Can I use a remote display or wearable viewfinder with a Nikon D5300 instead of the optical finder?
Asked 11/20/2014
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I have a physical disability that makes it difficult to raise my Nikon D5300 to my eye, so I rely on Live View. I’m looking for a way to see the camera’s framing remotely—ideally on a small external display, phone/tablet, or even wearable glasses—while keeping the shooting experience as close as possible to using the viewfinder. Is there any accessory or setup for the D5300 that can do this, and are there any autofocus limitations compared with the optical viewfinder?
Originally by Photography Stack Exchange contributor. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
Photography Stack Exchange contributor
11y ago
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The gadget you're looking for is called a video tap or video assist. They're used quite a bit in the film industry to split off an image from a motion picture camera's viewfinder and turn it into video. They used to be available off-the-shelf for SLRs, but the advent of live view has pretty much killed that market.
If you or someone you know is into 3D printing, your best bet might be to fabricate an adapter that puts a small CCD camera module in a position to look through the viewfinder and seals off external light. The Nikon DK-22 Eyepiece Adapter (~US$5.00), which clips onto the viewfinder and has a threaded hole at the back, would be a good starting point.
There are lots of small, inexpensive CCD camera modules available for under US$50.00 which have lenses and pre-wired connectors for power and NTSC video. These modules tend to have wide-angle (8mm) lenses, so if you can find one with a 12mm lens, you may get better results.
Once you have video, there are lots of options for display, ranging from LCD panels to glasses. Those are very easy to find.
Originally by user6508. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
user6508
11y ago
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For a Nikon D5300, the most practical option is remote Live View rather than a true external optical-viewfinder replacement. The D5300 has built-in Wi‑Fi, so you may be able to use a phone or tablet as a remote screen and trigger, and tethered/wireless systems such as CamRanger are designed for this kind of use.
A true “viewfinder tap” that converts the optical finder image to a remote display is uncommon for modern DSLRs. Older film/video solutions existed, but for a D5300 you’d likely need a custom setup—such as mounting a small camera module over the eyepiece—which would be a DIY project rather than a standard accessory.
One important limitation: remote Live View generally behaves like Live View, not like the optical viewfinder. So you may not get the same AF-S/viewfinder autofocus experience you’re used to, and remote apps may only offer limited focus control or focus adjustment rather than full normal viewfinder AF operation.
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