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Why not make your own adapter?????????? (1 Viewer)

Made my own adapter

G'day, My beloved Olympus C700 lens tube extends forward 27mm [1"+] when switched on.
I had a tool shop machine a simple nylon sleeve to slip the camera lens tube into. The other end was machined to slip firmly over my scope eyepiece [2" barrel, 32mm lens fitted upright to the 2" erecting prism on the Televue Pronto refractor telescope.
A very slight looseness at the camera end is preferable to a tight fit which may eventuate in damage to the lens-tube motorised drive.
There is virtually no gap between the lenses where they meet.
It works fine and is cost effective.
About eyepieces, as an amateur astronomer I'm concerned above all else with image clarity. I chose to purchase premium individual eyepieces rather than a zoom type, which have to compromise image quality for versatility.
Given the large Mb images that allow a lot of digital zooming from current digital cameras, and the simple task of cropping images, I find that, for digiscoping,I almost only ever use the 32mm eyepiece from a range of eyepieces from 7mm to 52mm.
BigBadja
 
I made one like you described

Used 1 1/4 grey PVC fitting with the exact step up ring like you described.

Much sanding on the inside to fit the taper of the Bushnell SpaceMAster scope eye piece and as well, on the outside to fit into the 37 mm part of the tep-up ring.

Was planning on gluing the 37 mm part of the ring to the pvc - but guess what ! It cut threads into the PVC part!

Can send you a picture if you are interested.
 
I have a Olympus 730 and an opticron ES 80 GA scope, I found that a peice off the cardboard roll of a kitchen towel fit up the CLA 4 adapter and with a bit of black insulating tape fixed inside, slots over the eyepeice, cheap as chips with reasonable results. Its also easy to replace
 
My DIY plastic plumbing joint adapter is complete, but I do not have the time to take a photo of it as we're getting ready for our trip to Scotland.

I tested it yesterday and Keith filed a bit more off the tubing before gluing the step ring on the end to attach to the camera lens thread tube. Unfortunately I asked him to take too much off and I could feel the lens and eyepiece touching and the pipe was not gripping the eyepiece. Luckily I have a spacer ring as well so that took it to the correct distance and it works perfectly. Total cost was about £7 (plastic piping and step ring).

Now I can concentrate on perfecting my technique with the new camera. Hopefully I'll have some decent shots to post when we get back.
 
Since I posted my thread "Bracket for Cameras without filter thread or are heavy" that described my simple bracket, I have had a change of mind due to this set-up not being too convenient in practice with my digital stills camera. I have designed,and had a polyethylene tube-type adaptor machined (wish I had my own lathe) to suit my Opticron HR66A 'scope used with a Fuji S304 (3800) camera. A stepping-ring is fixed (using epoxy resin adhesive) to the tube, that when fitted to the camera (in place of the lens hood) is simply slid over the 40929 DTL eye-piece.
A synthetic rubber 'o-ring' fitted at the base of the eye-piece holds the adaptor in position by giving a sufficient grip. The adaptor cost 15GBP, and the stepping-ring (from Jessops)3.99GBP .
I have uploaded a picture "New Tubular Adaptor" to "Equipment and Accesories" gallery. Apologies for the picture quality, as it was taken by video camera still facility.

Roger
 
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Resurrecting an old thread

Hi,

I've finally got my mate with a lathe to knock me up an adaptor to go between my Kowa 663 and Sony DSC-W12. Thought I'd post some info here if anyone else wants to have a go at something similar.

Firstly, I wanted an adaptor that screwed onto the threaded boss on the body at the base of the eyepiece. If anyone else wants to make something like this, the thread is a metric threadform with ouside diameter of 41mm and a pitch of 0.75mm. This is the same thread on the following Kowa models fitted with bayonet eyepieces: TS-601, TSN1-4 series, TSN-600 series, TSN-610 series, TSN-660 series. It may be true for others but I don't know for certain. Using this thread, like the official Kowa DA-1 adaptor, puts the strain on the body, not the eyepiece, which I was concerned about. Being a bayonet fit, I was worried about the eyepiece becoming detached as the load of the camera may cause it to twist off if it was directly attached.

