Preventing backlit interference on Canon optical viewfinders

I shoot a lot of long exposure time lapse image sequences at night on my DSLR.

After using lots of small pieces of black gaffer to block strong backlight sources from flaring into the optical viewfinder,

I accidentally stumbled upon this not very elegant but effective solution which I will share .....

Use the Canon EOS's body cap to snugly fit over the rubber surrounding the eyepiece as shown in the following photos.

(But be careful if tilting your camera up - gravity could come into play!)

 

 

 

 

 

Edited October 23, 2018 by matt_t_butler

Thanks (although I have to confess that I am way more likely to bring either the rubber thingy, that came with the original strap or a black cap for my head).

 

That’s exactly what the ‘eyepiece cover’ is for: the ‘eyecup’ is removed and the eyepiece cover is clipped on ensuring a light-tight seal.

 

The eyepiece cover should be slipped onto the camera strap when the camera is unpacked, that way it is not lost. (I think many are inadvertently discarded when unpacked.)

 

Additionally using the eyepiece cover ensures a full view of the display and ease of access to controls.

 

WW

More elegant than my solution, which has been a piece of a thick terry cloth dish towel. I've actually never had evidence of a light leak when doing night photography, but I like to play it safe. the advantage of your solution or mine over the rubber cap is (1) I keep losing the cap, and (2) you don't have to take off the eyepiece cover.

Another solution - buy a camera with an integral eyepiece blind.

Which EOSes offer such? - The 1 series?

Otherwise I agree upon the joy of using cameras that can't meter through their eye piece at night.

@William Michael & other seasoned EOS users: Do the eyecups wear out from removing and end falling off all the time first and finally getting lost?

... Do the eyecups wear out from removing and end falling off all the time first and finally getting lost?

 

It's not the rubber part of the eyecup that wears out, it's the plastic internal little side clips which loosen up with almost any amount of regular use, then the lightest brush knocks the eyecup off. If it's not your face brushing against it, you just lost another one. I just lost another last week while hiking. IMO, the system is very weak, though technically functional. Luckily, replacements aren't that expensive

Thanks @Marcus Ian - I only lost the cup of my oldest Pentax so far and was curious if the EOS ones are endangered too. Sad to hear but good to know that they are

Re the Canon 'Eyecup' - I concur with what Marcus Ian wrote.

 

The Canon Eyecup which is supplied with the camera: I don't use it: It seems a redundant bit of gear to the way I use my Camera, so, I use my Canon DSLRs without any eyecup, (as per the top image that I posted above).

 

I do carry a Fotodiox C-18 Eyecup [LINK] to use in bright sunlight to aid me reading all the viewfinder information. These little buggers are hellishly expensive here, so I bought a dozen on-line for a few dollars each. Mine are one individual C-18 mount and one cup, which can be used left or right eye, not the 'set' as apperas in the link I gave: I am not sure if one can still buy these individually. I have lost several since 2004 when I began using Canon; and I have four remaining.

 

WW

I guess because I mainly shoot time lapse sequences during the day and night - that sometimes can take many hours to shoot, I always remove the camera strap to avoid any 'flapping' that could shake the camera.

The body cap solution is just a precaution to avoid accidental viewfinder flare, because unlike regular photography I tend to use long exposures per frame, with my time lapse camera set up and controls locked.

Each to their own ....