right angle finder

I have a Canon 400D and definitely, on a tripod, looking into the finder is back breaking.
there are a couple of choices for right angle finder:

video ones or optical ones.
from what I header, video ones, although fine, will have ceertain drawbacks: bulky, need a hood in case of sun, etc...
so I am leaning towards an optical one. I know Canon sells one, but it sounds like breaking the bank to me. Other options include something from hoodman, or basingstoke, etc..
I did hear that optical quality of those vary, thus looking for some feedback on folks who actually tried different one.

thanks
Vincent

All I can provide feedback on is the Canon right angle finder (the "Canon Angle Finder C" I believe). I thought it would make focusing much easier with a tilt/shift lens, but ended up returning it after finding out it did not improve things as much as I thought it would. I too had heard that the optical quality of the alternatives was definitely sub-par, so for me it was between the Canon one or nothing. I too would be interested to hear experiences from others...

I bought mine on eBay for under $20 USD and it works fine. My only problem is that I did not realize that my right angle finder did not have 2x viewing. I can work with it fine but, it would be a bit nice to have the extra magnification when I need it.

The right angle finder comes in handy when working with a short tripod or when I have the camera near the ground in macro work.

An unexpected use is for shooting people with a relatively wide angle lens. Because I am quite tall, the eye-level finder requires that I shoot down on most people The natural distortion of a wide lens shooting down causes the head and upper trunk to appear much larger than the legs and lower torso. The right angle finder allows me to shoot from a lower level without squatting which I physically difficult for me. The lower level shot has less wide angle distortion.

Instead of a right angle finder, what about using a collapsible stool; sit down to your work. Much more comfortable, but more weight to carry. And you don't have to extend the tripod so far.

Regards,

Bertie