The thread on the camera body was rather more complicated because I couldn't get a thread gauge in there to measure it. I wasn't prepared to pay £30 for the genuine Sony adaptor but found a seller on e-bay flogging "pattern" items for £16 including postage from Florida. On delivery I could see that it was a pattern item for an Olympus C5000, it still fitted the Sony W1/12 body the same, so the camera threads are the same (36mm x 0.75mm pitch?) for both these models. It may have been possible to source something more locally for less if I'd known this.

The camera filter adaptor was turned down to remove the "filter end" thread as this wasn't needed and the remaining tube was press-fitted into the camera side custom made tube (see photo 1). This is a simple tube with a counter-bore to accept the eyepiece. The depth of the bore is such that the rubber eyecup on the 30x wide-angle eyepiece I use can remain in place and the camera lens is free to zoom into the eyecup as needed (see photo 2).

The scope side of the adaptor is a similar counter-bored tube with the 41x0.75 thread in its end. The length of threaded portion is 4mm to avoid standing proud of the threaded boss and fouling the eyepiece (see photo 3). An additional simple spacer sleeve was made to fit over this so that the overall assembly length could be modified as required once assembled (see photo 3). This allows adjustments to be made if the eyepiece is changed for a different length item later on and also allows adjustments to be made by modifying/remaking a simple part rather than having to remake the oddball 41x0.75 threaded item should it be found the measurements were wrong at the final assembly. As it turned out (bad pun) this design adjustment wasn't necessary (see photo 4). The spacer sleeve and scope side of the adaptor are locked together by a grub-screw on the inside (not visible in photos).

The two parts drop together and are held in place by the grub screw that can be seen in the pictures (see photo 5). This allows things to be squared up on the camera screen or rotated portrait/landscape as required before nipping up the grub screw. I'll probably put a knurled thumbscrew in later (B&Q here we come).

The overall length of assembly was made so that the end of the camera lens was only just (<1mm) clear of the eyepiece lens when the lens was at maximum extension, this is when the lens is at max wide angle with the Sony DSC W1/12/5/15. The lens moves in and out about 4mm as the zoom is moved from 1.0x to 3.0x I am pleased to say that I get no vignetting at all over the full range of camera zoom when used with the TSE-14W 30x wide eyepiece.

The overall job is simple for any reasonable machinist as long as they have a lathe with metric screw cutting capability. The 41x0.75 thread is the only difficult part of the job and the machinist will probably want to borrow the scope during this part of the job to ensure it all fits.

The adaptor looks a bit rough and ready due to the chuck marks on the outer tube, but hey, it was made out of bits of scrap aluminium and cost me next to nothing. I'll suffer a bit of rough cosmetic for the sake of saving the cash. For comparison, the official Sony VAD-WA is £30, the official Kowa TSN-DA-1 is £70 and the additional adaptor to mount the two together is another £42. Even accounting for the £16 I paid for the camera filter adaptor, that still buys my mate a lot of beers and leaves me well in pocket.

If you haven't got a mate with a lathe, I'm sure a local machine shop will be able to make you something up for a lot less than the £142 you could pay for the "official" Sony/Kowa setup.

Hope this inspires some people to have a go at making something to suit, not just Kowa/Sony users. It is worth it as you can get something that works ideally for your setup, rather than a compromise to suit a range of different combinations.

Regards,

Duncan.
 

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Excellent job, Duncan.

I've been humming and hahing about coming up with a bespoke solution for my Canon A95/Zeiss zoom and this is real inspiration.
 
Of course there is a far simpler way!

When I still had my Kowa 823 I put together my own adapter to use the Nikon CP4500 with the 20-60x and 32xWA eyepiece all for no cost at all!

Admitedly from my 35mm days I had lots of bits and pieces laid around.

I simply used four empty 49mm filter holders screwed together - though later also glued in place together with step rings to take it from 28mm to 49mm. I actually found this performed better than using the LCE adapter as it brought the camera closer to the eyepiece so less vignetting. At first I simply used a thin slither of a pencil eraser to hold it in place, but later drilled a hole in the side to mount a knurled headed screw. I used this until I sold the scope!

I guess even buying the bits and pieces separately would work out around £10!
 

