All photographers have preferences with their gear that helps them get the most out of their cameras. I would be willing to bet that no two cameras, when it comes to accessories, or settings, are alike. That is the beauty of todays cameras whether mirrorless or DSLR, you have infinite possibilities to configure the camera to you liking.

Sometimes its the small things that may seem insignificant but have a huge impact on how the camera feels and your comfort when out shooting. Such was the case with my Nikon Z9 and Nikon Z8 bodies. The eyepiece that comes with both bodies is woefully inadequate when it comes to shooting, at least for me. I need to have that camera pulled tight to my eye for sharp images when handholding. The original eyepiece was quite shallow and did not allow for that.

So in an effort to adapt to my shooting preferences, I searched for eyepieces that had some depth and allowed for more comfortable shooting. I really missed the old Nikon DK-2 rubber eyecup that came out with the older Nikon models. They can still be found out there, but adapting them to the newer camera bodies is not easy and often destroys them in the attempt. Not impossible, just difficult and not all that reliable with modifications. The last thing I want is to have the eyepiece fail in the field. Here is the old DK-2 eyecup:

During my search, and when the Nikon Z9 first came out, there were not many options and third party manufacturers had not yet begun to produce replacements for the existing eyepiece. I came across Zemlin Photos replacements as seen below and they were a huge step forward and similar in shape and form to the DK-2. They are definitely more comfortable! Only issue was they are still a bit flimsly and not as firm as my beloved DK-2 so it would sometimes collapse when I pulled it to my eye to shoot.

So my search has continued and recently another photographer whom I trust, turned me on to a replacement he found that bills itself as the DK-33 replacement. I was intrigued so I bought them on Amazon for both my Nikon bodies and I have to say, they are the closest in construction to the venerable DK-2 that I found.

So, with any new product there is a tradeoff. With the Zemlin eyecup, it did collapse which made for easy packing in camera bags. The no name eyecup, (literally had no name on Amazon) does not easily collapse and therefore takes a bit more thought when packing my bag. So far, these eyecups have made shooting much more comfortable on my brow when out shooting longer days. I share this in the hopes that it will help somebody resolve an issue you might be struggling with. It is a little thing, but you need eyepiece and comfort.

April 23,2025 – Addendum

As with any ongoing endeavor, there are bound to be some changes. Since posting this, I have settled on a new eyecup. As mentioned above, I loved the Nikon DK-2 eyecup for its comfort. I had not found anything close to that, but settled for the closest thing. Well I discovered that the closest thing was not as comfortable as in the early going. So my quest continued. In the meantime, another shooter who I have a lot of respect for, modified the Nikon DK-s to fit the Nikon Z9 and Z8. Below is the excerpt from his blog on how he went about doing the change.

I now use the DK-2 on both of my camera bodies and so far, I am very pleased. I beleive this is the final adaptation to the eyecup saga.