dslr screen glare

tom beard

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I have an older dslr with a small (about 1-1/2") screen. I was attempting to take a macro photo of a flower. The light on it was beautiful, bright, about 45 degrees off axis behind me. It was in the afternoon so the sun was parallel (neither above or below) to the subject. The light hitting the screen on the camera was the same brightness as on the flower, and I couldn't see the image at all, and I was too close to use the viewfinder due to parallax. If I only had a shroud as big as Mat Brady's I'd be in business. I'm going to upgrade to a modern dslr with a big 3" screen, but won't I still have the same problem with glare? I've looked all over the net for devices such as barn doors, attachable hoods such as you find on a Hasselblad, but found nothing. I tried to mask the viewer with my hand etc., but nothing worked. This must be a common problem. I was not working with a tripod, just an interesting grab shot. I do have old eyes, but a kid would have had the same problem. Any advice?

Thanks again, Tom Beard
 
and I was too close to use the viewfinder due to parallax.

Wha? I thought you the whole wonderfulness of an SLR was, you know, the lack of parallax. Parallax applies to TLR cameras, but not SLRs. Someone please correct me if I'm wrong. o_O

If nothing is really working, you could try just snapping away and bracking your exposure, shooting wide, and hoping you get a few good ones.
 
Sorry for the confusion. The camera is an Olympus Camedia C-3000 Digital Zoom. It's ten years old and is a 3.3 mega pixel. It is not an SLR. If you use the optical viewfinder, is works seperately from the lens. If you look through the view finder and put a finger over the lens, you don't see the finger in the view finder image; only on the screen. THAT'S why I want a real camera.

Tom
 
sincerely - i'd wear a wide straw hat and take lots of shots. bracketing is a logical strategy but guessing at focus is more hit and miss.
 
Oh, OH. Now I get it. :) Silly viewfinders.

As to the problem, maybe you could take some cardboard and make yourself a little barn door thingy to attach to the edges of the screen? Will likely look far from sexy, but hey, if it works, you might have a shade that cost you $4 and some time to make. Just a thought.
 
Check out this little trick:

Using the camera LCD as Pseudo EVF

The device discussed is a commercial product just for this purpose. With an "antique" that has a small 1.5" screen you might be able to do as well with a much less expensive lupe made for 35mm slides, Magnification isn't a factor as the LCD screen, particularly the earlier ones, aren't that high resolution.
 
Dwig,

Thanks for suggesting the hood loupe! I found the "Hoodman" web site and they have exactly what I had in mind. When I buy my new dslr I will certainly put it on my wish list. In the mean time while I'm stuck with the antique, I'll take SonnarSphere's advice and get a big straw hat. If my camera looks rediculous, why shouldn't I.

Thanks again, Tom Beard
 

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