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

I'm gonna bump this thread because it's so great and should be a sticky... but also to ask:

Does anyone have a home-made adapter for cameras that do not have threaded lenses?

I saw a design that looks possible to built at home here:

http://www.ekmpowershop2.com/ekmps/shops/srbgriturn/digiscoping-swing-out-brackets-8-c.asp

But I'm afraid if I just use clamps and L-brackets the whole thing will be too flimsy.

Oh well, guess, I should just go try it!
 

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Hello!

Here's my attempt at making my own adapter. It consists of two nested PVC plumbing adapters and four nylon screws purchased for pennies at Home Depot, a 37mm-52mm step-up ring purchased from ebay for $3, and a filter mount for digital cameras without threads that was also purchased on ebay for about $20. Plus some careful measurements and work with a Dremel tool.

Works like a charm on my Vortex Skyline 80 scope with a 20-60 zoom lens using a Fujifilm F31fd digital camera. Just loosen the two screws with the black markings and it pops right off the eyepiece. The zoom is available for use as well. I can post a few more photos of the adapter if requested.

I made this adapter as a temporary piece until Vortex makes their Mk1 QR Digital Adapter available. But I've been waiting for some time now and my homemade piece works quite nicely so I may forego the Mk1 unless it looks like it will do a better job and be quicker to remove and reinstall during digiscoping in the field.
 

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That's a cracking bit of work John – nice and simple but looks very effective. The filter mount looks similar to the FoxFoto one with knobs instead of slot headed bolts for adjustment.

I see you also have a Kaiser lcd shade. Does that work all right? How does it attach to the camera when you are already using the tripod mount hole?

Ron
 
Thanks Ron. It took some time and a bit of adjustments to trim back the PVC to get the correct lens to eyepiece distance of 1 to 2 mm. The adapter is nicely made and simple. The front knob is a large-headed slotted screw you can hand-tighten but really needs to be secured using a screwdriver. The bottom knob is a large knob that you can hand-tighten easily provides for a tripod mount as well.

The lcd shade was purchase at a local electronics big-box store (Circuit City). I'm not sure how readily available they are outside the US. It is a two piece unit with a base frame that attaches to the camera with double-sided tape (yuk) and the flip-out shade portion that slide-snaps on to the base frame, The base frame has a clear plastic lcd protector built in. It works Ok so far.

I will be putting the adapter to the test this weekend when I go down to Cape May, New Jersey for some migratory bird observations. I'll report back afterwards.

I have used it to take these two photos last week.
http://www.birdforum.net/showthread.php?t=99890
These were taken near dusk on max zoom (60x) as I recall. Not the best but good considering the conditions. The Red-tailed hawk was maybe 150-200 yards (meters) away.
 
Thanks Ron

Here's the manufacturer's link to my lcd shade:
http://www.delkin.com/products/popupshades/

I bought the 2.5 inch universal lcd shade for point-and-shoot compact digital cameras. They sell for $20 on-line and at the local camera chain shop (Ritz) but Circuit City was selling them for $10.

A "non-residue" adhesive is used to attach the base frame so no need for the tripod mount to be used. The Hong-Kong filter/lens adapter has a wide range of reconfigurability so it probably could work together with the Kaiser shade if that unit has a pass-thru for the tripod mount screw.
 
Hi all i made mine from odd bits of plastic and a bit off black spray paint,
check out my link to see pictures of my adapter.


http://www.birdforum.net/showthread.php?t=98221

Hi Del,

That's another simple, ingenious design which looks very light. It assume it just pushes onto the eyepiece and is held there by friction?

Good to see a different camera being used apart from the usual Nikons and Fujis. The results look very good.

Ron
 
Hi Ron.

Yes its very light and pushes on and yes held by friction.

Yes it does make change to see a different camera being used but then again i didn't have much off a choice here in BG but saying that i am totally pleased with the little Sony:t:

I think making your own adapters gives you the understanding how things work and why,plus it gives you great pleasure to see your little invention work.

del.
 
Great design! I want to build this.... so I have a couple questions:

Why do you need the step-up ring? It isn't screwed into
the camera, is it? (doesn't look like it is)

What is a filter mount? Why is it needed?

Oh, is the filter mount the two black bars that connect to the camera's tripod screw?

thanks!

(edit: if you more pics, esp. of the mounting brackets/filter mount?, I'd love to see them!)

Hello!

Here's my attempt at making my own adapter. It consists of two nested PVC plumbing adapters and four nylon screws purchased for pennies at Home Depot, a 37mm-52mm step-up ring purchased from ebay for $3, and a filter mount for digital cameras without threads that was also purchased on ebay for about $20. Plus some careful measurements and work with a Dremel tool.

Works like a charm on my Vortex Skyline 80 scope with a 20-60 zoom lens using a Fujifilm F31fd digital camera. Just loosen the two screws with the black markings and it pops right off the eyepiece. The zoom is available for use as well. I can post a few more photos of the adapter if requested.

I made this adapter as a temporary piece until Vortex makes their Mk1 QR Digital Adapter available. But I've been waiting for some time now and my homemade piece works quite nicely so I may forego the Mk1 unless it looks like it will do a better job and be quicker to remove and reinstall during digiscoping in the field.
 
