Hoodman Corporation

As Director of the Lepp Institure of Digital Imaging, I instruct over 350 clients a year in weekend and week-long digital photography workshops. All too often, a client has a CF card malfunction and asks the unfortunate "Can you recover my images?" My standard response is " I'll try and you need to upgrade to a Hoodman RAW card. " I do not even need to see their equipment before I give this advice. Because in over 18 months with over 500 clients capturing hundreds of thousands of images I have never experienced any issue with Hoodman RAW cards (the same cannot be said for many other brands.) Whether in the field, the studio, or the digital darkroom, Hoodman RAW cards perform impeccably.

With 100% Made in the USA contruction, a 0% failure rate, and outstanding read/write and transfer speeds Hoodman RAW cards are the only CF cards recommended by the Lepp Institute. Moreover, in my own personal or commercial photography, I will not shoot with anything else.

Hall Schmitt

Director, Lepp Institute of Digital Imaging

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Review presented by:

E. Lawrence Budro, Program Chairman

Tri-County Personal Computer User Group

Marcy, NY

Engergizer has a bunny that keeps on running and Hoodman has to be a Cheetah that is one great card and makes my Nikon D300 a speed demon. I can highly recommend the use of the CompactFlash card with all your digital equipment. It is fully backward compatible.

I have been using a Hoodman SD card in my Nikon D80 for about 1 1/2 years and over that time it's card has been hammered and extremely reliable. If you cannot

find their products locally, try their online store.

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I started my studio at the age of twenty-four and here we are sixteen years later loving photography even more. When I started, I had to make several decisions Mac Vs Pc Nikon Vs Canon and so on. I started with other media and I promise you it was scary when you take a card out, pop it into a card reader to see there is no data...I have had the piece of mind and pleasure of using Hoodman RAW CompactFlash memory cards for the past two years. I have not had to do a single recovery and have had no errors which means everything to me...So here I say, go ahead and put all your eggs in one basket, but make sure it's Hoodman RAW basket.

Thanks Guys,

Skip Baumhower

www.skipbaumhower.com

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Dear Hoodman Team:

On my latest trip to Spitsbergen in the high Arctic of Norway my first choice for CompactFlash cards were Hoodman RAW CF Cards. They are fast, consistent and have never failed me. One time, when I placed another brand of CF card into my Canon Eos Mark III 1Ds, the action picked up with the Polar Bears...the Buffer filled too quickly; I had to wait and it cost me some action shots. Hoodman RAW UDMA CompactFlash memory cards deliver everything this pro needs no matter where I am shooting.

Your new RAW cards readers are really fast too. In fact, I lent a RAW UDMA enabled card reader to one of my participant/clients as a 4GB card of theirs was taking an hour to download. With your reader they were downloading in 4 minutes or less.

I highly recommend Hoodman Products to my students and fellow photographers. Hoodman's innovation, speed and realiability are making this photographer's job a lot easier.

Sincerely,

Darrell Gulin

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Photography is our passion and our art. Founded in 2002, NyghtFalcon Photography has achieved international recognition for its work. The world is our studio and we train our photographers to work in every imaginable environment and condition. To come away with that one defining photograph is goal. The experience of the photographer is only part of our formula for success...if our gear fails, we fail. We rely exclusively on Hoodman RAW CompactFlash cards for all of our work. Hoodman RAW has performed flawlessly...130,000+RAW images captured to date...Zero RAW images lost.

Thanks Hoodman RAW!

FalconPhotography

Senior Partner and Founder

www.NyghtFalcon.com

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Hi there,

I would just like to say thank you for your follow up and excellent service regarding the delivery of my Hoodman Nikon D3 LCD cover. Your service and delivery time exceeded my expectations and the product well packed and exactly as described on your website. Would not hesistate for an instant in dealing with your company again in the future.

Thank you, great service!

Kind Regards,

Neil Jacobs

PC Review Online

One of the hardest things to deal with when it comes to digital photography is the LCD screen on the back of the camera. This becomes even harder to deal with when that is the only thing you have to use for framing your shot. More and more point and shoot cameras are shipping with LCDs only, no optical view finders, many don't even have an EVF (electronic view finder) while basically a small LCD your eye and face block out light making it easy to see. But, even cameras that have an optical view finder including dSLR cameras still have LCD screens that can be near impossible to see in daylight. While you may not need the LCD for framing your shot you still need to for shot review, menu usage and the like.

Basically, the LCD screen is one of the top 5 most important things on your digital camera. Until someone can design an LCD screen or a coating or something for them that allows them to be seen as clearly in daylight as in the shade, indoors or in the dark we have to figure out something else.

The best option that I have found outside of only taking pictures in the shade or in the dark, which does limit your photo taking opportunities is Hoodman's HoodLoupe Professional. This handy little device allows you to view your LCD screen in total darkness so that all you see is the LCD screen and what is being displayed on it.

The HoodLoupe works by place the large end up against your LCD screen blocking out the light. You then look through the eye piece to see the screen. The eye piece has +/- 3 diopter adjustment so that you can see the screen clearly and sharp. To make carrying the HoodLoupe easy and to make sure that it is always at the ready it comes with a lanyard so you can carry it around your neck and when you don't need it, it comes with a nice little zippered storage bag.

Now I am sure a concern is will this or can this scratch my screen? No it can't both the end that you press against the LCD screen as well as the part you press to your eye is soft, flexible rubber that is just as comfortable for your camera as it is you.

Finally, any LCD screen can be seen in the brightest day light, and you don't have to attach something to your camera with glue or double-sided tape. Because you only use it the perfect solution to those hard to see LCD screens.

