• Welcome to BirdForum, the internet's largest birding community with thousands of members from all over the world. The forums are dedicated to wild birds, birding, binoculars and equipment and all that goes with it.

    Please register for an account to take part in the discussions in the forum, post your pictures in the gallery and more.
ZEISS DTI thermal imaging cameras. For more discoveries at night, and during the day.

New Digiscope System for Swarovski...need input (1 Viewer)

Digidapter

Developer of the Digidapter
I spent a year developing the new Digidapter™. It's just now come out of field testing and reviews and available to the public. Designed for Zeiss, I have already received many requests for fitting the system to Swarovski scopes. I can easily do so for the ATS/STS/ATM etc., NOT for the new modular system ATX/STX

The question to this group... is there enough demand to make a production run worthwhile? Or is everyone running to the new modular system? Is there interest in a high precision alternative to the DCB system? It can handle mirror-less cameras including the Nikon1 with much more precision and repeatability.

I would like to receive feedback and suggestions from this group before proceeding and your thoughts would be appreciated

The Swarovski version would be identical but you can see the Zeiss version here:
http://www.digiscopeadapter.com/home.html There is a video at the instruction tab or direct here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KVGfQTd8UPQ

I can and already machined several custom fits for Leica scopes including the 30x eyepiece

Comments and thoughts are greatly appreciated!
 
Last edited:
I use the DCB adapter on my Swarovski ATM 80HD, with a Panasonic DMC G3 camera. I can take the camera off the DCB very easily, wihout having to take of the DCB adapter. Placing the camera back well centered, costs no more then 10 seconds. To look through the telescope without the camera behind the eyepiece, the camera can be easily turned away and it can be placed back well centered in one or two seconds. When using the digidapter, the adapter plus the camera must be taken off the telescope and mounted back again to do the same. The DCB has a 'fast mounting system' that doesn't move when taking the camera off and when placing the camera back it will be placed at the right distance off the eyepiece automatically. This is not the case when the camera is taken off the digidapter, if I understood the video well. So for me, the digidapter would not be a better alternative for the DCB.
 
Thanks for your comments janvangestel,

Just some design decisions that may help address your comments:

Many users wanted a compact system that could be pocketed until they use it without having to transport it mounted through the bushes. The assembled system with camera can be easily stowed in your pocket and simply slid on the scope when you want to take photos. Simply slide it on when needed similar to the the Swarovski DCA system but with infinite adjustability.

The Digidapter pieces are all CNC machined from solid billet aluminum instead of cast plastic so tolerances can be kept extremely close for exact and precision repeatability and there is nothing that can break, even when dropped. The system is very simple and extremely accurate.

When asked in the field, setup and repeatability seemed to be the number 1 frustration of all Digiscope users, especially beginners. The Digidapter only needs to be set up once and never again. It will repeat all locations forever even when the camera is removed from the platform for card and battery changes. When the camera is removed from the Swarovski DCB plate it does not repeat exactly since it doesn't have any way to perfectly locate it back to the same spot(only the camera screw) The Digidapter uses two extra locating pins (plus the camera screw) to assure repeatability when the camera is removed. It's not fancy but it's very accurate.

The Digidapter retails for $129.00 less than the DCB II

While there is no perfect digiscope adapter, features distinguish the different brands and I welcome design suggestions to better the product and hope to find them here, amongst the actual users of digiscoping equipment and not from an engineers desk.
 
Your design needs to feature a cable release bracket. Weight is also an issue for some, and I see no specs given for this.

Taking the adapter on/off as needed may seem ideal at first to the digiscoping beginner, but in practice becomes a real PITA and leads to many missed shots of active/living wildlife. Not only because of the time it takes, but more importantly the scope will always be out of balance on the head leading to backlash and excessive wear and tear on the friction controls.

IMO, the Kowa DA4 swing out adapter strikes the best balance of features and usability. It uses a similar eyepiece attachment method to your solution and is made from thin aluminum billet so is not too heavy. It lacks the "repeat" feature of your solution though and I would prefer it to swing up/down like the Swaro DCBII as this would also help with balance.

Design a universal type adapter like this, incorporating your "repeat" feature, and you will have a hit product.
 
The total weight of the unit including the inner sleeve that stays on the eyepiece and all hardware is 8 ounces. There is plenty of room on the platform to mount a cable release. I started the design but there are so many new cameras out now with electronic remote shutters that I felt a mechanical one was probably a short lived device seeing its last days but I could be wrong.

For the balance I just hang my camera and adapter on the scope with the camera on ready to go. I do my scoping, focus and slide on the Digidapter/camera over the sleeve (camera preset in custom mode). It stops at the same spot every time and I shoot the pic on 2 second timer. Hanging it keeps it handy for other non scope shooting and at the same time counter-balances the assembly but everyone is different on this stuff. Or if the animal is not moving (yeah right) I tighten the tripod.

This discussion forced me to machine the prototype for the Swarovski today so you can see it and below are some pictures. This is exactly how it would look if I do this. Plus any tweaks that may be suggested here. You can see the camera locating pins in the third pic. Note, I have designed it so the adjustable eyecup can be left alone as long as your own camera/eyepiece distance doesn't require you to crank it down.

