Action Cam mounted to Binoculars (3D-printed Adapter) (1 Viewer)

Hi everyone,

I just created a 3D-printed adapter to mount action cameras to bincoulars:



This relies on the binoculars having a 1/4" thread in the hinge, and the action camera being compatible with a NATO/Picatinny rail.

The adapter is customizable and can be downloaded here:

https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:3027974

For practical application, my old action camera is problably a bad choice as it has a wide-angle lens when obviously, in combination with binoculars a tele lens would be preferrable.

If anyone has a recommendation for an action cam that has a useful telephoto range, your recommendation would be highly welcome! I have no idea of what the current generation of action cams might be capable of ...

Regards,

Henning

Hi Henning,

what about making your own action cam?

See https://learn.adafruit.com/raspberry-pi-wearable-time-lapse-camera/overview

The raspi cam can be modified by removing the lens and adding an M12 mount. Or watterott has a compatible version which comes with a CS mount.

Joachim

Great idea and it looks good too.

I see this option built in a Canon down the road, just like the image stabilization switch, a recording option will be there.

Andy W.

Hi Joachim,

jring said:

Hi Henning,

what about making your own action cam?

See https://learn.adafruit.com/raspberry-pi-wearable-time-lapse-camera/overview

The raspi cam can be modified by removing the lens and adding an M12 mount. Or watterott has a compatible version which comes with a CS mount.

Click to expand...

Pretty intriguing idea, as my search for a suitable action cam lead me to believe I'd probably need to install a camcorder instead, which would probably require a lot more attention during operation and thus detract from the bird watching aspect. With a Raspberry Pi, the software could be tailored to allow easy operation.

On the other hand, compared to just buying an action cam off the shelf, the complexity of the project would increase by orders of magnitude

Without actually researching this, one potential pitfall might be the need for an autofocus for long focal length lenses. What I've seen in a quick internet search were all manual focus lenses. I'd think that depth of field would not be sufficient to allow them to be pre-focused and left alone, but on the other hand, depth of field seems to be less of an issue with small sensors, so I'm not sure what to think.

Regards,

Henning

Hi,

the longest M12 objective I found in my parts chest was 16mm which yields a TFOV of 22 deg - 2 or 3 times the focal length would be better to match a pair of bins of course.

I'll have to check the focal ratio and then we can calculate the hyperfocal distance for that.

I have seen a 25mm M12 on ebay for cheap and longer ones seem available on some chinese sites... see the link below (which is interesting as it describes how to modify an existing actioncam to use M12 lenses...

https://www.instructables.com/id/Action-Cam-Hacking/

Joachim

I don't know if it would suit your purposes, but there are a number of Mobius ActionCam styles from wide angle down to macro. Just make sure you get it from a reputable dealer and not a knock-off. I'd poke around here:

• https://www.buymobius.com
• https://www.mobius-actioncam.com

I've used BuyMobius to get my Mobius cams, but I'm after the wide-angle for cycling.

There's quite a DIY hacking community too.

Moin!

jring said:

the longest M12 objective I found in my parts chest was 16mm which yields a TFOV of 22 deg - 2 or 3 times the focal length would be better to match a pair of bins of course.

I'll have to check the focal ratio and then we can calculate the hyperfocal distance for that.

Click to expand...

Pretty cool ... I wouldn't actually mind the action cam to have a wider angle than the binoculars, partially because lower magnification might make camera shake less of an issue, but also because my vague idea is that my eye is better for details, but the camera might help me to catch the big picture I might have missed at the moment.

I guess we'd need sensor details to calculate the hyperfocal distance?

The instructable you linked looks very interesting, though I haven't reviewed all of it yet. Thanks a lot!

Regards,

Henning

Hi Calvin,

CalvinFold said:

I've used BuyMobius to get my Mobius cams, but I'm after the wide-angle for cycling.

Click to expand...

Ah, thanks for the recommendation! Too bad the Mobius web site is such a mess ... disqualifies them right away, unfortunately.

Regards,

Henning