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I posted a thread here a little time ago asking advise on using a sealed lead acid battery as a remote supply for my Canon A610. No comments, either nobody knew, or were not interested. I have since done some further investigations, and it works fine, alittle on the heavy side, but not much, but I have hung it below the tripod and it helps in stabalisation. The battery I got was a 6 volt 4amp, size 70mm x 50mm x 107mm. It should work with most cameras that use 4 AA batteries. And lasts and lasts.Ernie

erniehatt said:

I posted a thread here a little time ago asking advise on using a sealed lead acid battery as a remote supply for my Canon A610. No comments, either nobody knew, or were not interested. I have since done some further investigations, and it works fine, alittle on the heavy side, but not much, but I have hung it below the tripod and it helps in stabalisation. The battery I got was a 6 volt 4amp, size 70mm x 50mm x 107mm. It should work with most cameras that use 4 AA batteries. And lasts and lasts.Ernie

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Well done Ernie, your persistance paid off. What size jack-plug did you need to fit the DC input socket?
On another matter, how is the A610 for vignetting?

Regards

John

john-henry said:

Well done Ernie, your persistance paid off. What size jack-plug did you need to fit the DC input socket?
On another matter, how is the A610 for vignetting?

Regards

John

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Hi John
Thanks for the reply, I don't know the size of the plug, I just bought an assorted packet from Tandy's and tried them until I got one to fit. with the vignetting I have found two settings where it is ok. with the camera at full wideangle the scope is set at 60x and at full zoom at 20x, but I am still having that problem I asked you about, once it goes past a certain elevation, then vignetting starts to come in, I can't see any movement anywhere, if I turn on digital zoom then its ok ( but that is not good) John if you go to andy's forum page and scroll down you will find my first digiscope image.Ernie

erniehatt said:

Hi John
Thanks for the reply, I don't know the size of the plug, I just bought an assorted packet from Tandy's and tried them until I got one to fit. with the vignetting I have found two settings where it is ok. with the camera at full wideangle the scope is set at 60x and at full zoom at 20x, but I am still having that problem I asked you about, once it goes past a certain elevation, then vignetting starts to come in, I can't see any movement anywhere, if I turn on digital zoom then its ok ( but that is not good) John if you go to andy's forum page and scroll down you will find my first digiscope image.Ernie

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Hi Ernie,
Just had a look at your pic, very nice too, I should think you're pleased with it. The only thing I would suggest is to make the next one a little bigger, it's that much easier to view and see any problems that can be easily cured in the taking of it or in post-processing.

I thought you had solved your other problem by strengthening your bracket. I can't understand what can be causing it but when you say zooming into digital zoom clears it I think it might be a problem with the scope to camera distance, simply because the camera lens doesn't move then.

Here's one thing you can try, but first measure the distance the zoom extends from the camera to reach minimum zoom, now hand hold the camera to the eyepiece (at 20x mag) with the zoom still at wide angle and zoom the camera up until vignetting clears, measure the distance the lens is extended now, hopefully it has not retracted to the point where it starts to go forward again. Now put the camera closer to the eyepiece again and see if vignetting comes back, if it doesn't zoom it some more, watching that it doesn't bump into the eyepiece, until vignetting appears again and measure the extension distance again. If all is clear this will be the workable range of the camera for your eyepiece at 20x and you can redesign your bracket to fit the camera closer to the eyepiece, the only thing you have to now is to save the zoom position in Custom mode and use this mode all the time, and remember to switch the camera on before putting it to your eyepiece.
Basically what you would be trying to do is not use the wide angle part of the zoom only the central range where vignetting does not occur.

This is a bit long-winded I know but it's difficult to explain the idea, I hope you get the gist of it and have a play around with various zoom settings and scope magnifications.

regards for now

John

Thanks John, yes I was pleased with the first image,There are things I know, that can be improved with time. Now too the vignetting, you may have fixed my problem, using your suggestions, I have had a bit of a fiddle this morning, and found a position at approx 50x whereby my problem has disapeared, and have set it up in the C position. Only problem is on shutdown the lens expands a touch, so I will have to remember to swing the camera away first. The bracket, well I went back to the original design I did for the f717, with some adjustments, a much better idea all round, my other problem seems to be vibration, my tripod in general use is quite robust and steady, but with the added weight of the scope etc. it becomes quite flexible, but the cable release bracket I have made helps, and hanging the battery pack adds a bit more stability. I will be trying to see if I can find other useable combinations. Thanks again John for your help. Regards Ernie

erniehatt said:

