swapping GS180 on subal

hey all, i need to move my GS180 eyepiece from my D2x housing to my D7000 housing. Never taken that eyepiece off before. Is it easy to do? I know some people take them off all the time, so probably simple right?

hey all, i need to move my GS180 eyepiece from my D2x housing to my D7000 housing. Never taken that eyepiece off before. Is it easy to do? I know some people take them off all the time, so probably simple right?

We remove them all the time for travel.

On the inside is a flat lock nut with two small holes in it. You need a pair of spring clip pliers to grasp and turn this lock nut. Take the back to a tool store to get the correct pliers. Don't try to use two loose pins as you'll screw it up! Also a large jewelers spanner will work.

It is a standard right hand thread. Looking at it, turn counter clockwise to loosen it. Under that is a plain flat washer. Remove this and pull the viewer out. It seals with two thin 'O' rings. Be careful in inserting it into the 7000 plastic back as it has very sharp edges. Subal should round this edge at the factory before shipping the backs.

Very easy to do. Just undo the retaining ring inside the housing, remove it and the washer underneath is and push the viewfinder out using your thumbs. Installation is the reverse process. You'll need circlip pliers or an Oceanic Battery Door Tool to undo/tighten the retaining ring

Ive seen Subal eyepieces flood twice on trips, both times people that had removed them. So what did they do wrong? (this was not on D7000) Not careful enough with the orings? Are they very sensitive? Normally the body/port orings are quite robust.

The corners of the O ring groove on the eyepiece are very sharp. If an O ring pops out of the groove a little as you're pushing the eyepiece in it will cut the O ring (I'm speaking from experience here). My advice is to be very careful the O ring stays in the groove as you push the eyepiece in, make sure the O rings are lubricated and have a spare O ring or two in case it all goes wrong.

I've upgraded housings and want to move my GS180 eyepiece to the new housing and move the standard eyepiece from the new housing to the old one.

Problem is, the GS180 has the two small holes in it, allowing for easy unscrewing, but the standard eyepiece in the new housing has no such holes and no obvious way to unscrew it.

Any thoughts?

Hi Mark

Hmm, that's annoying. I've never had a problem changing/removing the Subal finders because of those small holes. Can you send a pic so we can have a look?

It might be worth dropping Subal an email and seeking their help.

It turns out it's easy...

The GS180 needs to be unscrewed (using the removal tool or similar), while the current standard eyepiece just gets pushed out, after removing a plastic securing ring.

Oh right! Well done!

So have you gone with the Subal ND500 housing? Thoughts???

Yup, but it's gonna be a while before I properly test it out. Meanwhile I need to sort a few things out. A bayonet adapter connects my type-3 DP-100 and type-3 EXR-40 to the type-4 ND500, but oddly it won't fit my type-3 DP-FE which i really don't want to have to replace.

Build quality and ergonomics look good so far. Vacuum pump works and housing seems airtight, so that's a good start!

Yup, but it's gonna be a while before I properly test it out. Meanwhile I need to sort a few things out. A bayonet adapter connects my type-3 DP-100 and type-3 EXR-40 to the type-4 ND500, but oddly it won't fit my type-3 DP-FE which i really don't want to have to replace.

 

Build quality and ergonomics look good so far. Vacuum pump works and housing seems airtight, so that's a good start!

Thanks.

Curious on the adaptor and DP-FE. When I moved from my ND300 (Type 3) to an ND800 (Type 4) I used the adaptor for a while with the FP-105VR, a Zen 100 and the DP-FE2 without a problem. I found them a bit of a wrestle to fit initially but once in place, they were fine.

Another option is to convert the Subal housing from a type 4 to a type 3 port mount.

Thus not adaptors for your type 3 ports needed.

Elmer

It seems my DP-FE is a type 2 or "early" type 3 which is why the adapter doesn't fit. Subal have proposed a not inexpensive solution which is that we replace the plate behind the dome to a new type 4 plate. Much cheaper than buying a new or secondhand DP. All my ports will then be type 4 with only my DP-100/3 requiring the adapter.

Having already gone off topic, I'll say this about the ND500... the button labels are tiny! Do you know anyone who makes bigger housing label decals?