How do I get the eypiece extender to stay on?

[Belmondo]

I have the EX15 eyepiece extender on both bodies, and I find they tend to come off rather easily. I spent a good ten minutes on my hands and knees (not coments, please) trying to find it under the seat of my pickup recently. Just brushing up against things will cause the cussed thing to pop right off, and it's frustrating (especially because I had to wait a couple months to get them while they were on back order).

Short of a big wood screw or epoxy, does anyone have any practical solutions?

Thanks.

Tom

[fbaxley]

I found that if I wedged a piece of paper as I was sliding the viewer down it seems to hold a lot better.

[msnow]

I have the EX15 eyepiece extender on both bodies, and I find they tend to come off rather easily. I spent a good ten minutes on my hands and knees (not coments, please) trying to find it under the seat of my pickup recently. Just brushing up against things will cause the cussed thing to pop right off, and it's frustrating (especially because I had to wait a couple months to get them while they were on back order).

Short of a big wood screw or epoxy, does anyone have any practical solutions?

Thanks.

Tom

Tom--I got so sick and tired of it coming off I bought a new regular one and I'll never use it again. I was hoping it would work for me...I tried silicon, shimming (as described by fbaxley) and nothing really worked. Besides the setting numbers and indicators were so small (for my old eyes) with it on I didn't find it practical. It seems that those plastic rails get stretched out when you remove it (to put the new eyepiece on) and they just don't ever seem to rebound back to the normal width. I guess you could try heating them but damn, that's bad engineering. The guys at Canoga Camera told me it was a "common problem".

Like you I lost mine all of the time. I was on vacation a couple of weeks ago and there were at least three occasions where people would walk up to me (holding my precious eyepiece) saying "did you drop this"?

Good luck and let me know if you find a permanent solution.

[CyberDyneSystems]

You could try Hot melt glue.. ? the stuff peels right off of metal and rubber when you want it to...... use only the clear flexible kind and not one of those industrial ones that is too hot.

[IanD]

I was going to make a smart-ass reply about finding an old pair of glasses and Krazyglueing the eyepiece to the right lens, or applying a small hinge to the eyepiece and hinging it to the eyebrow therefore keeping it permanetly attatched and thus lost proof but decided against it.
:lol:
Ian

[Belmondo]

I was going to make a smart-ass reply about finding an old pair of glasses and Krazyglueing the eyepiece to the right lens, or applying a small hinge to the eyepiece and hinging it to the eyebrow therefore keeping it permanetly attatched and thus lost proof but decided against it.
:lol:
Ian

Well, it's a good thing you didn't because I'm gullible enough to try it. Actually, I’ve thought about hinging my nose so it won’t bump into the LCD screen. That way, I could eliminate the eyepiece extender altogether. The whole thing has always been about avoiding nose prints on the back of the camera. :roll:

Tom

[IanD]

The whole thing has always been about avoiding nose prints on the back of the camera. :roll:

Tom
I too am afflicted with an over achieved sniffer and for the longest time struggled to find a way to avoid said appendage from smearing the LCD.
After years of experimenting I have found the ideal solution...duct tape!
I simple apply a length of tape accross my nose, pulling it to the right and fastening it behind my right ear.
Problem solved. :D The bonus to all of this is I can now smell things trying to sneak up behind me as I sit in the woods awaiting deer to show up and pose.
Ian

[Belmondo]

Good idea. Only thing is, I'd have to use black gaffer's tape instead of duct tape. I wouldn't want the silver tape to clash with my black camera. This is possibly a better tip for Rebel owners.

(at the risk of opening old wounds in the silver vs. black debate)

I'm headed out the door---I'ma actually going to go take some pictures this morning.

Thos.

[iwatkins]

Tom,

Mine was loose on delivery. IIRC, I just bent the two metal prongs on the back of the extender inwards a little.

You could of course just build up the slots on the body that it slides into with a few strips of PTFE tape of some such. Something just to bulk it up a little.

