Viewfinder Cover

kingyo

There are occasions when one must shield the D5200 viewfinder so stray light does not affect the exposure. Nikon provides a finder cover (DK-5) for this purpose, but the in place finder eyepiece must first be removed before the cover can be installed. Since it is only a matter of time for me to either break or lose one or the other, and since removal and replacement can be a "p i t a", I'm wondering if anyone has found a better, easier method? Here are my first thoughts: 1. Use a small section of soft pipe insulation with a rubber band to press against the finder. The band can be placed over the top of the flash hood. 2. Place a bit of blue painters tape across the finder when needed (painters tape is known for easy release and no residue).

Any other ideas or remedies?

As always, thanks in advance for your input.

bruto

How important the viewfinder cover is depends a lot on where the light is coming from and how intense it is. The main issue is slight change in metering rather than stray light hitting the sensor, and it's little or none for ordinary ambient light. Before getting too involved with this you might experiment with making the same shot with and without the cover. You may find that "accidentally forgetting" to use it at all works best much of the time, and using exposure compensation when needed instead. This is my usual solution, since the eyepiece magnifier I usually use has plastic retaining springs that are fragile.

If you're using a tripod and still standing behind it, one possible solution is simply to hold something over the viewfinder without actually pressing on it. Carry an index card or the like. Since the cover need not really be tight, you might find for other purposes, such as tripod-mounted group shots in which you must get in the picture, you can just get a larger card or the like and drape it over the finder. It really does not have to be utterly light tight, just to keep direct sunlight and the like from drilling through.