Any photographer new or old will experience at some point if they haven’t already the difficulty in viewing pictures on your camera’s LCD while in harsh direct light. Shooting pictures outside on a nice, clear, sunny day is the wish of many photographers as it provides plenty of natural lighting and offers them the greatest ability to tweak their shots. What is good for actually taking the pictures doesn’t however translate to optimum circumstances for viewing your freshly taken pictures on the LCD. Even some of the best, top of the line cameras with specially designed displays to resist direct sunlight still fall victim to the sun’s ever powerful rays.
Instead of doing a hand dance, constantly juggling your camera back and forth while trying to cup your hands for a suitable glance at your pictures can be a thing of the past thanks to Photosolve’s Xtend-a-View digital camera accessory. As the name implies, the Xtend-a-View will allow you to quickly and easily view any images on your screen. Available in two models, the Xtend-a-View Standard and the Xtend-a-View Wide ensure that most LCD screens from virtually any camera manufacturer will fit. The Xtend-a-View Standard will fit LCD’s from 1.8″ to 2.0″ while the Xtend-a-View Pro raises the limits and accommodates 2.25″ to 2.50″ LCD’s.
Typically, camera accessories such as the Xtend-a-View are rather fragile as they’re often small, thin, and made of plastic. Not so with the Xtend-a-View. When I first opening the box I was actually surprised to how weight it was. For good reason though — it’s made out of aluminum. Durable and functional mean you should be able to get at least a few good years out of this, more if you don’t abuse your equipment.
**Also available separately are Xtend-a-Mount brackets for both specific and non-specific cameras giving users a more permanent viewing solution.
One of the cool parts of the Xtend-a-View is that there are a few ways you can mount the unit to your camera.
I chose to use Method 1 on my Nikon D80 as I’m not very fond of mounting things to my camera. With that said, the adhesive strips provided do peel off rather easily with any residual residue easily removable with a damp cloth and a bit of scrubbing. Still, I like it nice and clean. I found that in my tests using the Xtend-a-View Pro Wide version, viewing my LCD outside was easier as is claimed. The 2x magnification of the device also came in handy as sometimes when looking through such viewers, images tend to go through an invisible shrink ray.
Overall it’s a simple solution to a simple problem. It works well, is constructed of solid aluminum for strength, and is easy to use. A no fuss solution for photographers amateur and professional alike. The particular model I used — the Xtend-a-View Pro Wide — is available from Photosolve.com. While you’re in town, you might want to check out Photosolve’s other camera offerings as the Xtend-a-View is but one of many great products.