Nikon Coolpix A1000 Grip and Arca Tripod Plate [UPDATED]

NEW VERSION - A nice grip and compact arca-type tripod plate for Nikon A1000 which helps the camera's weird design flaw
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updated September 28, 2023

Description

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A grip, tripod plate, and bottom right strap connector for the Nikon Coolpix A1000. Pictured here in Prusament PETG galaxy black. I recommend adding some fuzzy skin with a box modifier to make it feel nicer!

The problem

The Coolpix A1000 is one of my favorite horrible cameras. In most lighting conditions it takes horrible pictures, and it's sort of poorly designed, but I always have it in my backpack because I enjoy doing bird & wildlife photos and having that crazy zoom range in a pocketable form factor greatly increases the amount of cool wildlife sightings I'm able to capture and share.

Compromised optics and sensor performance aside, it has a couple annoying design flaws. This fixes one of them.

On the a900, the screen flipped up so you could take a selfie or group picture. On the A1000, there's a viewfinder now, so instead of doing a marginally more complicated flip up mechanism (see the Fuji X-E4 for how this should have been done), Nikon made the screen flip down.

The big problem here is that if you want to take a group picture or a selfie on a tripod or a selfie stick, the tripod mount is DIRECTLY behind the center of the screen.

My solution

This printable object gives you a standard arca-type tripod mounting plate offset way over to the side, out of the way of the screen. This version also adds a nice Ricoh GR - inspired grip, which can be used to help with stiffness. 

Screws and how to install

I've tested it with these screws: https://www.mcmaster.com/92220A181/
Just get a 1/4 20 screw with about 1/4" long shaft and 1/8" long head, with a head no wider than 0.375

On the version with a grip, I suggest trying it out to see if you like it, and then using double sided tape on the vertical part to stick it onto the camera body to improve overall stiffness. 

What's new & improved

This version was redesigned from scratch starting from a flatbed scan of the bottom of the camera. Improvements include:

  • Shape braces against the edges of the camera better, so less wiggle
  • Cool grip
  • Better clearance for flip down display. 

 

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