Nikon BM-6 (25332) Screen Protector Review

My wife has a Nikon D200 digital single-lens reflex (dSLR) camera. It's now an older model, but it was expensive in its day and still takes excellent pictures. One of the beauties of digital photography is that nothing prevents you from taking hundreds of pictures, since there is no film to process and prints to buy. With a digital camera, you can just take pictures until you're confident you have at least one good shot.

This means that you will probably handle a digital camera far more than you did a film camera. Of course, the more you handle anything, the more likely it is that the item will become damaged at some point. Therefore, protecting an expensive camera becomes worthwhile if it doesn't cost much, adds little weight and doens't hamper operation. All three of those things apply to the Nikon BM-6 monitor cover, which is a clear plastic piece that snaps over the LCD monitor on the Nikon D200 camera.

As you can see from the picture to the right, I paid $12 for the Nikon BM-6 monitor cover at a camera store.

What it is

The Nikon BM-6 monitor cover is simply a clear piece of plastic that snaps over the LCD monitor on a Nikon D200 camera. The BM-6 may fit other Nikon dSLR cameras but I don't know for sure -- ask a camera dealer if you have questions about fitment. The BM-6 weighs practically nothing and it has no effect on the way you operate the camera. It's only function is to prevent the camera's LCD screen from getting scratched.

Using it

The Nikon BM-6 monitor cover that you see in the pictures above was actually on the camera for more than three years. It eventually had lots of little scratches, which made it less-than perfectly clear. We bought a new one for the camera, but I thought that the tiny scratches could be buffed out of the BM-6, so I rubbed the surface with some car polish/wax. Sure enough, the scratches mostly came out and the old Nikon BM-6 is now sufficiently clear to be used again.

Does the BM-6 monitor cover protect the camera? It sure does. Not only did it keep fine scratches away from the camera's LCD monitor but it will sacrifice itself in an accident. Not long after we got the camera, my wife slipped on some leaves on a sidewalk and the camera hit the pavement as she fell. It wasn't a hard strike, but it was enough to break the BM-6 monitor cover that came with the camera. The BM-6 you're looking at in these pictures was the one that we got to replace the original broken cover -- that was in July 2006. The camera was otherwise undamaged in the fall.

Summary

A Nikon BM-6 monitor cover came with the D200 camera and promptly sacrificed itself when the camera hit the pavement. Although $12 is a little much for a tiny piece of plastic, it has saved the LCD screen from lots of little scratches. Not only that, but the BM-6 can be polished and re-used when it eventually gets scuffed up. For $12, that's cheap insurance.

I recommend the Nikon BM-6 monitor cover.