■DK-21 eyecup. This is the square rubber eyecup that comes installed on the
D7000. It slides on and off the viewfinder. If you prefer, you can also use round,
screw-in eyepiece accessories, such as the DK-3 circular rubber eyecup or DG-2
eyepiece 2x magnifier by substituting the Nikon No. 2370 eyepiece adapter for the
DK-23 eyecup.
■DK-5 eyepiece cap. This small piece can be clipped over the viewfinder window
to prevent strong light sources from entering the viewing system when your eye is
not pressed up against it, potentially affecting exposure measurement. That can be
a special problem when the camera is mounted on a tripod, because additional illu-
mination from the rear can make its way to the 1005-segment CCD that interprets
light reaching the focusing screen. I pack this widget away to keep from losing it.
As a practical matter, you’ll never find it when you really need it, and covering the
viewfinder with your hand (hover near the viewfinder window rather than touch
it, to avoid shaking a tripod-mounted camera) works almost as well.
■BS-1 accessory shoe cover.This little piece of plastic protects the electrical con-
tacts of the “hot” shoe on top of the D7000. You can remove it when mounting an
electronic flash, Nikon GP-1 GPS device, or other accessory, and then safely leave
it off for the rest of your life. I’ve never had an accessory shoe receive damage in
normal use, even when not protected. The paranoid among you who use accessories
frequently can keep removing/mounting the shoe cover as required. Find a safe place
to keep it between uses, or purchase replacements for this easily mislaid item. (Visit
www.bocaphoto.com for many Nikon-related items.)
■LCD monitor cover BM-11. The glass covering the D7000’s big 3-inch LCD is
tough, but this plastic cover adds another layer of protection, and it can be replaced
for a few dollars if scratched. If I were going to worry about shielding the LCD from
damage, I’d use a less obtrusive acrylic cover from DaProducts (www.daprod-
ucts.com) at a cost of about $6. My big problem with Nikon’s clip-on protector is
that it easily fogs up when you breathe on it. I’ll show you some alternatives in
Chapter 14.
■User’s manuals. Even if you have this book, you’ll probably want to check the user’s
guide that Nikon provides, if only to check the actual nomenclature for some
obscure accessory, or to double-check an error code. Google “Nikon D7000 man-
ual PDF” to find a downloadable, non-printable version that you can store on your
David Busch’s Nikon D7000 Guide to Digital SLR Photography10
Note
If you happen to have one of the earlier BF-1 body caps for older film cameras, do not
use it, as it may damage the lens mount’s protruding autofocus screw, which focuses
lenses that don’t have an autofocus motor built in.