A scary moment (1 Viewer)

NoSpringChicken · May 19, 2013

I use my ED50 handheld in a Grippa case and carry it in an unpadded nylon stuff sack with a strap attached. Tonight, when I came home from a day out with it, I opened the boot of the car and pulled my camera case out and put the strap over my shoulder in one action. Unbeknown to me, the strap on the scope bag had become entangled with the camera bag and I watched in horror as the scope flew out of the boot and landed on the block paved driveway.

I picked the scope bag up, expecting to hear expensive sounding rattles, but on opening the bag I found that the scope was completely unmarked. I think I was lucky and it had landed on the side where the handles on the Grippa case cushioned its fall but perhaps the case offers a bit more protection than I thought.

I will certainly be a lot more careful in the future. It was a very scary moment.

Ron

elkcub · May 20, 2013

... and could have made your feathers fall out. |=)|

NoSpringChicken · May 20, 2013

I have posted these images before but I thought I would attach them again for anybody who is unaware of what the Grippa case looks like. It is quite hard to find photos of this case.

Ron

mooreorless · May 20, 2013

Hi Ron, The one thing I notice with this case on your first, and second picture is that the Grippa case doesn't cover whole the area where the back of the scope and front part go together. It does protect it to some a degree and sure is better than nothing.

NoSpringChicken · May 20, 2013

Hi Steve. Yes, you are right. If had landed on the back end, the scope would almost certainly have been a write-off. I will try not to make a habit of dropping it.

Ron

etudiant · May 24, 2013

NoSpringChicken said:
I have posted these images before but I thought I would attach them again for anybody who is unaware of what the Grippa case looks like. It is quite hard to find photos of this case.

Ron

Thank you for the clear photos of this elusive case. It seems to have disappeared from the US market, even though I had seen it, or something very similar, on a Nikon Fieldscope accessories sheet.
Another thread on this forum had illustrated a modification that shifted the strap off the tripod attachment. Does anyone have the reference? I have the case on order from Europe and would like to make that change as well.

NoSpringChicken · May 24, 2013

etudiant said:
Another thread on this forum had illustrated a modification that shifted the strap off the tripod attachment. Does anyone have the reference? I have the case on order from Europe and would like to make that change as well.

Hi Etudiant. I think this is the thread which you are referring to.

Ron

dalat · May 24, 2013

etudiant said:
Another thread on this forum had illustrated a modification that shifted the strap off the tripod attachment.

Hi, I use another workaround: I left the grippa case as it is and changed the screw on the quick release plate to a longer one. Works quite fine, no bothering play. The screw comes loose after prolonged use, so has to be tightened from time to time.

Pic here

etudiant · May 24, 2013

NoSpringChicken said:
Hi Etudiant. I think this is the thread which you are referring to.

Ron

Excellent, that was just what I was looking for.
Thank you very much.

etudiant · May 24, 2013

dalat said:
Hi, I use another workaround: I left the grippa case as it is and changed the screw on the quick release plate to a longer one. Works quite fine, no bothering play. The screw comes loose after prolonged use, so has to be tightened from time to time.

Pic here

Clever.
I'll give that a try first, as my sewing skills are unimpressive.

dalat · May 24, 2013

etudiant said:
Clever.

Thanks

I'll measure the lenght of the screw and let you know, so you don't have to try many...

mikefreiberg · May 24, 2013

I have actually seen the ED50 fly off the roof of a moving van ten feet high at 45 MPH and survive the fall. This is a truly durable optic. Glad to hear your's braced the fall.

