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Suppliers
Continue to Keep Busy!
Third Party
accessories continue to appear for the Nikon Coolpix 950, 990,
995, 885, 775, 4500, 5000 and 5700 cameras on a regular basis.
Interesting
essentials currently include:
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Q-pod. A.K.A. Cobra Mini-Pod.
Table top, ultra light, flat-folding, inexpensive, super handy,
extendable tripod.
Several
models are available in a variety of colors from CKCPower.com
or Giotto.
Get two.
I'm not kidding.
About $8
~ 20.
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Extra lens
cap. I'll
rush you one from my private collection for $15, but you should
be able to beat that price all over the Internet.
About $2
~ 4.
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Rings
and adapters.
Bernie Heins' collection of specialty rings and mounting adapters
for both the CP5000 and CP5700 can't be beat. Some adjust. Some
adapt third-party optics. All make photography easier. NextPhoto.
About $25
and up.
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Ring
Light. Sort
of. It's Nikon's answer to shooting macro and getting light on
the subject. The 995/4500 cameras dominate the macro world and
get so close to the subject that their own dark presence shadows
the shot. Enter the SL-1 with eight white LEDs in a circular
array around a 28mm mount.
About $80
on the street including shipping.
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Slave
flash units.
Some really great ones are as inexpensive as a nice lunch. And
if you have an older hotshoe flash, you will want to know how
to turn it into a slave.
Slave flash,
$15 ~ $40. Trigger about $20.
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IR flash
filter. The
exclusive black IR filter that lets your camera trigger slave
flash units is available. Put it over your flash tube and say
good bye to red-eye, on-camera flash look, and dumb lighting.
Notice
how it triggered the slave unit hiding behind the vase, left.
About $5*
(see article)
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Monitor
viewing assist.
Several low-cost accessories let you see your monitor at noon
in the middle of the Sahara.
Some slide
viewers (left) adapt and become focusing magnifiers of sorts.
Grind to shape and velcro onto your camera. It works!
$8 ~ $20.
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Monitor
viewing assist II.
Here is a new product that gives you an easy to velcro solution.
ScreenShade.
It comes
in four sizes to fit your every camera. All cost the same. Each
collapses down to under 1/2 inch thick (12mm).
~ $20.
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Camera
bags. A number
of them exist that are appropriate in size, padding and construction.
The CoolPack from Nikon is an excellent package of elements.
From $16
to $100.
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Lens filters. Polarizers, IR, and
protective filters are the main ones to consider. Color ones
are in your eBook.
Prices
vary. eBook is about $50.
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Memory
cards. CF
cards in the Type I format now hold over 512 megabytes. Enough
for a world tour in the hands of many.
CF cards
in the Type II format include solid state memory and the IBM
MicroDrive with its 1 GB capacity.
Phil Askey
did a great comparison of several brands and capacities to learn
just what all the advertising hype really means.
Check out his article at DP Review
for the low-down.
Prices
and capacities vary greatly.
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Panoramic
Pan Head: Kaidan
Kiwi VR pan-heads.
Models
for CP 950, 990, 995, 885 and 5000 that facilitate acquiring
correctly spaced series of images for manipulation into VR and
Panoramic images.
Many features.
Nodal points for fisheye, wide angle and zoom lenses, levels,
click stops.
Well designed.
Link: http://www.kaidan.com/
Starting
at around $200.
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Remote
Controls.
Nikon makes the RC-EU1 which allows zoom, trigger and timelapse
(from 2 minutes up) control.
HarborTronics makes the DigiSnap 2000
- 2100 - 2200 with similar controls, long-line remote cord capability
and timelapse from 0 sec on up to 10 days. The DigiSnaps are
firmware upgradeable in the field and there are several models
to choose from. Some trigger the camera with Pocket Wizard and
IR.
New: Harbortronics makes a
small plate that fits under the CP5000 and one for the CP5700
(slightly different) that allows a $20 Canon remote button to
trigger these cameras. Simple.
Read the
Reviews.
Prices
$130~$120 respectively.
