Find handholding a Sony PMW-EX1 a bit tricky? Want to nail tricky focus pulls every time? Ever had the creeping horror of finding an otherwise shot’s slightly soft when you’re back in the edit suite?

Get a ‘sock loupe and Hood Pro’!

Luminaries such as Philip Bloom and Adam Wilt have reviewed them and described them so I will simply point you in their general direction by way of the Hood Pro site. But one thing I will add is that the Hood Pro has had an unexpected benefit in hand-holding an EX1 by providing a sort of three-point contact.

Only a little pressure is required to add a disproportionate increase in stability over long periods. And if you can just about make out the image below, it’s fine for those of us who wear glasses too. It’s not a permanent addition to my EX1, but for hand-held and run-and-gun shooting, it’s become a ‘must have’ accessory. Get ready to kick yourself for not buying when it was cheaper – but that’s the global economy for you.

Just one note of caution, though – Hood Pro does make an all-black version, and in retrospect I’d have chosen that one instead of the fluorescent orange and blue version I have. It’s cheerful and fun, but not exactly discrete.