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Hi Ian,

I saw your home-brew adaptor in an earlier posting in the thread and did consider it but didn't want the weight of the camera to be taken by the eyepiece. I was worried that the eyepiece may twist off and the whole lot fall to the ground if I carried it in a "ready to use" state. Also, filter stepping rings are about £4-£5 each and I couldn't get any in the 36mm or 41mm sizes for camera and scope ends respectively. As far as I know, no-one makes a 41x0.75 internal threaded ring. I e-mailed srb filters butthey couldn't help with an off the shelf item, only via custom made which I could get done by my friend for less.


Blythkeith,

Please enlighten me, just what is that object you have as your avatar?

Duncan.
 
Hi Duncan,

the avatar is a character called "Strongbad", the star of quite the funniest thing on the Internet (IMHO), Strongbad email:
http://www.homestarrunner.com/sbemail.html

He's a sort of Mexican wrestler to look at, but that's not the point...

I couldn't possibly explain the appeal, but the whole website is a work of genius - have a look!

;)
 
I made my own adapter out of plastic tubing and it cost nothing. I also put it out on this site at my thread Sony DSC to Kowa TSN4 adapter.

Robert
 
adaptor 20-60x Kowa 823

IanF said:
Of course there is a far simpler way!

When I still had my Kowa 823 I put together my own adapter to use the Nikon CP4500 with the 20-60x and 32xWA eyepiece all for no cost at all!

Admitedly from my 35mm days I had lots of bits and pieces laid around.

I simply used four empty 49mm filter holders screwed together - though later also glued in place together with step rings to take it from 28mm to 49mm. I actually found this performed better than using the LCE adapter as it brought the camera closer to the eyepiece so less vignetting. At first I simply used a thin slither of a pencil eraser to hold it in place, but later drilled a hole in the side to mount a knurled headed screw. I used this until I sold the scope!

I guess even buying the bits and pieces separately would work out around £10!

Hi Ian,
Should you remove the rubber ring on the eyepiece before adding the adaptor and should the camera be as close as possible to the eye piece or should there be a gap. I've read about eye relief but don't know how this affects adaptors.
 
I use a Marmite jar lid, with a slip of rubber innertube on the inside to make a snug fit over the scope eyepiece, and a hole cut in the top the same diameter as the camera lens. It does mean you have to hold the camera, but then I am more of a birder that takes photos, than a photographer that birds.
 
lima said:
Hi Ian,
Should you remove the rubber ring on the eyepiece before adding the adaptor and should the camera be as close as possible to the eye piece or should there be a gap. I've read about eye relief but don't know how this affects adaptors.
I used to remove the rubber ring and as you say place the adapter as close as possible to the eyepiece. The one I made actually placed the lens closer to the eyepiece than the commerical ones which helped with reducing vignetting. Maybe it suited the eye relief better on this scope. Another thing I did was to place a very thin wedge of pencil eraser down between the eyepeice and the adapter on the side away from the screw. This heped with keeping the adapter centralised over the eyepiece. Even commercial ones sometimes have a tendency to place the camera off-centre.
 
Thanks Ian and Grampy. The Kowa DA1 adaptor + filter ring adaptor + Zoom extension ring needed for the 20-60x eyepiece is astronomically priced here. Would cost $406!!! Don't know who they expect to pay this.
 
Hi,
I am new to all this and have big problems in understanding what a I need to do to get ANY results. I recently purchased a relatively inexspensive 20x to 60x scope which came with T2 adapters which I assumed would work, but as it is necessary to remove the eye piece magnifier what is the point? So I am in the process of making my own adapter for my various compact digis and digi slr. it would appear that the key to my plumbing master piece is a 46mm male to 46mm male short threaded tube. Can anybody help??? I have tried with plastic and glue but I am rather concerned that the camera will drop off

Thanks Jerry
 
Hi,
I am new to all this and have big problems in understanding what a I need to do to get ANY results. I recently purchased a relatively inexspensive 20x to 60x scope that came with T2 adapters which I assumed would work, but as it is necessary to remove the eye piece magnifier what is the point? So I am in the process of making my own adapter for my various compact digis and digi slr. It would appear that the key to my plumbing master piece is a 46mm male to 46mm male short threaded tube. Can anybody help??? I have tried with plastic and glue but I am rather concerned that the camera will drop off

Thanks Jerry
 
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