Cheers

Ian

[Belmondo]

After spending another several minutes on my hands and knees looking for the eyepiece, I decided to retire the extenders until I can re-engineer them in some way that assures they won't fall off. It've very dosconcerting to put the camera up to your eye and to hit a hard surface capapble of scratching eyeglasses. I find they don't provide any great benefit anyway.

[msnow]

After spending another several minutes on my hands and knees looking for the eyepiece, I decided to retire the extenders until I can re-engineer them in some way that assures they won't fall off. It've very dosconcerting to put the camera up to your eye and to hit a hard surface capapble of scratching eyeglasses. I find they don't provide any great benefit anyway.

Agreed and it only cost about $20 to learn that lesson. Hopefully others will learn from our experience.

[ron chappel]

Hinging the thing to your eyebrow is a 'sensible solution'LOL
Who wants to bet you would still lose it ? :? I say this because of that infuriating problem of not being able to find glasses that are perched on top of my head :lol: :lol: (meanwhile neices and nephews etc are giggling to themselves wondering how long ot will take this time...

I'm REALLY surprised silicon doesn't work!!
Maybe there isn't enough area to get a grip on?

[2new]

Thanks for the post. I canceled the one I had ordered :)

[msnow]

Hinging the thing to your eyebrow is a 'sensible solution'LOL
Who wants to bet you would still lose it ? :? I say this because of that infuriating problem of not being able to find glasses that are perched on top of my head :lol: :lol: (meanwhile neices and nephews etc are giggling to themselves wondering how long ot will take this time...

I'm REALLY surprised silicon doesn't work!!
Maybe there isn't enough area to get a grip on?

I was suprised the silicone didn't work either. I put it on the eyepiece (not the camera) because I didn't to touch the camera with that stuff but it may have worked better that way.

[kafene]

WOW, are we talking about the same extender for the eyepiece here? Because I've got the extender on my 10D and have had no problems what-so-ever :?

Just lucky, or don't use my camera as much as you guys? Hmmm.

kafene.

[defordphoto]

I was going to snag a couple for my two cameras, but have not as I heard they were being redesigned. Never have seen the new one though.

[Longwatcher]

The only time I use the extender is when I use my angle finder C, I had the same problem with the extender poping off. I tried for awhile to leave it on the camera, but it kept falling off. However, since I got it to go with my angle finder C so my forehead whould not hit flash, I now keep the extender with the Angle finder. Less likely to lose it that way.

BTW, the AF-C sure comes in handy when shooting from the floor, My neck is very thankful for that tool.

[mkatona]

I have the extender on my D60. After it falling off twice, I cut a piece of black plastic electrical tape about 1 1/2" long and afixed it to the seam where the eye piece and the camera join on top. You have to look hard to see it and no more problems.
Mike :wink:

[JCheungPhoto]

hmm, I'm deciding on whether or not to buy an eyepiece extender for my EOS 5D. Reason being was it just felt a crap load better not having my nose hit my LCD. I decided to consider it after looking through a Nikon D2x and I really like the large eyepiece and the fact it protrudes out for a nice easy feel. I'm curious however, I'm a little concerned since I see it seems to easily come off. My question is, how does it mount, I may be able to work around it.

[DDan]

hmm, I'm deciding on whether or not to buy an eyepiece extender for my EOS 5D. Reason being was it just felt a crap load better not having my nose hit my LCD. I decided to consider it after looking through a Nikon D2x and I really like the large eyepiece and the fact it protrudes out for a nice easy feel. I'm curious however, I'm a little concerned since I see it seems to easily come off. My question is, how does it mount, I may be able to work around it.

You are not limited to Canon eyepiece extenders. I put a Nikon dk-21m on the back of my 400D. The VF is more universal than I thought.

