Long story short, this cardboard sunshade takes 2 minutes to make, is free, and is better than the $60+ Hoodman sunshades others on this forum have used.
I am astonished at how many sunshades seem to get it wrong. Most seem to be 90 degree angles off the screen, 4 sides around the screen, trying to create a darkroom for your eyes. Physics (reflection) says the problem isn’t the ambient light, it is that 90 degree angle. Even the $60+ Hoodman sunshades have that failure – where you have to put your eyes right up to it and block out all light.
Here is the problem with most sunshades:
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With standard 90 degree sunshade, the ambient light is bouncing off your face (or the light sky behind you), to the screen, and then back to your eyes. This is why you see a reflection on your tablet which makes the image hard to see. This is why even complete 4 sided shades don’t work unless you press your face all the way against them to block out the light behind your head.
Instead, if the sunshade is just angled slightly so the reflection on the screen is off the dark wall of the sunshade rather than your face, then suddenly the screen is completely clear EVEN IF THE SUNSHADE IS ONLY 3 SIDED. You simply tilt the tablet screen away from you a little bit, so you aren't looking directly at it, and you'll be able to see beneath the slight tilt of the sunshade.
The Solution:
See my demo build below using a cereal box. The exact angle you need depends on the length of the sunshade you are using. I found my cereal box (about 13 inches long) meant I needed to tilt the angle only 25 degrees. The longer the shade, the less of an angle you need. I then used a black marker to shade in the side of the box black to increase effectiveness:
And it is just that simple. Note, when attached to your screen, it is only 3 sided yet it works even in full sunlight. Thus, you can still easily touch the screen freely, unlike 4 sided shades which have tiny little finger holes.
(Click to enlarge)
How you attach it to your tablet depends on what type of tablet holder you use. You could just attach it with painters tape, or you can cut slits in the side of the cereal box at 25 degrees instead and slip the tablet through that way.
(Click to enlarge)
Obviously this version is the quick and dirty way. If you care about looks more or want something more long lasting, use stronger materials (like poster board instead of a cereal box), and try harder. This was just a proof of concept but it worked so well I haven't gotten around to making a prettier version yet.
Try it yourself – you don’t even need to cut things or color them black to prove it works for you. Just take any cardboard, stand in the sunlight, and hold it at 90 degrees vs. an angle (so the reflection is of the side, not your face) and notice how better the image is. You will obviously need to tilt the tablet screen so you can see it.
Hopefully the various vendors who make sunshades use this technique to create an angled shade out of nicer materials.
**Note the first image with the silhouette I found on the Phantom forum, I don’t remember who made it. If you know, tell me so I can add the citation.
I am astonished at how many sunshades seem to get it wrong. Most seem to be 90 degree angles off the screen, 4 sides around the screen, trying to create a darkroom for your eyes. Physics (reflection) says the problem isn’t the ambient light, it is that 90 degree angle. Even the $60+ Hoodman sunshades have that failure – where you have to put your eyes right up to it and block out all light.
Here is the problem with most sunshades:
** With standard 90 degree sunshade, the ambient light is bouncing off your face (or the light sky behind you), to the screen, and then back to your eyes. This is why you see a reflection on your tablet which makes the image hard to see. This is why even complete 4 sided shades don’t work unless you press your face all the way against them to block out the light behind your head.
Instead, if the sunshade is just angled slightly so the reflection on the screen is off the dark wall of the sunshade rather than your face, then suddenly the screen is completely clear EVEN IF THE SUNSHADE IS ONLY 3 SIDED. You simply tilt the tablet screen away from you a little bit, so you aren't looking directly at it, and you'll be able to see beneath the slight tilt of the sunshade.
The Solution:
See my demo build below using a cereal box. The exact angle you need depends on the length of the sunshade you are using. I found my cereal box (about 13 inches long) meant I needed to tilt the angle only 25 degrees. The longer the shade, the less of an angle you need. I then used a black marker to shade in the side of the box black to increase effectiveness:
And it is just that simple. Note, when attached to your screen, it is only 3 sided yet it works even in full sunlight. Thus, you can still easily touch the screen freely, unlike 4 sided shades which have tiny little finger holes.
(Click to enlarge)
How you attach it to your tablet depends on what type of tablet holder you use. You could just attach it with painters tape, or you can cut slits in the side of the cereal box at 25 degrees instead and slip the tablet through that way.
(Click to enlarge)
Obviously this version is the quick and dirty way. If you care about looks more or want something more long lasting, use stronger materials (like poster board instead of a cereal box), and try harder. This was just a proof of concept but it worked so well I haven't gotten around to making a prettier version yet.
Try it yourself – you don’t even need to cut things or color them black to prove it works for you. Just take any cardboard, stand in the sunlight, and hold it at 90 degrees vs. an angle (so the reflection is of the side, not your face) and notice how better the image is. You will obviously need to tilt the tablet screen so you can see it.
Hopefully the various vendors who make sunshades use this technique to create an angled shade out of nicer materials.
**Note the first image with the silhouette I found on the Phantom forum, I don’t remember who made it. If you know, tell me so I can add the citation.
