Canon G3 and home-made adapter (1 Viewer)

Hello all,

As I have had a few comments about my recent change from the Coolpix 995 to the Canon G3, due to disappointing digiscoping performance from that camera, I thought I would post the set up details here so that people can see that it is possible to use other brands of camera and get good results - albeit with a bit of effort.

Firstly, I have to point out that I believe that the 995 had a fault. I read on other forums that some 995s had been sent back to Nikon for the focus checking. I did this and it came back no better. When I saw other people with cheaper digicams, often hand-holding, getting better photos than I was, I decided that it was time to do something about it. Hence the purchase of the G3, after much research of various cameras and the possiblity of attaching adapters.

I decided on the G3 due to a number of reasons. I narrowed it down to the G3 and the Olympus C5050z and took a CF card to a local camera shop and took a few shots with both cameras. When I reviewed them on the computer, the Canon won hands down for sharpness and colour. Also there were a number of features that swung it in the G3's favour. One that particularly attracted me was the 'focus bracketing'. You can set the camera to take a series of three photos, one at the chosen focus, one a little further behind and one a little closer. Then you can choose the best one. This, I thought, would be an ideal feature, as the 995 always seemed to focus a little in front or behind the subject. As it turns out, I haven't actually used this feature yet.

Here is a series of 4 posts illustrating the set up that I am now using. Below on the left is the adapter - a plumbing joint with one end sawn off and a step ring glued on. You can see the rubber grip ring inside - this hugs my scope eyepiece very well (Opticron ES80/22xWW), eliminating the need for any screws. On the right is the Lensmate lens thread adapter from the USA, which I heard was better than the Canon one. Where the Canon thread adapter has a 58mm thread on the end, this one has a 52mm which makes a smaller step down distance.

Part 2

On the left is the camera with its normal lens surround. On the right is the camera with that surround removed (it just clips off) and the Lensmate thread adapter clipped on and the lens zoomed out.

I leave this on and put a lens cover on the end. I have also purchased some filters. It is then a simple matter to screw the adapter on, slide it over the scope and it's ready to shoot.

I suppose at the wide angle end of the zoom, you will see the edge of the adapter, but I will not be using that too often, and the original surround is easy enough to clip back on.

Part 3

On the left is the home made adapter attached to the camera. The cut end of the plastic joint was about the right size for a 52mm - 46mm step down ring after a little sanding down.

On the right is the adapter attached to the scope, with no further adjustment needed - it simply grips the eyepiece with the rubber ring.

Brilliant idea Diane ... I wonder if I could 'adapt' (sorry for the pun)your idea for my Nikon 4500????

hmmmm now let me see ... ... ... ...

Part 4

On the left is the back view of the camera. One of the features that attracted me to the G3 was that the monitor swings out and can be positioned at different angles. Then it can be put away with the LCD inwards, giving protection from scratches. It can also be swung over 180 degrees and left facing out if desired.

In manual focus mode, the centre of the image on the monitor becomes magnified, enabling you to see the focus much better.

On the right is the wireless remote, which is included with the camera, and enables the photo to be taken without touching the camera. The camera is set on Self Timer with no delay (you can choose no delay, 2 secs or 10 secs), and the picture is taken very quickly.

Battery life is excellent with the G3 - on holiday it lasted all the first week, and I had been playing with the settings and taking some practice shots.

I also have an EagleEye OpticZoom 5x telephoto lens. This also screws onto the 52mm end of the Lensmate thread adapter using a 52mm - 37mm step down ring.

Ron,

I'm sure you could adapt this method for the 4500. All you need, as long as the bulky end of the plumbing joint fits over your eyepiece, is a 28mm - 46mm step up ring to glue on the camera end of it.

Hi Digibirder

That looks a simple but brilliant idea.

Regards Stevo.

Thanks Diane, I'll have a look at the local plumming-type place tomorrow.

