Do You Oogle? The HoodLoupe

To “ogle” means to look at someone flirtatiously or lasciviously, according to Webster’s. So, I invented the term “oogle” (a takeoff on Google, no doubt) to describe a behavior that many of us landscape photographers do.

Perhaps you’ve seen this in action. A pro photographer takes an image and as soon as it pops up on the LCD, he (or she) whips out a little black device from a belt holster or from around his neck, hunches over perilously close to his LCD screen and just… well… oogles.

The device in question is Hoodman’s HoodLoupe, an $80 contraption that I’d absolutely never be without. It’s basically a glorified magnifying lens. It fits perfectly over an LCD screen. For a man like me who has to take off his glasses every time he snaps the shutter and then put them back on to see the camera screen, the HoodLoupe is a lifesaver. Plus, I can see the screen with no glare whatsoever, even in the brightest light. And a +/- 3  diopter focus adjustment allows me to adjust the HoodLoupe perfectly for my eyes.

Some pros make heavy use of Nikon’s Live View feature to adjust critical focus (Cannon has a similar feature), but I often have difficulty using it in very bright light. Instead, I find the HoodLoupe to be helpful. On image review I enlarge the image and can see it with critical detail through the HoodLoupe.

The HoodLoupe comes with a belt carrying pouch and neck strap. I use the belt pouch, since I already have my glasses and a camera strap dangling from my neck.

Hoodman has a short video showing the HoodLoupe in action. Go to:  www.hoodmanusa.com.