(This article was written in 2005)
One of the biggest complaints about older DSLR's such as the Nikon D70 is that the viewfinder is very small, hard to see and manual focus. It has been described as "cave-like" or "light at the end of the tunnel"... The smaller viewfinder size is inherent in the smaller sensor and mirror size of an APS 1.5x "crop" DSLR. Furthermore Nikon didn't achieve 100% viewfinder coverage, and nowhere NEAR 100% magnification.
Most people who have never looked through the prism of a Hasselblad, or the viewfinder of an old 35mm film body, will not realize just how small a D70's viewfinder is, but in reality the size of the viewfinder focusing frame covers less than HALF the area of an old, near-100% magnification 35mm SLR viewfinder.
Nikon never made an eyepiece magnifier for it's "prosumer" DSLR's, for some reason. I think if they had it would have been an incredible seller and would have flown off the shelves all day long. As it is, Nikon is a little out of the loop when it comes to realizing and meeting the customer's demand for small accessories like these, even many of the accessories they do make are perpetually out of stock.
Luckily, Ebay exists and magically the accessories you need are always available, and usually not for that much of a "scalp" markup! Such is true with the Nikon DK-17M, a 1.2x eyepiece magnifier made to work perfectly on the Nikon F6 and D2/D3 series cameras. It costs about $42 at the retailers where it is perpetually out of stock, and you can find them on Ebay for about the same price, though you have to pay through the nose for shipping from far-away countries usually. ($15 )
Most people who have never looked through the prism of a Hasselblad, or the viewfinder of an old 35mm film body, will not realize just how small a D70's viewfinder is, but in reality the size of the viewfinder focusing frame covers less than HALF the area of an old, near-100% magnification 35mm SLR viewfinder.
Nikon never made an eyepiece magnifier for it's "prosumer" DSLR's, for some reason. I think if they had it would have been an incredible seller and would have flown off the shelves all day long. As it is, Nikon is a little out of the loop when it comes to realizing and meeting the customer's demand for small accessories like these, even many of the accessories they do make are perpetually out of stock.
Luckily, Ebay exists and magically the accessories you need are always available, and usually not for that much of a "scalp" markup! Such is true with the Nikon DK-17M, a 1.2x eyepiece magnifier made to work perfectly on the Nikon F6 and D2/D3 series cameras. It costs about $42 at the retailers where it is perpetually out of stock, and you can find them on Ebay for about the same price, though you have to pay through the nose for shipping from far-away countries usually. ($15 )
That's all fine and dandy for the F6 users and D2/D3 users, who already have fantastic, big viewfinders, ironically.
If however you want the DK-17M to work on your "prosumer" DSLR, (D50, D70, D70s, D100, or D200) which have smaller viewfinders, then you must buy an adapter and perform some custom modifications.
The adapter is the Nikon #2370 eyepiece adapter. One side of it fits onto the standard "prosumer" DSLR eyepiece, and the other has threads, presumably for anti-fog eyepieces, or others. But NOT the DK-17M, for some reason.
If however you want the DK-17M to work on your "prosumer" DSLR, (D50, D70, D70s, D100, or D200) which have smaller viewfinders, then you must buy an adapter and perform some custom modifications.
The adapter is the Nikon #2370 eyepiece adapter. One side of it fits onto the standard "prosumer" DSLR eyepiece, and the other has threads, presumably for anti-fog eyepieces, or others. But NOT the DK-17M, for some reason.
If you take the #2370 adapter and wrap sand paper around a large pen, you can "open up" the adapter's circular side so that the DK-17M fits into it.
You must first of course ruin the current threads in the plastic #2370 adapter, but don't worry. If you sand carefully and keep testing to see if the DK-17M is getting close to fitting, eventually you will be able to force the metal DK-17M to "re-thread" into the plastic, like a screw into wood. This requires the utmost precision, and I still applied a little "gorilla glue" afterward to secure the two together and to add a little piece of thread so I could tether the entire accessory to my camera.
You must first of course ruin the current threads in the plastic #2370 adapter, but don't worry. If you sand carefully and keep testing to see if the DK-17M is getting close to fitting, eventually you will be able to force the metal DK-17M to "re-thread" into the plastic, like a screw into wood. This requires the utmost precision, and I still applied a little "gorilla glue" afterward to secure the two together and to add a little piece of thread so I could tether the entire accessory to my camera.
