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A Homemade adaptor for Fuji F30 and Nikon ED82 (1 Viewer)

Feathered one

Well-known member
Having paid out for the scope last Thursday, I wanted to save some money on the adaptor. So this is what I made up from bits and pieces I had in my shed.
It seems to work quite well, I tried it out this afternoon in blustery conditions down at Pennington sea wall. I will post some pictures and observations re the F30 in the next few days when I have time.

Here are some pics of the adaptor....................
 

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Feathered one said:
Having paid out for the scope last Thursday, I wanted to save some money on the adaptor. So this is what I made up from bits and pieces I had in my shed.
It seems to work quite well, I tried it out this afternoon in blustery conditions down at Pennington sea wall. I will post some pictures and observations re the F30 in the next few days when I have time.

Here are some pics of the adaptor....................
Looks good! I have a shed full of bits and pieces - what did you use?
 
scampo said:
Looks good! I have a shed full of bits and pieces - what did you use?

Hi Steve
The grey tube was off a Wickes Sink unblocking pump !! Just the right size.
And the white collars that fit each end inside the tube, were tops off some bottles that used to contain chemicals in my dark room.
The angled part that the camers fits onto was just cut from some scrap sheet metal.
The camera just fits by its tripod screw, so there is no stress from fixing the camera lens barrel onto the adaptor.

Will post some more pics of the component parts soon. Including a homemade lcd shade/magnifiyer which I tried out today, much easier to get a good focus.

Malc
 
Feathered one said:
Hi Steve
The grey tube was off a Wickes Sink unblocking pump !! Just the right size.
And the white collars that fit each end inside the tube, were tops off some bottles that used to contain chemicals in my dark room.
The angled part that the camers fits onto was just cut from some scrap sheet metal.
The camera just fits by its tripod screw, so there is no stress from fixing the camera lens barrel onto the adaptor.

Will post some more pics of the component parts soon. Including a homemade lcd shade/magnifiyer which I tried out today, much easier to get a good focus.

Malc
I like the idea of the swing-type adapter but money is at a premium at the mo', so your ideas look very interesting.
 
Feathered one said:
Hi Steve
The grey tube was off a Wickes Sink unblocking pump !! Just the right size.
And the white collars that fit each end inside the tube, were tops off some bottles that used to contain chemicals in my dark room.
The angled part that the camers fits onto was just cut from some scrap sheet metal.
The camera just fits by its tripod screw, so there is no stress from fixing the camera lens barrel onto the adaptor.

Will post some more pics of the component parts soon. Including a homemade lcd shade/magnifiyer which I tried out today, much easier to get a good focus.

Malc
Feathers,
Quite ingenious. The pics really help understand. It would be great if you could have one picture with each piece separated by a small space so they were in a unassembled row and then a pic with the complete unit together and finally one pic with the completed unit connected to the scope. Well done!
 
Here are the pictures of all the parts for the adaptor.

For the Fuji F30

The hole in the camera holder needs to be approx 37mm diameter for the lens barrel to be able to come through. Becase the tripod bush on the F30 is at one end of the camera, there is a tendency for the camera to rotate on its holder, so please note the small projection on the camera holder on the right hand side at the bottom, to stop the camera rotating. Three small pieces of felt are glued to the camera holder to position the camera also.

The grey tube needs to be approx 56mm inside diameter if using the 30x DS eyepiece and the length of the tube is approx 98mm. If you use a different eyepiece then the inside diameter of the tube will have to be different to achieve a good sliding fit. In the second picture shown below, you will see some small packing pieces inside the tube, these were stuck in with superglue.

I hope this will clarify the construction, otherwise please ask.
If the tube is too sloppy on the eyepiece, the camera will not be in line with the eyepiece lens.
 

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Feathered one said:
Here are the pictures of all the parts for the adaptor.

For the Fuji F30

The hole in the camera holder needs to be approx 37mm diameter for the lens barrel to be able to come through. Becase the tripod bush on the F30 is at one end of the camera, there is a tendency for the camera to rotate on its holder, so please note the small projection on the camera holder on the right hand side at the bottom, to stop the camera rotating. Three small pieces of felt are glued to the camera holder to position the camera also.

The grey tube needs to be approx 56mm inside diameter if using the 30x DS eyepiece and the length of the tube is approx 98mm. If you use a different eyepiece then the inside diameter of the tube will have to be different to achieve a good sliding fit. In the second picture shown below, you will see some small packing pieces inside the tube, these were stuck in with superglue.

I hope this will clarify the construction, otherwise please ask.
If the tube is too sloppy on the eyepiece, the camera will not be in line with the eyepiece lens.

Excellent, this helps thank you. Well done!
 
Feathered one said:
Here are the pictures of all the parts for the adaptor.

For the Fuji F30

The hole in the camera holder needs to be approx 37mm diameter for the lens barrel to be able to come through. Becase the tripod bush on the F30 is at one end of the camera, there is a tendency for the camera to rotate on its holder, so please note the small projection on the camera holder on the right hand side at the bottom, to stop the camera rotating. Three small pieces of felt are glued to the camera holder to position the camera also.

The grey tube needs to be approx 56mm inside diameter if using the 30x DS eyepiece and the length of the tube is approx 98mm. If you use a different eyepiece then the inside diameter of the tube will have to be different to achieve a good sliding fit. In the second picture shown below, you will see some small packing pieces inside the tube, these were stuck in with superglue.

