Photographer's eyepiece?

[cyber3d]

Is there an eyepiece made for off camera use that is the equiv of a 60mm prime lens? I noticed some movie directors and directors of photography have a lens they can peer through to see framing and depth of field.

I'd like to carry one with me - if possible at all times. No camera, just an eye piece so I can scout potential backgrounds for portraits et al. Is there anything like this for photographers. Or even an adapter I can fit onto a small, light weight prime lens?

[OsmosisStudios]

Carry the camera around: Take pictures of your locations instead of just noting them.

[sk66]

Opteka makes one

But if you take pictures long enough you'll eventually get a feel for it and not really need it. And I don't really get the point if you're not going to be able to take the pic anyways.

You can also try this:
Set up your camera with chosen lens on tripod and frame a scene. Then use your hands to create a window of similar portions and hold it in front of your eye to get same FOV. Note position of hands relative to each other and distance from face. That will give you a reasonably repeatable approximation.

Or, for a 50mm on FF (35mm on Crop ), stare directly into a scene and note what is in focus without moving your eyes at all. That's about what will be in the lens' FOV.

[Elmo]

Try using a piece of cardboard with a 2x3 cut out hole. hold it at 60 mm from eye (200 mm simulates a 200 mm lens).

This based on using a full frame camera. for small sensor reduce the cutout on increase distance between eye and cardboard.