Camera feeling a bit too small? Try this mod.

eurotrash

Senior Member
Recently during an extended wedding shoot I was doing for fun, my fingertips started getting numb in a weird way. I passed it off as some kind of strange disease related to my bad habit of smoking. But, recently at a car show, the same thing occurred. I borrowed my friend's D90 for a few days and this problem didn't happen. I noticed that the D5100 is a very small form factor and what was happening was I was gripping the camera really tight so as not to lose grip on it. I thought and thought and eventually realized that the rubbery grip portion on the right hand side of the camera near the lens mount isn't really, how do we say.. ergonomic and soft feeling. So here's a solution I came up with. I used two pieces of very thin closed cell foam, double sided 3M tape and some patience.

Step One: Get yourself some double sided tape from 3M. Attach in a a similar fashion to this:
IMAG0276.jpg


Step Two: Cut out the foam to and Glue the two pieces of closed-cell foam together (or whatever foam you have or buy) Let these dry completely before proceeding.
IMAG0277.jpg


Step Three: Align and press the glued foam pieces onto the camera body. You should end up with something like this:
grip.jpg



Congratulations! The great thing about this little mod is that it's non-destructive. The double sided tape won't ruin the finish on the camera or any part of it. So far, it feels GREAT on my fingers and I love the cushiony feel of it. As always, YMMV, Do at your own risk, I'm not responsible, yadda yadda..
 

Eye-level

Banned
I have never held a 5100 but I have held the 3100 and I instantly felt the "smallness" of it if you will...I could see where that might mess with a person's hands. I don't have this problem with my 5000 but the thing about it is if I put a long heavy lens on it I shake like crazy and I chalk that up to the weight of the camera body being sort of light...makes me want a D300...
 

eurotrash

Senior Member
I already feel like I *may* be outgrowing this camera honestly. Only after a year, too! I wish I had more options like more shots captured in bracketing mode, more options for stop motion capture and less of the silly color-change and other "consumerist" features that I never even use.
I DO like the small form factor however, since my hands are tiny and it's a bit easier to carry in DC and museums, around town it's weightless...
I'm torn :/
The modification might not be super pretty, but it sure works and feels great! Hasn't fallen off or felt weird in any way yet after about a month of use.
 

Blurrymess

New member
Yeah, it seems like the D5100 is more suited to smaller hands. I have pretty small hands (relatively speaking) and find the size and grip to be comfortable, but I can see how it would be a pain for people with larger hands. One of the 3rd party battery grips may also proved a more comfortable and secure grip. After getting one, I've found that the grip adds a lot more room for the fingers. Of course this doesn't change the depth one can wrap the fingers around, but the extra room seems to proved the extra pinky grip, which seems to alleviate a bit of need to over grasp with the other fingers. This does add quite a bit of extra bulk, so that is a consideration if you want to compact camera...
 
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