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Fido, I think John is offline at the moment but if you look at post no. 44 he has provided a link which shows the filter mount. This attaches to the camera tripod mount, is adjustable and provides a threaded aperture round the camera lens which can take a filter, optional lens or, in this case, a step up ring which is bonded to the plumbing tubes which make up the rest of the adapter. The adapter is screwed into the filter mount and the whole assembly is then attached to the scope eyepiece using the nylon screws.

Ron
 
Thanks Ron for stepping in for me. Great job. You described the connections correctly.

Fido,
Here's a bit more detail. The filter/lens adapter is designed to attach to a compact digital with no threads around the lens. It connects to the camera via the tripod connector. It provides a 37mm threaded ring around the lens. I used a 37mm to 52mm step-up ring as the interface between the filter/lens adapter and my homemade scope connection. The scope connector is a 2" ID to 1.5" ID PVC pipe reducer. Then I inserted a piece of 1.5" PVC pipe into the end of the reducer leaving it stick out just enough to attach the 52mm end of the step-up ring to it. I used epoxy to connect the step-up ring to the pipe stub. Then I drilled and tapped four holes to accept the #8-32 x 3/4" nylon thumb screws that I tighten to secure the whole contraption to the scope's eyepiece.

The trick is careful measurements to get the adapter to seat onto the eyepiece and the camera lens to be situated about 1mm to 2mm from the eyepiece lens. It took a bit of trial and error to trim the end of the reducer to just the right length such that this distance is achieved. Be careful to measure your camera lens extension at full extension because most compact camera lens adjust in length while zooming in and out. This adapter allows me to eliminate vignetting by zooming in about 25 to 30%.

Please let me know if you need any other information. Remember that your camera and eyepiece may be (probably will be) different. So you may have to use a different PVC pipe reducer or pipe stub to fit you scope's eyepiece.

Here are a few more photos showing the contraption from other angles plus a couple where I call out the components. Good luck.
 

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John, that is a brilliantly clear description of your adapter. Great job.

The only slight downside I can see is that it is probably best to leave the camera in place on the adapter, as there is no fixed location point for it and it would need careful readjustment if it were removed. I have the same problem with my adapter. I guess a few location marks would solve that problem.

All in all, it's one of the best home designed adapters I have seen.

Ron
 
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Thanks again Ron. I appreciate your comments.

And you are right, taking off the camera requires reattaching it in the precise location the adapter requires for function optimally. I have marked the location of the large knob used to secure the camera to the adapter. That seems to work well enough for now. But, I will probably install a stop on the adapter so that I can positively relocate the sweet spot each time I need to remove and reattach the camera to the adapter. I'm not sure how I'm going to do that yet but I'll post the solution here when I solve the problem.

BTW, here's a photo from yesterday. I had problems focusing because of sun glare. The Great Egret was very close as well so I had to zoom out the camera to capture the full bird.

So...regarding the LCD shade...it didn't do the best job yesterday at Cape May, especially when the sun was behind me. Since I have an angled eyepiece, the sun was glaring off of the LCD and I had a hard time focusing (especially since I need reading glasses to focus close up on the LCD screen). I'm looking at the full enclosure type hoods with 2x magnification. Do you know anything about their performance and functionality?

Peter: I've examined you design and am thinking that I could incorporate your swing away feature into my adapter. I may start working on version 2 with this feature some time soon.
 

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Here's my first version. It's got several problems at the moment, but it's a huge improvement over the weight and expense of the Celestron Universal Mount ($60, ~1lbs).

At only 3oz and $9 (half of which is spent on a steel bar that I use 1/30th of), this is a huge bargain. I also had to buy a plug tapping screw ($5) and pipe saw ($9). The tap wrench is going back to the store since it's not needed for the soft PVC pipe. Using just my fingers, I was able to tap the hole with the tap screw.)

I attached a steel plate to the PVC pipe using a collar, but I'm having a hard time centering the lens. I think I'll have it sorted as soon as I find the right shims to put in there, and since I only plan on using one camera, it shouldn't be too much trouble to align once I get it right.

Test photo shows vingetting and I had to zoom to around 3x. Not at all ideal.
 

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Fido,

Looks like a nice simple design, feasible because your camera has the tripod hole near the center of the camera and more in line with the axis of the lens. My Fuji F31 and Canon SD400 have the tripod hole offset from the axis and pretty much located at the far left hand end of the camera body. Therefore a straight tab for mounting the camera like you have constructed is not feasible. It would have to extend the tab from the scope mount piece (PVC pipe fitting in our designs) and then provide a T or L shaped extension in order to use the tripod mounting hole to secure the camera body to it.

The adjustable "Hong Kong" adapter I purchased and incorporated into my design provides the flexibility of utilizing the off-center tripod mounting hole while still being able to tweak the configuration to get everything concentric and lastly, provide the right lens-to-lens distance to reduce (but not eliminate) vignetting. That's something I have to live with for now since my scope has a built in zooms lens.

Nice work! Certainly your adapter will function admirable once you have it dialed in. It is a trial and error process. I know I went back to the workbench many times to trim a mm or two off the end of the PVC reducer in order to situate the camera at the proper distance from the scope lens.
 
My adaptor is a simple pesto jar lid w/ nylon hose clamps glued to center my Fuji F30 to the 20-60X eyepiece on my Diascope 85. The adaptor can be pressed onto the eyepiece and needs no screws. I use it for hand-held shots, but can be used hands-free for timed images and videos. I've adapted the design to now accept my Nikon Coolpix P5000.

http://jerryjourdan2.blogspot.com/2007_04_01_archive.html

Check it out!
 
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