Building a better screen sunshade using physics and reflection (and it's free).

[Dabrain]

LOL at least we get to eat the cereal.

 

[Pp09nlk2n]

Op here- I did end up building a shade using this shape out of some poster board I found that was white on one side and black on the other. Then used some elastic to secure it easily to the iPad.

Works great, seems pretty durable, and doesn't look like... Well... A cereal box.

Anyway, hope others end up using this technique

 

[ScubaBob]

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:
View attachment 15260**


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:

View attachment 15264
View attachment 15262



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.
View attachment 15261
(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.
View attachment 15263
(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.

It is a bit more cumbersome to do with an iPhone instead of a pad because the phone sits in front of the RC and the pad sits on top. Nonetheless, I am playing around with some ideas and if I find one that works I will post some photos. The concept makes perfect sense. It is the details that are a bit more challenging. Thanks again for the suggestion.

 

[G Randy Brown]

I recently bought this and was totally disappointed to see my ugly mug staring at me.
I came here and found this old thread and immediately started searching for something with an angle as the OP suggested...it seems they are still non-existent!

 

[Robert Mitchell]

I recently bought this and was totally disappointed to see my ugly mug staring at me.
I came here and found this old thread and immediately started searching for something with an angle as the OP suggested...it seems they are still non-existent!

Yep, no one seems to get it right except for the DIYs. Might be time to get some black foamcore and make you one. The one I made was open at the bottom to access the screen about 8 inches deep with a pair of readers at the end to sharpen the screen for me

 

[G Randy Brown]

Hard to believe no one is selling them...I went ahead and bought Hoodman with the extension.

 

[Chip]

i experimented with partial shades and after reading the hoodman site realized the only way to get rid of reflection is complete oclusion. This is big and ugly and i had planned to redesign smaller but it works so good even with glasses that i've decided not to bother. It weighs 300 gms(.66lbs) and is made of 'currugated' plastic. I plan to buy a real Hoodman for travel. View attachment 15742

That looks like it would work good. I think the op is saying though that by angling the hood you remove the need for total occlusion. That was his discovery that allowed him to make something smaller, lighter and more portable. If you take his design with your build materials you may have something much better than a hoodman!