing or both techniques to see if they work. It's an easy enough experiment & I'll try it myself later this afternoon.

In any event, the screen on the little SD700 has some heavy anti-reflective coating on it and I still can't see it very well outside (I just tried it) in bright sun, and my cellphone screen gets almost totally washed out.

Ben Rubinstein said:

renders the damn screen, digital's biggest asset (when you include the histogram), useless for outdoor photography.

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This is a joke really, the 5D is my first Canon camera, I was shocked to see how bad the LCD is in bright daylight. My Fuji S3 is miles ahead in this respect, the image on the screen (which is a bit smaller) is very well visible even in sunny conditions. I wasn't aware that LCDs can be a problem until I got the Canon.

What a shame!

regards, Bernie

Ben,

Happiness, IMHO, is the net result of a simple subtraction: what you get v. what you expect!

I have been shooting with my 5D over the past 6 weeks in the brightest sun in L.A., N.Y. and all over Europe.

I can confirm that the same sunlight screws up the pupils of our eyes all over.

I didn't realize there was a problem as I just shield the LCD. Just get close to someone, lean over and quickly chimp. They think you are just being social or perhaps American.

I do have a little box device to shield the LCD but I've never used it. Now you have told me there's an issue, I may neeed it!

I expect you have been spoilt by a wonderful digicam and expect more than I do.

Asher

Ben,

I just forgot to mention that I set my LCD brightness to maximum? I expect you have to, but thought I'd mention it for completeness.

Asher

That's exactly whats happening, the sceen is dim and in normal outdoor light your eyes are stoppped down quite a bit. Plus if you are like me and over 45, your close up vision is giving you fits anyway.

My solution, is simple, I just carry a lightweight rain coat that is made of a dark material and use it as a cover over my head and camera, like the old 4x5 day's and a view camera. This works great, and allows you a much better view of the LCD.

PFC

dhphoto said:

You think L.A. has the monopoly on sunlight?...no.....just bad earthquakes

David

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Nah, bad earthquakes are common all about the Pacific Rim (a.k.a., Ring of Fire) not just in the sunny/smoggy parts. ;o)

Asher Kelman said:

Ben,
I didn't realize there was a problem as I just shield the LCD. Just get close to someone, lean over and quickly chimp. They think you are just being social or perhaps American.

Click to expand...

I just put my back to the sun to shade the LCD with my body.

As to chimping, that is mostly done with light meters where no photo is taken (i.e., one monkey and a typewriter is chimping but typing a document out of a typewriter and proofreading it is not ;o). Checking image data for exposure quality is called control and not chimping. ;o)

I use a Peak 4X loupe with black body to view all my LCD's. The black body blocks out ambient light and the 4X magnification enables me to check details on the image. The loupe is lightweight and fits easily in my pocket.

There are quite a few good anti-reflection films on the market (some are made by 3M, I think), but in reality they will not do all that much to help.

With a DSLR when you "chimp", the LCD usually faces up - it's hard to compete with sunlight

Will_Perlis said:

Ben,

... Looking like a cyborg wouldn't bother anyone in Los Angeles.

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Ahhh ... a fashion statement ... ready for dinner in Hollyweird.

Gary

Paul Caldwell said:

... My solution, is simple, I just carry a lightweight rain coat that is made of a dark material and use it as a cover over my head and camera, like the old 4x5 day's and a view camera. This works great, and allows you a much better view of the LCD.

PFC

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Aha ... another fashion statement.

Until Canon comes up with such a feature, we have several options, a hoodman LCD cover/shade, using your hand or something to shade the LCD, or getting a film cover (if it exists).

Ideally they should have an antireflective material to cover the LCD, a la Nikon LCD covers, but not yet.

Ben, Go into any shop that sells GPS and get the anti reflective covers and large phone one should do.

Mike

I think the LCD on the 5D is already polarized to some degree. The other day, I was wearing polarized sunglasses and thought my LCD screen was malfunctioning, then I realized that it was just a matter of what angle the LCD screen was compared to my sunglasses.

As I rotated the screen, it became fully black, then fully bright.