[JCheungPhoto]

I have the extender on my D60. After it falling off twice, I cut a piece of black plastic electrical tape about 1 1/2" long and afixed it to the seam where the eye piece and the camera join on top. You have to look hard to see it and no more problems.
Mike :wink:

can you give a picture of that, much appreciated

ps: I'm also considering the nikon eyepiece extender.

[Calindy]

Here is what worked for me. I put a small rubberband around the eyepiece, I fit it onto the camera, and then I cut off the rubberband pieces that are sticking out. It is the same idea as the paper, I have just found the rubberband works better!

[Zonieart]

My day job is a mechanical engineer. I planned on researching a solution for you to see what would be acceptable. However, after taking my camera out of the bag, the dog-gone eyepiece is missing again (for the third time)! Time to buy another eyepiece and get rid of the extender, or at least engineer a solution to prevent the problem. On the extender (Canon EP-EX15) itself, do not try to force the slot arms out to obtain more pressure. They are made of cheap plasic and will snap with very little force. The design that canon uses to attach the eye-piece and extender (two slots with no latching mechanism) is a pretty inferior design practice.

[T.Hogan]

Do not REPEAT Do not use gorilla glue. Dont ask, I dont want to lie to anyone. Just trust me.

[claybuster]

Tom--I got so sick and tired of it coming off I bought a new regular one and I'll never use it again. I was hoping it would work for me...I tried silicon, shimming (as described by fbaxley) and nothing really worked. Besides the setting numbers and indicators were so small (for my old eyes) with it on I didn't find it practical. It seems that those plastic rails get stretched out when you remove it (to put the new eyepiece on) and they just don't ever seem to rebound back to the normal width. I guess you could try heating them but damn, that's bad engineering. The guys at Canoga Camera told me it was a "common problem".

Like you I lost mine all of the time. I was on vacation a couple of weeks ago and there were at least three occasions where people would walk up to me (holding my precious eyepiece) saying "did you drop this"?

Good luck and let me know if you find a permanent solution.
I was thinking about getting one because I wear eyeglasses. Is it possible to remove the lens from the eyepiece so the numbers and indicators would not look so small? Canon says it reduces magnification by 30%,I couldn't live with that but would like to just have the extra length of the eyepiece. Maybe I'll look at the nikon or get the canon one and see if I can come up with a solution to keep it on. Anyone want to sell the one they have? less any slicone or gorilla glue:D
Mike

[adam*]

How about a plastic cover over the LCD, that way problems solved :)

[Zonieart]

How about a plastic cover over the LCD, that way problems solved :)

How would that keep the eyepiece and extender on?

[adam*]

You don't use the extender and you don't get gunk on your screen?

[S.Horton]

I put a very, very small dot of super glue in there.

When it needs to come off, it just 'pops' and a little fleck flies away.

[Zonieart]

You don't use the extender and you don't get gunk on your screen?

Now it makes sense. Thanks!:oops:

[JCheungPhoto]

I kind of like the extender idea so I may get one for my upcoming 5D. I also may nee glasses in the near future so it'll be a nice help.

[Bill Boehme]

That is the $64 question! My experience is that the little locking fingers on these extenders will get rounded corners if the extender (or eyecup) is removed and reinstalled very many times. I have one on my camera now thaqt has only been off twice and it fits very tightly. I can't say the same for the rubber eyecup which will fall off if I so much as look at it cross-eyed.

A big wood screw might work, but it might give your nose heck, too. Have you tried a C-clamp? Plastic solvent would work if you want a permanent solution. If somebody comes out with a better aftermarket design than what Canon offers, I will jump on it like a duck on a June Bug.

On a serious note, something to improve the friction fit seems like it would help. If you could find a tiny rubber band that fits around the eyepiece mount on the camera body and small enough to easily go into the small groove, that might have some potential.

Note: if had bothered to read all of the posts, I think the solution that I suggested here is the same thing as what Calindy had suggested earlier.