Hi Digi-Birder

Thanks for taking the time to give such a graphic description of your adapter. I have a G3 and also have the 52mm Lensmate. My Opticron scope has a HDFZoom 18-54x eyepiece, do you see any problems here? Also I'm a lousy plumber - could you kindly give a little more detail of the plumbing joints you used - including dimensions? This would be of enormous help. Thanks again.
Riverdance

Crikey, you've brought this back out of the archives!

The diameter of my plumbing pipe is about 40mm, I seem to remember, and it fits over both my 32x and 23x eyepieces. I don't know the diameter of the zoom you mention, so I can't say what size pipe you will need, or even if they come in different sizes.

As I am now moving to dSLR, my adapter has become rather redundant, and I am thinking of selling the G3, so if you want to test the home-made adapter, PM me your address and I'll pop it in the post for you to test with your eyepiece. If it works we'll negotiate a price, although it didn't cost a fortune to make. Pipe cost = £1.50 and step ring = £5.

riverdance said:

Hi Digi-Birder

Thanks for taking the time to give such a graphic description of your adapter. I have a G3 and also have the 52mm Lensmate. My Opticron scope has a HDFZoom 18-54x eyepiece, do you see any problems here? Also I'm a lousy plumber - could you kindly give a little more detail of the plumbing joints you used - including dimensions? This would be of enormous help. Thanks again.
Riverdance

Click to expand...

I have the same eyepiece on my ES80 and unfortunately it has a much greater diameter than the x32HDF.
I am currently stalled!.

I have a dslr and the G3. In fact I bought the G3 after the DSLR.
I would recomend keeping the G3, as it is a much smaller camera and easlier to cary around then the DSLR

digi-birder said:

Crikey, you've brought this back out of the archives!

The diameter of my plumbing pipe is about 40mm, I seem to remember, and it fits over both my 32x and 23x eyepieces. I don't know the diameter of the zoom you mention, so I can't say what size pipe you will need, or even if they come in different sizes.

As I am now moving to dSLR, my adapter has become rather redundant, and I am thinking of selling the G3, so if you want to test the home-made adapter, PM me your address and I'll pop it in the post for you to test with your eyepiece. If it works we'll negotiate a price, although it didn't cost a fortune to make. Pipe cost = £1.50 and step ring = £5.

Click to expand...

Hi there! I have the G3, the eagleeye 5x and the canon adaptor for my canon teleconverter. I have tried to get information from eageleye but they don't know. If I use the adaptor will it rub against the eagleeye. I have the step up from 37-49-58 but I have put a UV 58 before the eagleeye as I am afraid to ruin the G3. Has anyone in this group got my set up and is there space for the eagleeye?
Thanks in advance. Fredy Ross

Fredy, I'm not sure what you mean by the adapter rubbing against the EagleEye. Do you mean you are worried about the lenses clashing when you zoom the camera?

As you can see above, I had the Lensmate thread adapter rather than Canon's own, as it had a smaller diameter and meant I needed a smaller step down to fit the EagleEye. I zoomed the camera first to its fullest extent and then attached the 5x zoom. I avoided zooming the camera while the zoom lens was attached because I noticed that the lens moved outwards slightly before it zoomed back in. This could cause some damage to either lens. The space between the 5x zoom and the camera lens was minimal without touching.

I would avoid using the filter between the zoom and the camera because you are adding more distance between the lenses and therefore will get very bad vignetting, already a slight problem even at full zoom on the G3.

Thanks, I tried again and it isn't rubbing like I thought as the metal meets metal. I have had the eagleeye for 4 years and only just now thought that with the G3 I would have 700mm!!! I will try it tomorrow in daylight. I agree about the UV it would degrade. My other alternative was a spacer ring but now I don't think I need anything. Hope I am right as I would hate to ruin my G3. Thanks for answering. Seems even Eagleeye is selling the lensmate. Thanks for answering. Fredy