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ZEISS DTI thermal imaging cameras. For more discoveries at night, and during the day.

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  1. I

    883 Mounting thread problem

    While you are at it... Instead of getting a new 1/4" thread adapter in the scope foot, I'd start to use the more reliable 3/8" mount on the head / QR plate. Ilkka
  2. I

    High fixed-mag option for Swaro scope - advice needed

    Steve, That is my intention - maybe this weekend. The 'spiderweb test' wasn't meant to be too convincing... And yes, the Zeiss mono is tiny compared to the Swaro doubler. I would guess that the 50-100x power (with the doubler) would be optimal "additional" power, but I really like how easily...
  3. I

    High fixed-mag option for Swaro scope - advice needed

    Thanks Steve for the detailed pics - my adapter is identical to yours and it indeed was thicker than I remembered ;). I was thinking that the plastic cover cap of the scope body should fit perfectly to the eyepiece mount and might well serve as starting material for a cheap DIY adapter... ...
  4. I

    High fixed-mag option for Swaro scope - advice needed

    LOL - I could try to do it when I get home tonight. It is a very simple, thin metal ring with bayonet fingers and a locking screw. It brings the eyepieces a couple of mm's up, which means that some eyepieces can't be brought into focus at infinity. I have a 77x eyepiece, which does come into...
  5. I

    Lenspen removes coating?

    Roland, I haven't used the lenspens with any hydrophobically coated lenses, but I don't think the cleaning fiber/rubber or the "graphite replenisher" themselves can cause any damage. However, I know that some of that black graphite can be left on the lens and that may (temporarily) reduce the...
  6. I

    swarovski 25x50 zoom

    I have had a chance to compare the 25-50x and the newest "non-S" 20-60x eyepieces (Swarotop & Swarodur but not Swaroclean coatings) on both the AT80HD and ATM80HD scopes. Mechanically the mounts are interchangeable, but the locking pin is on the older eyepiece and on the newer scope body, which...
  7. I

    Digiscoping advice wanted

    A DSLR lens is not afocal if it has focal length ;), but if you put a short-fl -lens behind it, it becomes an afocal "magnifier/multiplier". The problem with an afocal system is that it does not project any image*, but an exit pupil, which requires one more focal lens (camera or eye) to become...
  8. I

    Digiscoping advice wanted

    Well, depends how you define "spotting scope" ;). Of course I should have mentioned that I meant the objective and the eyepiece combined, but my point was that it does not matter what the focal lengths inside this "spotting scope" are, when all you see is magnification and the exit pupil. To...
  9. I

    Digiscoping advice wanted

    Dale, I agree mostly with Steven here. A spotting scope is afocal ie. it does not have a focal length at all - only magnification. This magnification is like a teleconverter that just multiplies the true focal length of the camera lens. You get the focal ratio ("aperture") by comparing the...
  10. I

    Which scopes have 20/25x e/ps?

    Martin, You are actually very well equipped already. Opticron have excellent selection of eyepieces and I am afraid that even the latest über-scopes are at best only marginally better than your current scope. The Swarovski ATS-series have excellent 20x, 30x and 45x fixed eyepieces. The Leica...
  11. I

    Zoom scope versus camera zoom

    Josef, One important point re your original question is camera-eyepiece -compatibility, which can vary a lot. With your earlier zoom setup you had an eyepiece (old Kowa 20-60x?), which practically had sufficient ER for digiscoping only at 20x. Now your new Kowa zoom should work at almost any...
  12. I

    Zeiss 85mm/zoom v. Kowa 883 XD/zoom

    Sancho, Andrew, Kimmo & al, As a happy owner* of an excellent Swaro AT80HD I went along the path (last autumn) that Kimmo suggested and I can confirm that the 25-50x is indeed a wonderful upgrade to those who want both zoom and wide (well, "not-keyhole-narrow") FOV in the same eyepiece. You do...
  13. I

    New Sony NEX series of mirroless cameras another serious contender for digiscoping?

    I think we are approaching the point when high-sensitivity sensors and electronic displays actually become viable alternatives to optical eyepieces. Ilkka :t:
  14. I

    question about leica Ultravid HD 10x32

    Galih, I am afraid that the Ultravids have even more pincushion (and CA) than your FLs. Ilkka
  15. I

    Kowa vs Swaro scopes

    Nick, If you plan to use the scope mainly for viewing and digiscoping would be a secondary purpose, I would be tempted to recommend the zoom instead of fixed eyepieces. Both Kowa and Swaro zooms are SO good and they work so well for digiscoping that IMHO you would compromise your birding more...
  16. I

    ATM 80 HD test report

    Kimmo, Yes, my original plan was just to test whether or not the new eyepiece works on my trusty, and not too old, AT80HD. I was very happy to see that it did - and I would say that it did just as well as on the new ATM body. There was absolutely no vignetting with this eyepiece, unlike with...
  17. I

    ATM 80 HD test report

    Karmantra - sorry to hear about the incompatibility of this wide-zoom for you. I think it is just a matter of insufficient ER, which is not practically possible to get around. If the ER is measured at the edges of exit pupil (which is likely) this eyepiece may give better measured than...
  18. I

    Zeiss Dialyt 7x42

    Sancho, If your SVs eventually end up being left unused and unloved, please consider me as a potential and experienced adoptive parent. Best regards, Ilkka & 8x30EII :t:
  19. I

    ATM 80 HD test report

    Conclusion I was determined to purchase the zoom eyepiece in case it worked for me. Well, it did, but when I also had such a good chance to play with the whole setup and to see how well all the accessories work together and with the new ATM body, I just couldn't resist the temptation and ended...
  20. I

    ATM 80 HD test report

    Part 3 The 25-50x eyepiece This is IMO the real star of the setup. I have already been singing its praises here on the BirdForum (even before such a thing existed http://www.birdforum.net/showthread.php?p=254056) and nothing in my testing has changed this opinion. It is a true "birder's...
  21. I

    ATM 80 HD test report

    Part 2 Ergonomics of the scope body and accessories I really like the slim focusing wheel and especially combined with an open balance plate this allows a large sector of rotation without changing the grip. I had a chance to test the focusing wheel at -30°C and obviously it does get stiffer...
  22. I

    ATM 80 HD test report

    Hi all, During the last few months of silent Finnish birding season I have been very lucky to borrow and test a friend's latest Swarovski ATM80HD spotting scope with all the digiscoping bells and whistles. Squidge asked below about the opinions of this scope and to my slight surprise I couldn't...
  23. I

    Dielectric mirrors are widely available. So why do we still have prisms in porros?

    ST, IMO this could be carried out in the objective without any additional elements. If there is no prism, there is no need to make the achromat undercorrected. It would be interesting to hear about your findings with mirror-binoculars, but I wouldn't be too surprised if you found them to have...
  24. I

    Auto Focus, and Why?

    Kevin, It is because phase detection AF of the DSLRs require apertures of at least f/5.6, which can't be reached with exit pupils of 2-4mm. It does not help to have a fast lens behind the scope if it is stopped down to f/10 by the scope. Like Josef said the m4/3 use contrast-detection-AF, which...
  25. I

    Thank you Leica

    More birds? ;) The Nikon zoom shows less than half the area that the Leica zoom does at 25x. That is how they have been able to make the new zoom better. The new eyepiece mount is larger which means that the old eyepieces can be adapted to the new scopes, but not vice versa. The same has...
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