I hope this will clarify the construction, otherwise please ask.
If the tube is too sloppy on the eyepiece, the camera will not be in line with the eyepiece lens.



yeah nice idea and do u have any example of pictures taken with this setup ?
 
Horukuru

Some pics below.
Have only been out digiscoping twice so far, both times pretty windy. I have a slight problem with stability of the tripod in windy weather. Hopefully we will get some cool calm days soon.

Malc

Here is a link to the Shade/Magnifier I made for my Fuji F30
http://www.birdforum.net/showthread.php?p=744419#post744419
 

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Feathered one said:
Horukuru

Some pics below.
Have only been out digiscoping twice so far, both times pretty windy. I have a slight problem with stability of the tripod in windy weather. Hopefully we will get some cool calm days soon.

Malc

Pretty nice photos !!
Have you got a 'stone bag' hook on your tripod ??
I hang my bag from it to stabilize the tripod.
If you don't know what I mean have a look here
Stone bag
 
Looks a good idea Chris
I can soon make one up, and attch a hook to the centre column.
Given the magnifications used in digiscoping, the smallest movement of the gear can spoil the shot.

Thanks
Malc

Edit.....Just been back to look at the link again, and realised the bag is hung fron the 3 legs, not the centre column.
 
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Feathered one said:
Looks a good idea Chris
I can soon make one up, and attch a hook to the centre column.
Given the magnifications used in digiscoping, the smallest movement of the gear can spoil the shot.

Thanks
Malc

Edit.....Just been back to look at the link again, and realised the bag is hung fron the 3 legs, not the centre column.

Works either way - my hook is on the centre column - I didn't have one so I drilled a hole in the cap, put a bolt through it with a nut to hold it in and then bent the bolt enough to hang a bag.
You could use a large screw-in cup hook, jubilee clip & a bent nail.
 
Standing to shot gives you higher mobility but even a mild wind may spoil the photos. To ensure the best stability I prefer lowering down, as birding will spend you a few hours long, have a seat is more enjoyable.
 

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Hi,

Great to read all this digiscoping stuff. I've just ordered Celestron Ultima 80 mm spotting scope and a T ring for my Nikon D50 so that I can shoot some birds. Any suggestions/ tips from experts is solicited.
 
Hello Ray

I totally agree with you re having the tripod low, we are on the lookout for a folding seat like you have, probably be able to get one at the fishing tackle shop.
I see you have a Nikon scope, I just had to make the covers, front and back completly removeable, they were dangling in the wind, have sewn some more velcro on to reattach them, just have to be more carefull you don't lose them.
I hope all the bags behind you in the picture are not all yours !!! how can you carry all of those.? :eek!:

Malc
 
There are some great suggestions here.....

Malc - I really like your adapter set-up. I have actually ordered a swing adapter from SRB, but still see the simple slide on slide off type as being useful in some cvircumstances. I bodged one up myself, but haven't figured out how to attach a cable release. I reckon I will pinch your ideas.

Chris - Seems obvious now you mention it, but it never occurred to me to use a stone bag. Will do now though.

Ray - Good suggestion to do your scoping seated. I guess you would have an additional reason. With that huge array of gear and bags, you must be too tired to stand when you get on site. I don't see a wheelbarrow in the picture though.

Altogether a very useful and informative post guys. Thanks to all.

BR
Ian
 
Hi guys I use a velbon "Carmagne" original stone bag it has three adjustable straps with clips and once set to suit the tripod fixes in place very quickly. Being attached to all 3 legs it is much more stable than those suspended from centre column which are prone to pendulum type movement.

Purchased it at one of the In Focus events but cannot find them on their website.

Stewart
 
Feathered one - Except the black one, the 2 bags laying on ground are mine. Looks serious but actually each of them are useful at field. One of the reason of so bulky is that I like to bring my D50 and a Sigma 170-500mm when I go birding, the tripod, the ball head and a 1 litre water bottle occupied fully the brown bad. Just like fishing with 2 rods, DSLR is able to catch those in moving whereas digisoping can do distant shooting. Agreed with you the 2 covers are sometimes annoying when windy, however it let me quickly to cover the lens when move my stuff to another shooting point. If you need to hide up, sitting down seems better than standing (apart from the grass in my hide-photo was not quite matching with the cover this time).

westi - seeing me doing so, 2 of my birder friends bought a stool behave like me every time, later I will get a pot of Chinese tea beside to enjoy the nature time. Wheelbarrow, you can see my brown bag is with wheels, he he ...

F30- initially I am not too happy with my Nikon P4 as the focusing seems not very accurate in digiscoping (fine when used alone), once considered to buy a F30. However after repeat practices, I got the pictures better now.
 

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Ray
You are shure in to serious stuff with the hide!!
Regarding the P4. I was all set to buy one, and get the Nikon adaptor for it, for my first venture into digiscoping. I read several reports on this forum that the P4 was a bit soft focus, so changed my mind and bought the F30. That is why this thread started, because I made my own adaptor for it to fit the ED82 scope.
I must say that your patience in taking the pictures, and getting the most out of the P4, shows in your pictures, they are superb. :clap:

Malc
 
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