I have also found it helpful as a framing device. Instead of holding it up to your camera just place it to your eye and use it to frame your shots, this is great for pre-shot visualization. Because it has generally the dimension ratio as the picture you are going to take works very well. You can also turn it vertical for testing out vertical framing ideas. White this at first thought may not seem like a useful thing, you can of course use your camera for the same thing. However, if your new to photography this can be a good learning tool. Simply carry the HoodLoupe with you and practice framing and looking at things from different angles. Framing and shooting angles are one thing that can really improve your photographs, this light weight little device is an easy way to do this on the go.

The HoodLoupe is a high quality device, it is easy to use and it really works well. I highly recommend it no matter what type of camera you have. Until LCD screens can be used in daylight this is your only real option. At a cost of $69.99 or less from some online retailers it is a worthy investment.

http://www.pcreviewonline.com/__new_reviews/photography/hoodloupe/hoodloupe.html

"Been meaning to buy one of these for awhile. I wear reading glasses but find them to be in the way when shooting. I have used a magnifying glass for awhile on a lanyward but this is complicated in sunlight and when needing to use both hands to operate buttons on the camera. I finally bought one and used it yesterday at the ball field. it was $70 but I wish I had bought it sooner. You can sit it on the back of the camera and use both hands on the buttons while holding it up to your eye. It has an adjustable focus and hangs on a lanyard. It blocks out the sun on the screen and looks like what I've been needing."

Thanks, I really like it!

J Spencer

Huntsville, AL

Glare Free camera LCD screens

Once in a great while a new product is introduced to the market that changes the way things are done. I usually don't write technical reviews and this is not intended to be one. Ever since digital LCD have been used to either see the picture you are about to take or to review the picture you are about to take or to review the picture(s) you have take, glare has been a problem With less than a perfect vision, point and shoot cameras have always given me (and many of your, no doubt) problems in that I can't see the LCD clearly because of my particular vision and also because of glare issues.

Switching to a DSLR camera fixed half the problem by allowing me to focus through an optical viewfinder with a diopter adjustment for my particular eyesight. But when it came time to review my images on the LCD screen, the old glare and clarity problem arosed again. I have seen an assortment of retracting and bellows hoods on the market, but all seemed to either fix the glare problem, but not both.

Finally, Hoodman USA came up with an ingenious device that fixes both problems. it is made in China and I am not sure if it was actually designed in the USA or China, but Hoodman USA is the sole distributor of such device that I know of. It is called Hoodloupe Professional. At around $69.00, it's one of the best gadget I found in a long time to help any and all photographers and users of digital cameras getting rid of unwanted glare and at the same time, allowing viewing adjustments to your particular eyesight. Here's what they say on their Website:

"Hoodloupe Professional is worn around your neck just like a normal loupe. When it is time to review your shot; bring Hoodloupe up to your image and place your eye up to the eye cup for complete glare free viewing. Hoodloupe has a +-3 diopter to accommodate those with less than perfect vision. Hoodloupe adjusts focus just like a binocular eye piece...you turn the eye piece in or out to set for your vision. Minimal magnification is used to eliminate visual pixilation of your image. Each Hoodloupe is encased in a user friendly rubber for comfort and protection from bumps that will occur throughout your shoot. Comfortable lanyard and compact protective storage case included. Fits up to 2.75 inch LCD screens." The only problem I see is in their advertisement...they are using the wrong camera. It should be a Pentax k10D. :)

It really works as advertised. I am not paid or associated with Hoodman USA in any way, but when I see something good, I don't mind telling the whole world about it. I congratulate Hoodman USA for such a good and practical product. By the way, it is very well made and the optics seems to be multi-coated.

Thank you for reading,

Yvon Bourque

http://pentaxdslrs.blogspot.com/

New Useful Products and Some "Must-Haves"

By Paul W. Faust | May 1, 2007

HoodLoupe Pro Loop: The ad says that “this is what the Pros use for optimum glare free viewing,” and you can take that to the bank! The biggest drawback to shooting digital is in being able to see what you got when (trying) to look at the LCD screen, which is next to impossible to do outdoors, but NOT any longer. A two-minute test with my Nikon D-200 made this little tool a PERMANENT part of my camera bag from now on. It fits LCD screen up to 3 inches, so you can use it on just about any camera. Even with the clear plastic protector over the LCD screen, I still got a good image to view. But that cover does allow a small bit of glare through the edges, and when it was removed the image is like looking at a small monitor. You can even see into shadow detail in the image, and judging correct exposure will never be a problem again. The loupe is made of soft rubber, with a +3 diopter you can adjust for your sight, and you can also adjust the focus. It comes with a soft neck strap and carrying bag. This must-have accessory retails for US$69.99 (and is worth every penny!) www.doubleexposure.com

Bob, I can't tell you how impressed I am with the quality and dependability of your products. I've been using them exclusively for many months now and they have never let me down in any way, shape or form and unfortunately I've had other cards that have and it always happens at the worst time. I'm kind of embarrassed to admit, but hey we all blow it some times and just recently I accidentally put the Hoodman cards quality to the test by washing a 2GB card in my jeans pocket and then proceeding to dry it.

Image my embarrassment and uh-oh moment when I opened the dryer and the card was at the bottom. I went to my office and plugged the card in and it pooped right up with all images intact. While I don't suggest this format for testing CF cards, it sure reinforces just how valuable an asset well made cards are. We all do an oops now and then and even iBryan The Digital Guy has his Mondays :). - Thanks again for producing such a fine product!!! - Bryan Linden,, iBryan The Digital Guy.

The loop H-lpp is the greatest thing since sliced rye bread. It makes my life easier,

Thank you,

Arnie

Signature Photography By Arnie

Thanx and just wanted to let you know of the enormously positive response we have gotten in the field with the Loupe --- it is really a great tool in the field!

Neil and Susan