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

Need advice for Travel Scope and Tripod (1 Viewer)

I've ordered one of these

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Vortex-Flip-Cap-Optic-Cover-size-FC-3-4-5-6-7-/322847055701
Vortex-Flip-Cap-Optic-Cover-size 7.

It's suppose to fit 55-61mm. It cost £12 with free postage but it could take until the 9th April to arrive. I'll let you know if it's any good.

The lens cap has arrived. The Size 7 is a nice tight fit on the end cap and provides a wide band of rubber to protect the end of the scope. I feel it is a good addition to the scope.
 
My wife and I were out and about with the scope today at Key Haven / Pennington Marshes. It is true to say that the FoV is rather narrow but it still still provides a nice sharp view. It was fairly windy, so on higher magnifications one had to hold the tripod steady to prevent wobble of the view due to the lightness of the set up. It's also true to say the depth of field was fairly shallow at higher magnifications.

However, my wife and I both enjoyed using the scope. It enabled us to get good views of Peregrine and Marsh Harrier which we had been previously unable to see in any detail with our 8x binoculars. We also saw a Red-necked Grebe but that really was at the limit of the scope and we had to rely on someone with a bigger scope for the identification.

We tried taking some photos with a mobile phone and, while not completely sharp, they were certainly good enough to use to for identification purposes.

All in all, we are pleased with the scope but I think we recognise that for places like Pennington, it would probably be worth hefting the extra weight of a larger set up to cover the distances to the birds. For us, the ED50 is best suited to sticking in the bag when you feel you might need a scope but aren't certain or when visiting sites when the distance to the birds isn't so great.

The scope and tripod were very light and easy to carry. It was no trouble to shoulder them.
 
Here's a couple of snaps taken through the scope using a mobile phone. These are a bit wobbly....more to do with hand holding of the phone rather than the scope.
 

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Here's a couple of snaps taken through the scope using a mobile phone. These are a bit wobbly....more to do with hand holding of the phone rather than the scope.

The quality of your snaps is quite okay in my eyes. Maybe the pics will be more sharp if you use an adapter.

Although digiscoping is not the main use why i bought the Nikon ED50, i took also some photos with my old Motorola Moto G2 smartphone (handholding) through the scope (see the attached snaps) and created a short digiscoping video of a nuthatch:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nrXobHmXrro
 

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Yes, your photos and videos are much better than mine :) You mentioned an adapter....which do you use?

I actually do not think that my photos are better than yours. My photos are probably less cropped than yours which just gives the impression that mine are sharper :)

Additionally i do not use an adapter, i took the photos while just "handholding" the smartphone to the eye piece but maybe it is easier to get still better results when using an adaptor (for example a phonescope adapter or something like that).

MS
 
Those phonescope adaptors aren't especially cheap given the price of stuff listed on ebay which, on the face of it, look to be exactly the same.

Can anyone recommend a cheap but effective phone adaptor for the ED50 please?
 
Hi,

On Youtube you can find instruction videos to make your own, very cheap and easy...

Sounds interesting ... could you please share a link? I just had a quick look, and my search results were dominated by either do-it-yourself camera adapters, or commercial phone adapters, but no DIY phone adapters unfortunately.

Regards,

Henning
 
It looks fun to make an adaptor but I decided to buy the GoSky adaptor from Amazon (and take a hit for the team)

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Spotting-Scope-Smartphone-Adapter-Mount/dp/B01DG8ONGO/ref=pd_lpo_sbs_107_t_1?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=SVSYFVJ4Q09VD5X17V8Y

It should arrive tomorrow. I'll let you know what I think. There are a number of reviews on YouTube such as this one:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Spotting-Scope-Smartphone-Adapter-Mount/dp/B01DG8ONGO/ref=pd_lpo_sbs_107_t_1?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=SVSYFVJ4Q09VD5X17V8Y
 
Hi,

It looks fun to make an adaptor but I decided to buy the GoSky adaptor from Amazon (and take a hit for the team)

I'm looking forward to hear about your experience!

What I'd find interesting:

- How well does it work in bright surroundings? (Stray light might enter the space between eyepiece and phone lens.)
- How easy is it to adjust the adapter using the central screw for both length and lateral offset?
- How well does the adapter keep the adjustment?

I'm merely curious since I'm 3D printing my own adapters. The GoSky certainly looks like a very adaptive solution at a very reasonable price!

Regards,

Henning
 
I can answer those question straight away (based on the reviews on YouTube)

Q1 - Stray light can be a problem...cup with hand?
Q2 - It's hard to set up...practise makes perfect?
Q3 - It doesn't hold its adjustment too well...refer to Q2

That said, it is cheap but (apparently) well made. I went for the bigger, metal verson (£16.99). I thought it was worth a punt.
 
It did arrive. We have used it but I don't think I can recommend it. It is very fiddly to set up but it's ok when it is. It's reasonably well made but fairly heavy.
 
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