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Home >> Photography >> Accessories Nikon DG-2
Magnifier
My first experiment was with a 35-70 f2.8 lens used as a master and a 20 f2.8 reversed for the magnification. This is not the best way to do high scale magnification given the qualities of zoom lenses versus primes, but as I have no telephoto primes to use (a 200 f4 being very useful for such applications) I used what I had available. After playing around with the stacked lens approach I wondered what I could do with even higher ratios. Knowing a little about the technical difficulties for doing such experiments and also experiencing some troubling ability to place focus on the desired point for even regular macro ratios, I felt I needed some assistance. Enter the Nikon DG-2 2x viewfinder magnifier. This accessory, which turned out to be much more compact than I thought it would be, is an attachment to the viewfinder. It comes with screw threads meant for the Nikon FM series of camera, but can be attached to just about any Nikon camera via adapters. For the D100, which shares the same rectangular viewfinder eyepiece as a number of other consumer Nikon cameras (F601, F50, F60, F70, F80) a plastic adapter slips over the eyepiece nice and snug and then the DG-2 screws onto this adapter. This adapter has no part number is just simply referred to as an Eyepiece Adapter for F80, F70, etc.
The DG-2 is quite straightforward with little to tell about it.
The first time I used the DG-2 I thought my eyes were whacked out and that a trip to the eye doctor would be required because I couldn’t see anything in focus through the viewfinder. Flipping it out of the way revealed that the main viewfinder view was in focus, so what gave? Diopter control. The diopter setting was at the minimum and my eyes are still okay that I only need a middle setting. Once properly adjusted, I had a clear view; however I think a small dollop of liquid paper is advisable here to mark the settings clearly since the diopter dial is not lockable. This way you can easily get back to your needed setting, and for us older fellows, a yearly check is probably needed as your eyes age and change their focusing abilities. 2x magnification does not sound like much, but it works well and if you thought you had steady hands before, the DG-2 will put the lie to that pretty quickly because depending on the lens used, you’re essentially turning the view to that of a telephoto lens. Viewing through a 50mm lens means viewing through an equivalent 100mm lens and 200mm becomes 400mm and there will be a whole lot a shakin’ going on there. This leads to the next point, use a tripod as often as possible for macro and especially when using the DG-2 otherwise you’ll need a Gravol or two to subside the seasickness. The DG-2 is a bit of a specialized accessory, but at about $120 CAN, it isn’t particularly expensive, especially for something that has “Nikon” written on it J For those with a strong interest in macro, it can be a handy tool to have, unfortunately, it may not be easy to try out in the store though unless you happen to be close by to B&H in New York City. I felt that I could make good use of it enough to order one in, but that’s me, you’ll have to make your own decision about the DG-2’s veracity. I had hopes that the DG-2 could be used effectively with my AE prism finder for the Bronica SQ-Ai medium format camera. I’ve had focusing misses with the prism because of the lack of magnification as offered by the waist level finder and its 3x magnifier – no focus misses with it. Hasselblad users have a prism magnifier available and I had hoped that Bronica would have one available too, but alas, the only option I could find was a custom magnifier made by Brightscreen for a measly $600 CAN after conversion from US greenbacks. A bit rich for my blood, so I looked to the DG-2 as potential savior. It was not to be as the DG-2 screw threads do not match the Bronica prism – very close but no cigar and I believe the diopter value would change with the Bronica, making it even less desirable to use and negating the whole point of trying the mate the DG-2 to the Bronica prism. First use of the DG-2 was an experiment to reverse a 20mm lens onto a 70-200 zoom lens. I came across a tip on a Nikon list for how to stack lenses if you happen to have some Cokin rings handy. Given my zeal for Cokin from years past I just happened to have 62mm and 77mm adapter rings, which I screwed onto the respective lenses and then taped the rings together. It made for an easier and more stable mating than just taping the two lenses in an ad hoc fashion and Cokin rings are readily available in most stores whereas a reversed 62 to 77 diameter would be difficult to find. If you have a big penchant for stacking lenses then permanently gluing the Cokin adapter rings together would be the way to go. Stacking a 20mm lens onto a 70-200 lens means a magnification ratio of 3.5:1 to 10:1, pretty high to work with and fraught with problems. The view is dim and I had to employ the use of a Mag flashlight to shine on the subject (an ant) to see focus. The DG-2 certainly helped, but depth of field is so shallow that it was still difficult (if not impossible) to obtain the type of image I had in mind. It was fun though and for anyone else wanting to try this out, I highly recommend that you position your rig and subject for horizontal placement instead of vertical. Much easier to hit focus than doing it vertically and having to place spacers precisely between the subject and lens. The DG-2 worked as desired and I am now more comfortable with macro photography.
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Correspondence & About this website Copyright © 1998-2008 Edwin Leong |
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Having
introduced myself to macro in an introductory fashion by purchasing
a 
For
looking to replace the stock D100 eyepiece, I would give you the part
number for the half-round rubber cup too, seen here at right, but there
does not appear to be one. You won’t find it mentioned in Nikon brochures
or even the big full-line book. It is simply known as the rubber eyecup
for the F601, or F50 and when I ordered it, I had to take a chance that
I was ordering something else instead, but $15 CAN wasn’t much of risk
to take and thankfully, I ordered the correct piece. This rubber eyecup
slips on and off the small ridges of the D100 viewfinder and is much
superior to the stock DK-10 rubber piece. 
