Moron needs help

[paddyenglishman]

As a newbie i would like to ask a couple of questions
Can i digiscope with the so called pro sumer cameras ?, i would like to buy a compact with a zoom greater than 3x for use other than birding , Can i attach one of these to an old Swaroski AT80Hd ? Also if i spend more can i attach a Digital Slr ?
please help a moron !!!

[awallace]

My guess is that you are going to need to start with something like this: http://www.acecameras.co.uk/asp/web/recorprod/1/product/8848/cat/1217/ph/cat/keywords//recor/1/SearchFor//PT_ID/1/product.asp onto which you can mount the compact camera or SLR. The compact that you choose will probably have an optional adapter for filters or other lenses, which will screw onto the scope adapter. You would also be able to connect the 52mm adapter to the threads of a small DSLR lens (i.e. Canon 50mm f/1.8).
Hope this helps.

[paddyenglishman]

Will this DCA adaptor fit an older model Swarovski ? mine is a AT not an ATS

[awallace]

Seems like you will need an adapter sleeve to fit on the AT eyepieces. Take a look at this site: http://www.birdnet.co.uk/digiscoping.html

[postcardcv]

The prosumer cameras tend to have large optical zooms and be no good for digiscoping (some eyepeices allow them to work but not any of the Swaro ones). The best bet for digiscoping is a compact camera with a 3x optical zoom, if it has a filter thread you can use the DCA, if not you'd be looking for a universal adapter. The DCA can be used with the older style Swaro zoom if you use the insert, I don't think it can be used with the older fixed eyepeices.

You can attach a DSLR in one of two ways, either using a 50mm f1.8 and digiscoping with it as suggested by awallace. The other method is to directly attach the camera to eth scope using a TLS800, this replaces the camera lens and the scopes eyeepice and basically turns your scope into an 800mm f9 manual focus lens.

[paddyenglishman]

Thank you to you both for the help . The Adaptors seem to be a bit on the pricey side
As i have access to some fairly extensive engineering materials and these adaptors are in effect tubes with threads on ,how do i find out what threads are used?is there a camera F9 refers to the thread size?

[Sandpiper]

F9 refers to the fixed aperture. Your SLR will have to be used in shutter priority mode to alter exposure.