Nikon DA-30 AE Action Finder - New in box For F5 Start Price USD 200.00 Current Price USD 200.00 Time Left - Bid Count 1 Buy It Now Price - Reserve Price - Start Time Sunday, November 30, 2008 End Time Sunday, December 07, 2008 Location Chantilly, Virginia See more about 'Nikon DA-30 AE Action Finder - New in box For F5' Description New in box - DA-30 Action Finder for Nikon F5In an SLR system, eye relief and magnification are closely related concepts.  The higher the eyepoint, the greater the distance the entire frame can bee seen from the eyepiece. The greater the eye relief, the lower the magnification.  The Nikon action finders are designed around an eye relief of 61mm (2.5 inches); the magnification is 0.6x.   Contrary to popular myth, an action finder does not produce a big, "TV-like" image.  It simply lets you see the whole viewfinder from a little bit further back. Can you use an action finder all the time?  Yes and no.  Because it lowers magnification, the action finder makes it a little more difficult to use telephoto lenses.  If you are relying on focusing screen aids (such as split-image rangefinders, microprisms, etc.) or autofocus, the lower magnification won't have much impact.  If you use groundglass focusing, life gets a little harder. Do you need the expensive rubber eyecup?  Yes.  Beware of all the action finders missing this useful part.  The rubber eye cup keeps your eye at roughly the right distance from the viewfinder.  Every viewfinder really has only one eyepoint: the eye position where the whole viewfinder is visible.  Nikon's high-eyepoint pentaprisms are designed to focus when eyeglasses are pressed up against the eyepiece. This means that diopter correction is relatively simple: you just pick the setting on the F5 that works in one position.  You may notice that you use different viewfinder corrections for glasses and contact lenses with the same prescription; part of this is the difference in distance from the camera's viewfinder system. With an action finder, your eye could be anywhere in the range from right against the eyepiece to the magic 61mm from it.  Although this does not seem like a very big range, your eye works very hard to see the focusing screen as the distance increases and diminishes - much the same way that a camera lens needs to extend or retract much more when it is focusing on a close object.  The rubber eyecup keeps your eye at the "right" distance: the one where the average eye can focus comfortably.  If you don't use the eyecup and press your eye up to the finder, you might find your eyes a little bit fatigued after a while.The F5 action finder (DA-30) gives you matrix (not 3D or color), centerweighted or spot via a similar switch to the one on the DP-30 (standard F5 finder).  Its body is made from a crinkle-painted light alloy.  It has a locking hot shoe. You get all of the same viewfinder information that you get with with the DP-30 (standard F5) prism. Place a Bid!