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

Opticron's new Travelscope (1 Viewer)

It was taken with my Opticron MM3 60 ED with SDL v2 at, as a best estimate, about 40x. The compact camera used was a Canon Powershot S110 at 85mm focal length.

Your photo would win no accolades over on the digiscoping forum. The lack of fine detail is not surprising, considering that you were operating at 40X, which greatly reduces the exit pupil, and constrains the amount of information being passed to the camera sensor.

I think you should try at minimum eyepiece magnification, on a closer subject.

There are two threads for the MM3 60mm, but this isn't one of them.
 
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With the migrant season upon us i have been out and about using the mighty MM3 - cracking views ystda of my first 'local patch' Whinchat, a female, for about 10 years:eek!:

I am not getting full use out of the 'scope and altho i have attempted photography with a home-made adapter it's not really up to it as it is awkward to align properly making it a pain to use.

I have decided, grudgingly, to buy an adapter.....problem is and i'm not thick, is working out which adapter to purchase.

If somebody could tell me exactily what i require i will buy it! I just do not want to order the wrong one and have the hassle of returning it - i blame Opticron for not standardising the diameter of the lenses;)

As stated i have the MM3 and i bought the HDF zoom to go with it. I also have an iPhone 4s so what could be simpler?

Answers on a postcard or preferably on here pls folks.....

ATB and good birding -

Laurie:t:
 
Laurie,

I look forward to seeing the pictures once you get the adapter. They can make a world of difference. Here is one of my favorites with the 5S and MM3 50 from a birding excursion this past weekend.
 

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Wow - such quick, helpful, replies!

I thought somebody might get around to deciphering the Rosetta Stone of info that is available.....I just had a blank and couldn't be @rsed and thought i would put my 'virtual' hand up and as stated i didn't want the hassle of having to return it!

I will obtain the funds and purchase forthwith as it is an important facet of the scope i am not using and one of the reasons why i bought it in the first place. Not cheap but it's a niche item and i have been given an 'out of contract' iPhone when a friend upgraded so i haven't had to buy that.

Laurie:t:
 
Nice shot Frank - i can't promise a Great (White) Egret i'm afraid but i look forward to recording local migrant passage and stuff abroad.

Laurie:t:
 
Pete Gamby.....

Cheers Pete, rang yr place ystda mrng and sorted details etc. A nice young lady rang me back to phonetically repeat the postcode and all was sorted:t:

Arrived half an hour ago and i really don't know why i bothered to make one! Apart from price etc etc. Sometimes even the most Dunkirk-spirited DIYers have to put their hands up;)

It fits like a glove, very secure, very well made and works a treat.

More importantly it means the scope and a light pod will now be de rigeur and i will get much, much more out of the MM3 as the attachment makes the iphone so easy to use.....

Just off to one or two local sites, will post accordingly and thanks for the help, you are on the Xmas card list.

Laurie:t:
 
Got a pair of Blue Tits nesting 15 metres away so i set up the MM3 with iphone 4s in the kitchen and opened up the window to take some pics of them bringing food....

It was interesting noting the metering of the camera, obviously there is no aperture or shutter speed that can be set. I focussed the scope first and then let the iphone fine-focus depending on what was arriving. To the left is a piece of Lead flashing and to the right some Brown matt tiling. The light was good but with light cloud moving over. Consequently the flashing was having light bounced off of it thus washing out readings as the phone sensor compensated.

I am only ever going to use it to record local stuff and holiday birds but despite the limitations it's a cheap way of capturing images considering i was buying the scope for use anyway, the phone was given to me (i just bought a new battery for £20) and the only other item was obviously the 'proper' adaptor which was £40.

Laurie:t:

30, 40, 50x
 

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60, 125, 150 and another 150x.

Laurie:t:
 

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OK - no prizewinners but it's early days!

Despite obvious drawbacks vs a camera combo it's much cheaper for just recording birds but it does need to have a firm surface or a monopod/tripod. Having said that i can hand hold it at 13/25 and tap the screen as it is so sensitive it does'nt appear to cause any blurring at the lower magnifications. All the images ystda were taken using the Apple earphones as a shutter release.

Laurie:t:
 
Laurie,

I would certainly be happy with those pics. It is, as you say, an excellent an inexpensive way to obtain documentary photos of rarities or even backyard favorites.

There certainly are programs that can "clean up" some of the photographic issues with the photos. At the higher magnifications the most notable issue is the noise. You could easily remove it. The colors do look a little washed out for the reasons you mentioned but, again, you could easily clean that up with something like Photoshop Express.

Nicely done.

On a related note, I am not sure if you do Facebook or not but if you do then I started a Facebook group for phonescoping. The link is here: https://m.facebook.com/profile.php?id=766663653369060&tsid=0.07746250322088599&source=typeahead
 
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Melodious Warbler......

Following hard on the heels of my home counties first Great Reed Warbler, which i couldn't get to on the day, has been another 1st - a Melodious Warbler:eek!: Altho not classed as rare, more scarce, most records (as UK birders will know) are usually juvenile Autumn birds devoid of colouring and silent. A singing Spring male is another thing altogether and today, nearly a week after it set up territory some 40 miles away, i managed to scrounge a lift to get some record shots. My first acquaintance with the species was with a few in the Camargue in Southern France more years ago than i care to remember! Since then many more in Spain, Portugal and more recently Morocco.

Todays bird was a stellar performer and despite a moderate, changeable, breeze and generally dull lighting conditions did us proud. It sung for almost all of the hour or so that we were there and from a large, open, Sallow bush which allowed excellent views and prolonged photo opportunities.

There are obviously far better images available - my set up is purely for record purposes and is better suited to more open, static species but it's better than nothing. A couple of other birders had 'bridge' cameras of up to 50x optical zoom and a quick chat revealed that these can be had for an average of £250-£300 as newer models are released. One of these will be my next purchase but the high magnification values of the phone/scope combo will remain an alternative option depending on the situation.

I must remember to take my bi-focal spectacles with me. I need to focus the scope on the bird in question and then need to use my close up vision to check the iphone, it's all a bit complicated and time-confusing but patience has to be exercised as there is nothing good about growing older imho.

As stated the flat lighting meant the bird was washed out - in real life it is a chocolate-brown on top and pale lemon-yellow underneath. The song is distinct but as we agreed on site had we been walking past and suddenly made aware our initial thoughts would be Marsh Warbler until views had been obtained. As luck would have it, the original finder was there and concurred that he had indeed thought the same and this bloke used to be on the BBRC (British Birds Rarities Committee):eek!:

Laurie:t:
 

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Not bad at all Laurie. I tinkered with the last one a bit to see if I could get it closer to your written description.
 

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Cheers Frank - i also now have a 'bridge' camera, the Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ72. This has a 20-1200mm lens and is quite a package for the money. The camera gives me the versatility for general work and its 16mp sensor delivers 6mb (it has RAW as well as JPEG) photos at full resolution. In combination with the iphone and scope for the higher magnification photos it's a good combo and all fits in a small bag c/w tripod.

Laurie:t:
 
Just bought the UTA 2x lens for the MM3 plus anothe adapter to use it on my 8x and 10x Opticron WA binoculars - initial impression is excellent, handy to take with me for use with binoculars locally when not taking scope. I generally use the 10x so it doubles it to 20x as a monocular:t:
 
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