Question for 5D III.

Hey all, is there any after market companies that make a viewfinder for canon cameras so that when doing long exposures to shut the viewfinder like Nikon has? it really annoys me that they only give you a stupid rubber thing that screws everything up, also for 3,500,00 dollars Canon should of included this instead of only offering it on the 1D series........

A viewfinder eyepiece shutter?

No, there's no way to retrofit one to a camera that doesn't have one in the original design and manufacture.

It appears Nikon offers one on their top four current models (D700, D800, D4, D3X).

I don't know why Canon didn't provide one on the 5DIII.... But I've also never had any problem using the little rubber cover that they do provide, or just a small piece of gaffer tape, for the types of shots that might require covering the eyepiece. Those seem to be simple and easy solutions to a relatively minor need.

If not using the internal meter for some auto exposure mode, if shooting in M or B mode it shouldn't be necessary anyway. The light seal around the mirror, which is up during long exposures, should prevent any light leaks from effecting the image.

amfoto1 wrote in post #15294970
A viewfinder eyepiece shutter?

No, there's no way to retrofit one to a camera that doesn't have one in the original design and manufacture.

It appears Nikon offers one on their top four current models (D700, D800, D4, D3X).

I don't know why Canon didn't provide one on the 5DIII.... But I've also never had any problem using the little rubber cover that they do provide, or just a small piece of gaffer tape, for the types of shots that might require covering the eyepiece. Those seem to be simple and easy solutions to a relatively minor need.

If not using the internal meter for some auto exposure mode, if shooting in M or B mode it shouldn't be necessary anyway. The light seal around the mirror, which is up during long exposures, should prevent any light leaks from effecting the image.

Yes eyepiece shutter thanks, i am almost always in M or B mode but i kind of thought the other work around would be to use live view as the viewfinder then goes black

amfoto1 wrote in post #15294970
The light seal around the mirror, which is up during long exposures, should prevent any light leaks from effecting the image.

Is that true for all DSLRs? 5D2?

This is from the Big Stopper site @ http://www.leefilters.​com/index.php/camera/b​igstopper

"Always use the sturdiest tripod you can when making long exposures, and take care not to knock the camera or tripod. Cover your viewfinder before releasing the shutter to avoid light encroaching onto the sensor or film and causing flare."

Asking 'cause I'm planning on cracking open my new Big Stopper this weekend

Regards ...

The main reason for the eyepiece shutter isn't that light coming in through the eyepiece would reach the sensor (or film). The main reason is that light entering the pentaprism backways could affect the light meter, which has its sensing device located above the eyepiece, at the rear of the pentaprism.

Put the camera on a tripod or similar and aim the camera at something pretty dark, like outdoors in the evening. Look through the viewfinder and check which exposure the metering system considers correct.
Now take you head away, let a lamp glow outside the eyepiece and check which exposure the camera calculates while the lamp is lit. You can see it on the top LCD, when the lamp is preventing you from looking through the viewfinder. Usually, the exposure calculated is a bit different, since the camera thinks the subject is brighter than it is, with stray light coming in from the wrong direction.

An easy way to prevent this is to set the exposure in M mode, while you look through the viewfinder, and then take the shot. Then it doesn't matter if the meter is confused. But this does of course take that light doesn't change too much, so it's not well suited for time-lapse across the day.

The 1D series has a the viewfinder lever that you can flip to close it. Other series dont...just bring a black shirt and cover it or a piece of tape