Canon Eyecups

I have been wrestling with this issue of eyecups. Many cameras I come across don’t have one and many do. Some fit one camera but not another. And they fall off! And so, I have resolved to get to the bottom of the business of eyecups. A small subject but for a collector, knowing what is what and which is correct is important.

Eyecup EB mounted on an EOS  D60

By “eyecup” I mean the rubber that surrounds the viewfinder eyepiece on an EOS camera. They come as pat of a new camera kit and all EOS cameras leave the factory with them. But you will see EOS cameras without them. They are not essential to camera operation. But they make the camera more comfortable to use and it looks more finished in appearance with them.

These cups are removable because there are other attachments that can clip onto the eyepiece such as corrective lenses or angled viewfinders. But this causes a problem. As much as I love my Canon equipment,

these things are poorly designed. In the image on the left you see pictures the back of an eyepiece cup. On each side of the opening in the center, pointing downwards you can see two small clips. They look like small arrows pointing downward. These spring open as the eyecup is mounted and then snap around the bottom of the eyepiece rim to lock the cup in position. The problem is, these clips are delicate and will take no abuse whatsoever. They break. When they do the eyecup is then loose on the eyepiece and can fall off. And fall off they do!

Hopefully these notes will help when it comes to searching for a replacement eyecup.

Origins

The rangefinder cameras did not mount extra devices on the eyepiece. With the Canonflex devices could be added by removing the prism on the original model. With the “Flex” R2000 and later models the square eyepiece was slotted for devices to slip on. All Canon SLR’s after that were similarly equipped.

A round rubber eyecup was available for the F-1 and later SLR’s but you find it on very few cameras at camera shows. It was hard to put on and the rubber was not terribly durable.

We tend to think of the current EOS eyecup as starting with the introduction of the EOS camera but that is not so. The T series of FD cameras, the T-50, T-70, T-80, T-90 and T-60, came with a rubber eyecup that was continued on into the EOS cameras.

You will not find many T series cameras today with their eyecups. They have long since fallen off. It is a problem that continues to this day with the modern EOS models. The new ones seem to stand up better but they do break.

The Eyecups

The Canon manufactured eyecups do not have a model number imprinted on them. They simply identify it as a Canon product. So if you pick one up at a camera show you can’t tell immediately what you are looking at. Some are distinctive in shape such as the one’s for the T-series. But otherwise it is a problem.

Below are the eyecups I have been able to identify sofar and I give their dimensions. This way, with a good ruler, you should be able to identify the model number.

I also give you a list of the cameras the various types fit. The cameras listed for each eyepiece are not a complete list. I will attempt to refine the list in the future.

Eyecup-T

T-50, T-70, T-80, T-90, T-60

Eyecup EB

Elan, 5D Mk II, 6D, 70D, 60D, 50D, 40D, 30D, 20D, 10D, D30, D60

Eyecup EC-II

EOS 1D, 1DS, 1D Mk II, EOS !V, EOS 1N, EOS 1N RD

Eyecup ED

EOS Elan II, Elan IIE, Elan 7NE, A2E, EOS 3, Elan 7, Elan 7E, A2, Elan 7N

Eyecup EF

Digital Rebel, XS, XSi, XT, XTi, Ti, T1i, T2, T2i, T3, T3i, T4, T4i, T5, T5i, T6, T6i, K2, 500D, 450D, 400D, 350D, 300D

Eyecup EG

EOS-1D Mark III/IV, EOS-1D X, EOS-1Ds Mark III, EOS 7D, and EOS 5D Mark III

And there you have them. At least this is all I could come up with. Regarding the EG, I don’t have one of those cameras yet so no eyecup to trace and measure for you. I got the image from B&H Photo whom I thank very much. And of course a link is provided to their site.

Let me know if you can add anything to this little discourse. All help is gratefully appreciated!