07-22-2009, 10:44 PM
Just a quick review of the Nikon DK-19 rubber eye cup.
One thing i really like about the D700 is the round viewfinder which is big and bright. The viewfinder itself doesn't have the rectangular plastic + soft rubber surround and IMO it just looks a lot better than the normal Nikon viewfinder on the DX cameras like my D200.
However one problem is that.. since there is no soft rubber surround on the viewfinder. it's a bit harder and not as comfortable if you want to stick your eye really close to the viewfinder.
Now the solution...
Nikon makes a small rubber eye cup called DK-19 for the D1/2/3 series and also F6. And since D700's viewfinder shape is the same as D3.. so it can be used on a D700 as well.
This is what the rubber eye cup look like:
![[Image: nikondk19.jpg]](http://www.nikonjin.com/images/dk17m19/nikondk19.jpg)
DK-19 comes in a small plastic bag.. there are only 3 things in the bag:
the rubber cup, a metal ring that is used to lock the rubber cup and a piece of paper instructions.
Installation is quite easy and fast. Close the viewfinder window first, then you can unscrew the original viewfinder eye piece and remove it from the camera.. then follow the provided instruction to mount the rubber eye cup on it and screw it back onto the camera. It should only take you a few minutes at most to figure out how to correctly install it. Before i bought it, I've read quite a few reviews on other website saying how easy the rubber cup came off from the camera and they have lost a couple of the DK-19 rubber eye cup because of that. IT REALLY SHOULD NOT HAPPEN IF YOU INSTALL IT CORRECTLY. I've have it on my camera for a few months now and it has never came off my camera, not even once. So make sure you read the instruction clearly and install it properly.
So once the DK-19 rubber cup is installed. This is what it looks like:
![[Image: dk19.jpg]](http://www.nikonjin.com/images/dk17m19/dk19.jpg)
When you move your eye close to the viewfinder, your eye is fully surrounded by the DK-19's soft rubber ... it does not only feel more confortable but it also blocked out the sunlight/any outside light so you can concentrate on what is in the viewfinder.
But sometime you may prefer to not have such a big rubber eye cup sticking out from the camera, you can just push it and it'll flip over and it'll be very similar to what the original viewfinder is like:
![[Image: dk19flip.jpg]](http://www.nikonjin.com/images/dk17m19/dk19flip.jpg)
It's quite a neat design as i sometime want to have the rubber cup fully covers my eye.. but sometime i prefer not so i can still see what's happening outside the viewfinder.
The DK-19 makes the viewfinder more comfortable and also help block out the strong sunlight especially when you are shooting outdoor and the "flippable" design is really a nice touch. THe only downside i find is that i still prefer how the original round viewfinder look like. It just look sexier when there is no rubber eye-cup attached to it. For less than $10 US, it's probably one of the cheapest accessory from Nikon. i can't find any real reason to not recommend this to any D1/2/3/700 user.
One thing i really like about the D700 is the round viewfinder which is big and bright. The viewfinder itself doesn't have the rectangular plastic + soft rubber surround and IMO it just looks a lot better than the normal Nikon viewfinder on the DX cameras like my D200.
However one problem is that.. since there is no soft rubber surround on the viewfinder. it's a bit harder and not as comfortable if you want to stick your eye really close to the viewfinder.
Now the solution...
Nikon makes a small rubber eye cup called DK-19 for the D1/2/3 series and also F6. And since D700's viewfinder shape is the same as D3.. so it can be used on a D700 as well.
This is what the rubber eye cup look like:
DK-19 comes in a small plastic bag.. there are only 3 things in the bag:
the rubber cup, a metal ring that is used to lock the rubber cup and a piece of paper instructions.
Installation is quite easy and fast. Close the viewfinder window first, then you can unscrew the original viewfinder eye piece and remove it from the camera.. then follow the provided instruction to mount the rubber eye cup on it and screw it back onto the camera. It should only take you a few minutes at most to figure out how to correctly install it. Before i bought it, I've read quite a few reviews on other website saying how easy the rubber cup came off from the camera and they have lost a couple of the DK-19 rubber eye cup because of that. IT REALLY SHOULD NOT HAPPEN IF YOU INSTALL IT CORRECTLY. I've have it on my camera for a few months now and it has never came off my camera, not even once. So make sure you read the instruction clearly and install it properly.
So once the DK-19 rubber cup is installed. This is what it looks like:
When you move your eye close to the viewfinder, your eye is fully surrounded by the DK-19's soft rubber ... it does not only feel more confortable but it also blocked out the sunlight/any outside light so you can concentrate on what is in the viewfinder.
But sometime you may prefer to not have such a big rubber eye cup sticking out from the camera, you can just push it and it'll flip over and it'll be very similar to what the original viewfinder is like:
It's quite a neat design as i sometime want to have the rubber cup fully covers my eye.. but sometime i prefer not so i can still see what's happening outside the viewfinder.
The DK-19 makes the viewfinder more comfortable and also help block out the strong sunlight especially when you are shooting outdoor and the "flippable" design is really a nice touch. THe only downside i find is that i still prefer how the original round viewfinder look like. It just look sexier when there is no rubber eye-cup attached to it. For less than $10 US, it's probably one of the cheapest accessory from Nikon. i can't find any real reason to not recommend this to any D1/2/3/700 user.
![[Image: 607707234_UXDPm-XL.jpg]](http://mingriwa.smugmug.com/photos/607707234_UXDPm-XL.jpg)