Rubber eye-cups

Nikon #2939 (For the Nikon FM-10, FE-10, N2000, N2020, N4004, N5005, N6006, N8008 & N50 cameras. Costs around $US7.25) is reportedly suitable (Earl `earub' in the dpreview Panasonic forum reported he found this information from the Steve's Panasonic forum), and makes the EVF usable in bright light. Ray (`raywes', dpreview, Panasonic forum) photographed his FZ10 with Nikon eyecup attached, and reports the Nikon eyecup fits his FZ10 perfectly. Gene (`genece', dpreview, Panasonic forum) reported that the eyecup did not fit his FZ10, so perhaps prospective purchasers should `try before they buy'?

Joe `jmcullar' (dpreview Panasonic forum, 17 February 2004) reports he could modify a Canon AE-1/AT-1 rubber eye-cup by trimming a bit off the short sides. Harold Owen (Yahoo! FZ10 forum, 29 April 2004) reported using the Canon AE-1A after `struggling' to put it over the FZ10 viewfinder.

Gene `genece' (dpreview, Panasonic forum, 17 March 2004) reports that he heavily modified a telescope eyepiece (the `standard' one), though Gene admits it looks ungainly.

Neal Nye (dpreview, Panasonic forum, 5 April 2004) made an eyecup out of rubber pipe insulation (see photograph)...

I recently made a perfectly functional eyecup out of a piece of pipe insulation -- the tubular stuff you put on your cold water pipes to keep them from sweating in the summer. It was probably for 3/4 inch pipe because the hole in the middle was bigger than the FZ10 eyepiece. I cut off a slice about 5/8 inches thick, cut it to length so it fit snugly around the eyepiece, glued the ends together with contact cement, and let it dry over night. I took a small scissors and beveled the inside edge so only a narrow section touched my glasses.

Now, this is not what you'd call pretty, but it blocks out all the extraneous light and -- best of all -- it was free.

And why would you want an eyecup anyway?

Wayne Lipe reports that cameras with a silver body (as opposed to a black body) are in particular need of an eyecup when the camera is used in bright conditions. The silver body reflects a lot of light. The FZ10's eyepiece does not shield the EVF (electronic viewfinder) adequately when used in bright conditions, making the EVF hard to see. See also Section , Wayne reports that an eyecup help him hold the camera steady!

And are there any other benefits of an eyecup? Ray `raywes' (dpreview, Panasonic forum, 19 March 2004) reports...

After waiting almost 2 days for the sun to come out I had a brief period this morning to use my FZ10 out in bright sun in regards to the eyecup I had been wanting to try. For me quite frankly the EV {electronic viewfinder} would have been practically useless in direct sunlight as I wear eyeglasses and prescription sunglasses outside. I shot about 30 pics this morning using the eyecup while outside looking directly into the sun and also being out in some pretty blinding snow fields I was in ideal testing grounds. I can safely say using the Nikon 2939 eyecup is about an 90 percent improvement over not using any at all. After shooting with the cup in place I popped it off and once again like I stated the EV was basically rendered useless with my sunglasses on and the only way I could really utilize it was to put the cup back on and press my eye up against it. The good thing was the cup is pretty snug on the EV so no real need to glue it on or anything it fits nicely.