[JCheungPhoto]

I was sorta of thinking of how to get that method to work, I also like the electric tap idea, but duct tape would look funnier x]

[dekalbSTEEL]

I wonder if the rubber bands they use on kids braces would work?.......

[JCheungPhoto]

maybe, my brother has tons of those x]

[SolidxSnake]

I don't get all of the eyepiece problems... mine never comes off and when I do need it off (seldom when I'm screwing around inside the mirror box), it takes quite a bit of pull to get it off.

In addition, I don't get these diopter movement problems, mode dial movement problems... on my 20D nothing changes when I don't want it to :)

The mode dial is actually TOO hard to change on my 20D. I can change it no problem but it's REALLY tight.

[Dawn U]

What happened to shooting with the right eye and/or just wiping off the lcd? :)

[Bill Boehme]

What happened to shooting with the right eye and/or just wiping off the lcd? :)

I'll guess that you are young and don't need glasses. :)

With spectacles, I can't get my eye nowhere close enough to the eyepiece and without an extender, the glasses are very likely to get scratched up on the back of the camera.

I also imagine that those of us with a large proboscis appreciate having the extra stand-off distance.

[ben_r_]

You know I have not had a problem with my eyepiece extenders coming off, they actually have all seemed to be very tight on there. However what I didnt like was how small they make the viewfinder. So I have since switched back to not using them and covering the LCD with some protective plastic that I can wipe the heck out of all the time whenever my nose hits it.

[Chiva]

have you got Blu Tac?
i used it on mine and it works very well.
i apply a small amount (thin layer to the top and sides of the viewfinder and then slide the piece on. it holds extremely well and won' t fall off. it can easily be removed when needed.

[JCheungPhoto]

What happened to shooting with the right eye and/or just wiping off the lcd? :)

It's a habit now for me to shoot with my right eye and keep my left eye open. Still however I still get some crap on my lcd...

[Dawn U]

I'll guess that you are young and don't need glasses. :)

I also imagine that those of us with a large proboscis appreciate having the extra stand-off distance.
True. I switched to contacts many years ago, and with my polarized sun glasses, I have to take them off to see the info in the view finder anyway.

And I do have a fairly small nose...:lol:

It's a habit now for me to shoot with my right eye and keep my left eye open. Still however I still get some crap on my lcd...
Me, too.

[JCheungPhoto]

gonna get the extender as an option

[Calindy]

I wonder if the rubber bands they use on kids braces would work?.......

You can try those. The thinner the rubberband the better it seems. Since I started using the rubberband on the eyepiece (I just tried it out of desperation while on vacation last year), I have NOT lost another one!! I think it works great!!

[jemann]

If you're considering buying the eyepiece extenders discussed here, bear in mind it makes your viewfinder image a lot smaller - so much so that it hindered my ability to manual focus.

I fitted an EX-15 to my 400D as soon as I bought it, and only months later did I try taking it off and looking through the viewfinder. I've not used the extender again since then.

[JCheungPhoto]

mounting it onto the 5D's viewfinder

[Bill Boehme]

If you're considering buying the eyepiece extenders discussed here, bear in mind it makes your viewfinder image a lot smaller - so much so that it hindered my ability to manual focus.

I fitted an EX-15 to my 400D as soon as I bought it, and only months later did I try taking it off and looking through the viewfinder. I've not used the extender again since then.

You can use a small screwdriver (Phillips size 0) to open the eyepiece extender and remove the small lens (it has two elements). this will give you the desired eye relief and also keep the size of the viewfinder display from shrinking. Also, for those who need additional optical correction to get the screen to focus, Canon has a range of replacement lenses to drop into the extender. Some macro shooter use a right angle adapter on their viewfinder -- in that case, there isn't much point in keeping the other eye open -- it does solve the nose on the screen problem.

mounting it onto the 5D's viewfinder

Did you try the rubber bands? How are things working?

[JCheungPhoto]

I'm still in the process of ordering the 5D (and softening the financial blow for my parents ,i was curious about this since I may need glasses soon)