Getting Loupey

***Update 2-25-11: The nice folks at Genus saw my review video on Vimeo and let me know that their loupe is NOT made by Hoodman. They make them themselves.***

After having some issues with shooting during daylight with my Nikon D7000, I decided it was time to buy a LCD loupe.  I didn't want to spend too much money, so I narrowed it down to the Hoodman loupe and the Genus loupe.  Both were around $80.  I went with the Genus because I liked the way that their loupe attached to the camera.  Hoodman offers two options: a $15 rubber band or ridiculous arm bracket that attaches to the camera's shoe.  The arm bracket comes in a kit with the loupe for $190.  This was the only video that I had seen on the Genus loupe and it seemed way more practical and clean.

So I went ahead and ordered it from my local camera store.  On a side note, one of the employees told me that the Genus loupe is actually made by Hoodman.  I'm not sure if it's true, but I find that very interesting if it is.

Above is my video review of the Genus loupe.  The one thing I forgot to mention in the video is I wish the loupe came with some sort of case.  I'd like to just throw it in my camera bag.  I'd feel better about the optic part not getting scratched if it was in some sort of bag or case.  A small zipper case with a plastic shell, like some sunglasses come in would be nice.  A silk bag with a drawstring would be better than nothing.  I think this product is a perfect example of paying more for functionality than the quality and durability of the product.  I've seen the Zacuto Z-Finder Pro up close and I'm hoping to check out the Letus Hawk soon.  Those loupes (they call them viewfinders, but it's all the same) are in the $375-$400 range.  You're paying a lot more for a higher quality product:  better construction, better optics.  Both of those loupes have baseplates for the camera.  But I would say those high end loupes are more for the shooters that are doing higher budget, more grueling shoots.  The final verdict on the Genus loupe:  a good purchase if you need a loupe for your DSLR and you don't want to spend hundreds of dollars.