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Brackets. Flash brackets, long
lens brackets, cable release brackets, telescope brackets, microscope
brackets, and filter holding brackets. Collect them all!
Pictured:
EagleEye
Universal Microscope and Telescope Adapter "DigiMount".
I have
one of these on a large telescope. It's the best.
Prices
vary.
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Flash Bracket. Here's one that surrounds the camera!
The Coolpix sits inside a loop of extra strong aluminum that
provides attach points for flash units making horizontal or vertical
images.
Cable release
socket, levels for horizontal and vertical shooting, several
models for both the 990 and 950. Now including the CP4500.
(Nikon
sync cord and cable release extra.)
The ROLLBAR. $50-$100. Check it out.
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 Converter optics. From Nikon's own excellent converters
to the ones that give 5x, 8x, and more, the list is growing.
$30 ~ $3,000
(high-cost optic results pictured)
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Object
stages. For
stamps, coins, flat jewelry, small objects and micro-close photography,
the Happenstance stage can't be beat.
Nor can
it's price. About
$50, delivered.
Except
by its impending unavailability. Better hurry if you have a 950
or 990.
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Slide copier
Happenstance. Simple carrier sits on your upturned
lens. Perfect diffusion behind paper or plastic mounted slides
(different models for each). Happenstance accessory. While they
last (designer going back to school...)
About $50
delivered.
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Slide
copier Nikon.
Nikon's own has special carriers for slides and strips of 35mm
film that are rather like film holders for enlargers. Images
can be rotated and offset in two directions for critical crops.
Works well
with 995's negative inverse command!
Watch out! The built-in diffuser
makes hot-spots, so you will need a flat white illumination source.
About $80
in many places.
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Cleaning
supplies.
You may be thinking lens tissue and cleaning fluids, but you
should be thinking LensPen. About $10.
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eBooks. Extra copies of Mastering
Nikon Compact Digital Cameras make great gifts.
Especially
nice now that the Version
5.0 is now
shipping.
It includes
camera operation chapters on the 950/990/995/775/5000/4500/5700.
Nikon eBook:
About $50.
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eBooks. Not exactly a Nikon
eBook, the Sony eBook is for photographers with the DSC-F717/707
cameras from Sony.
Same author,
iNovaFX PS Actions customized to the Sony cameras.
Version
1.0 covers both twist cam models.
Sony eBook:
About $50.
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Batteries. There is only one current
best choice: NiMH.
Chargers
about $25. Batteries $2.20 ~ $4 each.
Except
for the newer cameras, you want the EN-EL1s.
About $30-$40.
Get the
cheaper batteries and the faster charger.
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Printers. Photographic prints
from film photographers are going the digital route. Several
recommended printers have risen to the top of the food chain.
Prices are very affordable for excellent images.
Range from
$200 to $600. Or more.
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Flash
Units. Believe
it or not, the ones from Nikon are killer. The SB-50DX has features
that work on the camera and off. It even synchronizes its energy
with the camera flash in SLAVE mode by reading the timing of
the camera flash. Making the two units work as if they were wired
together.
Flash systems
vary widely in cost.
Range from
$150. Or more.
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Lens
Cap retaining fiber.
You may call it simplistic or even cheap, but it kept my 950's
lens caps with their cameras for over a year.
Bright red (and cinnamon
flavored) to match the accent panel on the 950 and European 990's,
this tough, nearly unbreakable fiber attaches to the cap with
a knot and to the camera body by simply inserting one end into
the flash synch socket and screwing down the socket cap. The
flat fiber material lays between the threads without causing
damage to the camera.
Cinnamon
Dental Floss: About $1. Smile!
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Please
Note: This page is incomplete. Prices are not quotes, they're
merely guides. Postage and handling charges aren't factored in.
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*The magic
IR transmission filter for the flash units is not available at
this time. Until it is, use a piece of black, unexposed, developed
slide transparency film.
Inquiries
from suppliers concerning purchase of links from this page should
be directed to inova@digitalsecrets.net.
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