Quick Adaptor

a very usefull clever idea, that is great for those moments when you are constantly taking shots and also need the scope at the ready at the slightest moment.

the fact you can simply swing the camera out the way when you want a quick look through the scope, without having to take your eyes away from the subject is a real bonus!

then when you want to take a picture, you simply swing the camera back round, and it clicks right into the correct position, brilliant.

I\'ve used this now for 6 months with a Swarovski ST80HD and Canon 300D. The ease of use by far excedes the problems I\'ve had so far.

The length of the scope has been a problem as it is too long and I have a sliding plate attached to the scope, adding to the weight.

The 300D is probably a bit heavier than it was designed for and the arm can swing under its weight.

The screws have a tendency to come loose and I lost the stop on the first day out as it came undone.

I have noticed that the camera doesn\'t always swing back in to the same place.

There is a bit of play when it clicks in to position which may be either due to some wear or the spring is weakening on the bearing.

With all that said the ease of use still outweighs the problems. I would recommend it to anyone especially if they have a straight scope as it is one of the few that fit a straight scope. I would however recommend they try before they buy as it may need additional items to get it to fit your equipment as I did.

The Zeiss Quick Adaptor, is a good solid, well engineered product. As would be expected from this top manufacturer.

The equipment consists of a hinged alloy body. To the top of the QA attaches the spotting scope. The whole assembley then in turn connects in the normal way to a standard tripod.

The hinged body of the QA allows use with either a straight bodied scope or hinged up with an angled scope. The camera attaches by knurled screw to a moveable bracket on the rear of the QA. Adjustments are made both vertically and horizontally to enable the camera to be set central over the scope eyepiece. Another adjustment allows backward and forward movement, bringing the camera close to the eyepiece. A stopper screw allows the camera position to be set. This should be a once only job. Once set unless the scope or camera is changed, no other adjustments should be necessary.

I found it best to setup the scope in my garden rather than onsite. To do this I set my eyepiece zoom on its highest setting. In my case X60. I set my camera zoom on its widest angle. I focused my scope of a fixed object. I then put the camera over the lens, a slight adjustment to my scope focus, then used the vignetting circle to fine tune my adjusting screws untill I was happy that the circle was central in the camera viewing screen. By increasing the camera zoom until all vignetting had dissapeared, I found the optimum setting for the QA. I tightened all screws to their maximum and set the sliding stop in place. Now evertime I go birding I know my camera is ready to go.

Why use this adaptor, and not a simple tube adaptor?
Well one problem I had previously when using the excellent Eagle Eye adaptors was while removing the camera really only took a few seconds. In reallity I left my camera in place, and found myself digiscoping rather than birdwatching.

My main reason for visiting my favourite sites is to birdwatch. I also want to take photographs of what I see. With a tube adaptor I found it was either one thing or the other. With the Zeiss Quick Adaptor I have the best of both worlds. I can use my scope to spot and view to my hearts content. When I see that special bird or moment I want to capture on film (or compact flash card), I just swing my camera into place, drop it down and click. Voila its as simple as that. Just a very fine adjustment to the scope focus knob is necessary to obtain that perfect record shot.

The Zeiss Quick Adaptor is not cheap, but is well made, solid and once setup easy to use.

I give the product full marks. I certainly would recommend it to anyone. The product weighs in at just under 1KG, so obviously weight is a factor to consider when carrying around an already weighty setup, but for me the convenience and ease of use easily make up for this.

A couple of words of warning however, while the system is advertised as universal, I have only tried it on my own Zeiss 85T angled spotting scope, and also on a friends straight bodied 80mm Opticron. I have been told elsewhere in this forum that it cannot be used with some makes or types of scopes. So before buying please ensure that it will fit your particular scope. I do intend to test the adaptor with other models of scope when I am able. I will post my results.

My second snag, came when I attempted to attach my Nikon 4500 camera with the Eagle Eye wing bracket. This is the bracket that allows me to use a cable remote release with the camera, and also lets me attach a sun shade. I found that the screw supplied with the QA was a fraction too short, and I could not screw them up tightly. I overcame this problem initially by using the adaptor screw that came with my winged bracket. This worked ok, and allowed me to use the setup, however it meant the camera being perched on top of a screw head and was as secure as I would have liked. I have now solved the problem by replacing the original QA screw with a longer one of my own. I did have to do some filing to enable the screw to slide in the slot. I think it was worth it. I have notified Zeiss of this problem and hopefully they may come up with some better workaround in the future.

One side bonus of using this adaptor is it make an ideal attaching bracket for a battery pack!!

Another bonus is that I have also set up my adaptor and tested it with my Fuji 602 camera.

This camera has an external zoom and a very wide lens. Previously I had attempting to digiscope with this without any success. Lots of vignetting even at full zoom settings. Using the Zeiss Quick Adaptor it works fine. (Again the Zeiss Wide bodied eyepiece helps!) Some vignetting does occur and wide angles, and I cannot use the camera at as high magnifications as my Nikon, but it is perfectly useable.

Am I glad I bought it?
Yes definatly. It has transformed my birdwatching. I can photograph at whatever zoom setting I choose, I can zoom in or out at will, while focusing the camera or scope.

Using my old tube system I could get a maximum zoom of maybe X40 at a push. I can now get an excelent shot using my zoom eyepiece at X60. Fantastic. Remember however I am using a Zeiss scope with its excellent bright and wide eyepiece.

It is expensive yes. Tubes are usually much cheaper. But nothing I have seen comes near to the ease of use and adaptability of this product.