Thanks John, yes I was pleased with the first image,There are things I know, that can be improved with time. Now too the vignetting, you may have fixed my problem, using your suggestions, I have had a bit of a fiddle this morning, and found a position at approx 50x whereby my problem has disapeared, and have set it up in the C position. Only problem is on shutdown the lens expands a touch, so I will have to remember to swing the camera away first. The bracket, well I went back to the original design I did for the f717, with some adjustments, a much better idea all round, my other problem seems to be vibration, my tripod in general use is quite robust and steady, but with the added weight of the scope etc. it becomes quite flexible, but the cable release bracket I have made helps, and hanging the battery pack adds a bit more stability. I will be trying to see if I can find other useable combinations. Thanks again John for your help. Regards Ernie

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Hi Ernie,
Glad to hear things are improving, 50x is still a bit high though, especially if your tripod is seeming unsteady, have a good play around and see if you can get a working range at 20 or 30x.
I'm sure you can conjure up something. Let me know how it goes.

regards

john

john-henry said:

Hi Ernie,
Glad to hear things are improving, 50x is still a bit high though, especially if your tripod is seeming unsteady, have a good play around and see if you can get a working range at 20 or 30x.
I'm sure you can conjure up something. Let me know how it goes.

regards

john

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Thanks John, Im working on it. Well at least I know that the support bracket was not the cause of my problems, I can now see a light at the end of a very long tunnel. Cheers Ernie

Hi John, have found that by setting the camera zoom at 14.9 and the scope at 20 times there is no vignetting, but can't seem to find anything in between that works ie. 30 times. I have just had the wife sewing me up a cradle for the Battery pack, I can't believe how much it steady's the whole thing up. I really can't thank you enough for your help, hope I can return the favour sometime. Regards Ernie

erniehatt said:

Hi John, have found that by setting the camera zoom at 14.9 and the scope at 20 times there is no vignetting, but can't seem to find anything in between that works ie. 30 times. I have just had the wife sewing me up a cradle for the Battery pack, I can't believe how much it steady's the whole thing up. I really can't thank you enough for your help, hope I can return the favour sometime. Regards Ernie

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Great news Ernie, happy shooting.

By the way can you zoom the camera any higher and still not get vignetting?

Best wishes

john

john-henry said:

Great news Ernie, happy shooting.

By the way can you zoom the camera any higher and still not get vignetting?

Best wishes

john

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John

That's a difficult question to answer, the zoom control is so unpredictable, I seem to get a different figure everytime I try it. the figures I have got 7.3 8.5 9.6 10.6 12.6 14.9 17.6 and 29.2. Shame there is no indication, I managed to get to 40x on the zoom eyepiece, once but was unable to find the position a second time. I am thinking of investing in a 30x eyepiece, what do you think. I am trying to work out something for a quick lineup of the scope to the subject. regards Ernie

erniehatt said:

John

That's a difficult question to answer, the zoom control is so unpredictable, I seem to get a different figure everytime I try it. the figures I have got 7.3 8.5 9.6 10.6 12.6 14.9 17.6 and 29.2. Shame there is no indication, I managed to get to 40x on the zoom eyepiece, once but was unable to find the position a second time. I am thinking of investing in a 30x eyepiece, what do you think. I am trying to work out something for a quick lineup of the scope to the subject. regards Ernie

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Ernie, a 30x wide angle might help a bit but the real problem is the amount of travel on the A620's 4x zoom, I should try before you buy if at all possible.

I've put a link below to an older thread that shows my bracket with a sighting post on it. It is made out of 4mm threaded bar with a curtain eye on top and aligns with a mark on the side of the scopes' lens hood. It might give you a few ideas.
http://www.birdforum.net/showthread.php?t=44602

regards

john

john-henry said:

Ernie, a 30x wide angle might help a bit but the real problem is the amount of travel on the A620's 4x zoom, I should try before you buy if at all possible.

I've put a link below to an older thread that shows my bracket with a sighting post on it. It is made out of 4mm threaded bar with a curtain eye on top and aligns with a mark on the side of the scopes' lens hood. It might give you a few ideas.
http://www.birdforum.net/showthread.php?t=44602

regards

john

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Thanks John, I do have a pdf copy of that article, but my setup is somewhat different to that, but I am trying a few ideas at present. I do have another eyepiece its around 24X, it works ok with no vignetting, for me the try before you buy is out of the question, as the place I buy from is over a 1000 kilometers away, not your average bike ride. I will see how I go with what ive got for a while. regards Ernie