Since the #2370 adapter costs only $2-3, and since you come so very close to breaking it when you're sanding down the lower part, (just 2-3mm of material left) ...I would recommend buying two of the adapters just in case you mess up. Also, I heard a rumor that Nikon may cease to produce the #2370. So before you go and buy a DK-17M from Ebay, check to see if you can also acquire a #2370 somewhere. Adorama.com had them in stock the last time I checked...
RESULTS:
Definitely much, much bigger! It's a little harder to see all the way to the corners of the viewfinder, and if you have glasses I bet it's even tougher, but for me it's not really a problem at all...
Having the DK-17M on the viewfinder adds a litte extra of that "crispness" to an in-focus subject; you can actually see exactly where the focal plane is as opposed to without the DK-17M where you're really just guessing if you have a f/1.8 lens or something. It's hard to describe this "crispness", but the best description I can give is that when something is in focus, it "sparkles" ever so slightly. This "sparkle" is almost non-existent when looking through the D70 viewfinder normally, unless you have a high-magnification macro lens.
RESULTS:
Definitely much, much bigger! It's a little harder to see all the way to the corners of the viewfinder, and if you have glasses I bet it's even tougher, but for me it's not really a problem at all...
Having the DK-17M on the viewfinder adds a litte extra of that "crispness" to an in-focus subject; you can actually see exactly where the focal plane is as opposed to without the DK-17M where you're really just guessing if you have a f/1.8 lens or something. It's hard to describe this "crispness", but the best description I can give is that when something is in focus, it "sparkles" ever so slightly. This "sparkle" is almost non-existent when looking through the D70 viewfinder normally, unless you have a high-magnification macro lens.
But wait! If you're really not up to the task of maguyver-ing this contraption, or if the #2370 disappears, then consider the DK-21M, a NEW accessory announced by Nikon in conjunction with the D200. It is not circular, it mounts directly onto the Nikon prosumer DSLR eyepieces without any modification, and it costs only $25!
However, the DK-21M only magnifies the view by 1.17x, instead of the 1.2x that the DK-17M achieves. (Yes, the DK-17M magnifies by 1.2x and the DK-21 magnifies by 1.17x, I double and tripple-checked. Don't ask me why the intuitive names are swapped, I don't know...)
NOTE: The #2370 adapter, and therefore I assume the DK-21M, ALSO mount onto Canon prosumer DSLR's, such as the 20D, 30D, etc! It may also mount on the Digital Rebel lineup; I'm not sure...
Take care everyone,
-Matt-
PS : BE AWARE of retailers and Ebay sellers offering eyepieces such as the DK-17 and the DK-21. If they are NOT the "M" version, then they are NOT a magnifier! They are just an eyepiece! The first sign of this is that the non-magnifying eyepieces cost only a few dollars. So therefore also if someone one ebay is offering a DK-17M for just a few dollars, they MIGHT be intentionally or in-advertently tricking you; they may just have a DK-17 and not a DK-17M... I just thought I'd clear that up...
However, the DK-21M only magnifies the view by 1.17x, instead of the 1.2x that the DK-17M achieves. (Yes, the DK-17M magnifies by 1.2x and the DK-21 magnifies by 1.17x, I double and tripple-checked. Don't ask me why the intuitive names are swapped, I don't know...)
NOTE: The #2370 adapter, and therefore I assume the DK-21M, ALSO mount onto Canon prosumer DSLR's, such as the 20D, 30D, etc! It may also mount on the Digital Rebel lineup; I'm not sure...
Take care everyone,
-Matt-
PS : BE AWARE of retailers and Ebay sellers offering eyepieces such as the DK-17 and the DK-21. If they are NOT the "M" version, then they are NOT a magnifier! They are just an eyepiece! The first sign of this is that the non-magnifying eyepieces cost only a few dollars. So therefore also if someone one ebay is offering a DK-17M for just a few dollars, they MIGHT be intentionally or in-advertently tricking you; they may just have a DK-17 and not a DK-17M... I just thought I'd clear that up...
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