The inner and outer sleeves are machined inside and out in a CNC lathe and is perfectly concentric when mounted on the eyepiece. You can rotate the the entire assembly for landscape and portrait and the focus point won't move. It's like the DCA but can be fine tuned much closer on the platform

If there is a demand I will do this for the Kowa too
 

Attachments

  • PS5D4881.jpg
    PS5D4881.jpg
    180.4 KB · Views: 217
  • PS5D4877.jpg
    PS5D4877.jpg
    131.4 KB · Views: 167
  • PS5D4887.jpg
    PS5D4887.jpg
    187.5 KB · Views: 195
  • PS5D4878.jpg
    PS5D4878.jpg
    216.5 KB · Views: 179
  • PS5D2982.jpg
    PS5D2982.jpg
    130.9 KB · Views: 218
Last edited:
8oz is a little heavy, IMO. As well made as it is, in its current design it is only useful to photograph a perching bird.

Now you have an opportunity with Zeiss simply because their existing universal solution is crappy and they obviously had no ambitions to develop a better one. Swaro, Kowa, and Nikon, offer very good universal solutions already. While the "repeat" feature of your design is desirable, most long time digiscopers have found workarounds and kludges with their existing adapters.

Frankly, while new well made universal adapters are always welcome I think the future of digiscoping will have to follow the trend to phone cameras. Pocket digicamera lenses are becoming increasingly digiscoping unfriendly as their sensors get larger. It's very possible you are trying to sell into a shrinking market.
 
Last edited:
When the camera is removed from the Swarovski DCB plate it does not repeat exactly since it doesn't have any way to perfectly locate it back to the same spot(only the camera screw)
If I read your comment well, I think you didn't use a DCB yourself, but yes, it repeats exactly, even if - after changing batteries - the camera bolt is not exactly at the same place on the part of the DCB that is fixed to the camera with the camera bolt. The camera slides on the DCB's fixed slide plate and can be centered exactly in a couple of seconds, no matter whether the camera bolt is placed exactly as before or not. The DCB slide stays in place when the camera is taken of because a fine 'click' system is used. So the distance from camera to eyepiece doesn't need to be tuned again when placing the camera back. And centering (only left/right centering is necessary), like I wrote before, is a matter of one or two seconds.

I think that, if you want the digidapter to be an alternative for the DCB, it would be best to try one out yourself and then come up with something that does all things the DCB does, but better, or with something important extra.

Maybe it is possible to put the digidaper plus camera in your pocket when one uses a small compact camera, but with my Panasonic G3 this will not be possible. So I still prefer the 'swing away' DCB adapter.
 
Last edited:
I spent a lot of time with every manufactures system and a month in Yellowstone discussing with actual users of every brand of scope asking what they liked/didn't like about their current digiscope systems. I feel I have a pretty good understanding of the models out there. Repeatability, and accuracy were requested most often. To get the precision I decided CNC aluminum was best but at a slight weight disadvantage to plastic.

The phone cameras market is undeniably ripe...very ripe. However, the constant new phones every week and the changing scopes discouraged me from that idea. I felt like I would forever chase my tail. But to my surprise, they seem to continue to release more high end cameras that work great such as the Nikon 1, Sony etc. and all fit the platform

RE: the DCB indexing...
The DCB II parts all stay indexed to itself, a great feature. But when you unbolt the DCB plate off the bottom of the camera, the camera to plate is NOT indexed, they are both flat. (see pic below) The camera can rotate about the screw with nothing to stop it, requiring adjustment again unless you just eyeball it. Seems like you could pin that though? But I'll leave it be at that. If you want a swing away, this system is clearly not for you.

Perhaps it's best to solicit a Swarovski owner to be a product evaluator from this forum and report back to the group. If someone is interested and willing to do a product review here on a Swarovski 80 please PM me. I may ask to send the eyepiece for custom fitment.
 

Attachments

  • Screen shot 2013-11-07 at 11.13.59 PM.jpg
    Screen shot 2013-11-07 at 11.13.59 PM.jpg
    22.1 KB · Views: 115
Last edited:
Swaro, Kowa, and Nikon, offer very good universal solutions already.

I cannot agree in case of the Nikon universal adapter here because it's heavy, bulky and cumbersome in use. I really have no idea how to carry and store this thing in the field. It has no swing away option and it's not really easy to get the adapter off from the eyepiece for visual use without changing the position of the head.

@Digidapter: Your adapter looks very solid. But Swarovski's own solutions are already so good that there is not much room left for improvement IMHO. So I would concentrate on other scopes that could need such an adapter like e.g. Leica, Nikon and Zeiss.

Steve
 
Last edited:
The camera can rotate about the screw with nothing to stop it, requiring adjustment again unless you just eyeball it. Seems like you could pin that though?
That's how I do it - eyeballing - and it workes fast en without any problem.
 
I have a tried many types of adapters over the years. I'm currently using a DBA swing away type with a Sony 100 or a V1

As digi scoping is secondary to birding I prefer to be able to put the camera and bracket in my pocket or small bag and only get it out when i want to photograph birds.

Looking at your design I think its the best solution I have seen for this type of adapter so far. Therefore if you do produce one for the Swaro I will be in market for one

Graham
 
Graham, you are the type of Digiscoper the product was aimed at. I too do not leave the camera mounted every usage but want to take pictures quickly when I do want photos. I have been testing the Swaro here extensively the last few days and it works great. I decided to make a production run of 50 units to see how it goes and 12 are already accounted for....a good sign. I am also going to make a run to fit the Leicas. The eyepiece is only 1mm difference form the Zeiss so it's an easy fit.
 
Just a followup on this thread. I now have the Swarovski ATS/STS/ATM/STM version finished as well as a Kowa and Leica version

Roy Halpin just did a nice review of the Kowa version in the Digiscoping forum
 
Warning! This thread is more than 10 years ago old.
It's likely that no further discussion is required, in which case we recommend starting a new thread. If however you feel your response is required you can still do so.

Users who are viewing this thread

Back
Top