All the best,
Mike Freiberg
Nikon Birding Market Specialist

dalat · May 24, 2013

Ok, I did the measurement. It's 12 mm, without counting the head of the screw. This works on a Manfrotto RC2 plate. I also need a washer, but if you get a better fitting screw it may not be needed.
If you use another plate, you need to count the thickness of the plate plus 9 mm of protruding screw thread.
Hope that helps. Florian

etudiant · May 24, 2013

dalat said:
Ok, I did the measurement. It's 12 mm, without counting the head of the screw. This works on a Manfrotto RC2 plate. I also need a washer, but if you get a better fitting screw it may not be needed.
If you use another plate, you need to count the thickness of the plate plus 9 mm of protruding screw thread.
Hope that helps. Florian

Many thanks, that is very good information.
For my National Geographic monopod and plate the dimensions will need a bit of tuning, as you suggest. The case is due in June 5, will post an update once it is set up.
Incidentally, I notice you also have the KimmoZip (TM) targeting Ziploc mounted on your scope. Do you use it for digiscoping at all?

dalat · May 24, 2013

etudiant said:
Incidentally, I notice you also have the KimmoZip (TM) targeting Ziploc mounted on your scope. Do you use it for digiscoping at all?

Yes, the I use the aiming device, but for birding, not digiscoping.

I recently tried digiscoping for the first time with the ED50 on a trip in Morocco. I found the results pretty good, especially as I only used a handmade not really solid adapter. But well, I am not particularely ambitious with photography, happy with record shorts. Also note that bright light in Morocco certainly helped, in current Swiss conditions I wouldn't expect much.
I posted some pics in a German forum: http://f3.webmart.de/f.cfm?id=1231426&r=threadview&t=3983770&pg=1

etudiant · Jul 12, 2013

dalat said:
Ok, I did the measurement. It's 12 mm, without counting the head of the screw. This works on a Manfrotto RC2 plate. I also need a washer, but if you get a better fitting screw it may not be needed.
If you use another plate, you need to count the thickness of the plate plus 9 mm of protruding screw thread.
Hope that helps. Florian

Well, in the event, I did nothing to improve my case to allow for plates to stay fitted. So no new setup and no new pictures. Mea culpa, sorry.

Instead, I ditched the mono/tripod option entirely and now keep the scope in the case clipped to a short Canon strap slung over my shoulder. Pulled tight against my back, the scope is now just the right distance away for me to be able to look through it and it is steady enough to get good views of individual birds.
It is not steady enough to sort through a big flock of ducks or to pick out far away petrels on a seawatch, but it is so much more available.

To have the scope always at hand is really habit forming.
Nikon really should apply their fancy VR technology to make a small portable stabilized scope. I think it would be a breakthrough product.

NoSpringChicken · Jul 12, 2013

etudiant said:
Instead, I ditched the mono/tripod option entirely and now keep the scope in the case clipped to a short Canon strap slung over my shoulder. Pulled tight against my back, the scope is now just the right distance away for me to be able to look through it and it is steady enough to get good views of individual birds.
It is not steady enough to sort through a big flock of ducks or to pick out far away petrels on a seawatch, but it is so much more available.

That sounds very much like the way that I use mine, although I keep it in a bag with a draw string, attached to a strap. My latest refinement is the addition of a hook, so that I can suspend the scope on there, rather than putting it back in the bag if I want to use my binoculars or camera. It is light enough so that I really can forget that I am carrying it.

How do you use yours? I am right handed with quite small hands and I find that the best method is to slip my left hand through the strap with the palm towards the scope and my forefinger on the focusing knob. I curl my right fingers around the grip on the right hand strap with that forefinger also on the focusing knob. I can then push and pull the knob to focus the scope and my arms are well braced to hold it reasonably steady. As you say, it is not as steady as a monopod or tripod but it is much more convenient.

Ron

etudiant · Jul 13, 2013

NoSpringChicken said:
How do you use yours? I am right handed with quite small hands and I find that the best method is to slip my left hand through the strap with the palm towards the scope and my forefinger on the focusing knob. I curl my right fingers around the grip on the right hand strap with that forefinger also on the focusing knob. I can then push and pull the knob to focus the scope and my arms are well braced to hold it reasonably steady. As you say, it is not as steady as a monopod or tripod but it is much more convenient.

Ron

Ron, you've developed more technique than I have.
I've pretty much ignored the left strap thus far, but usually just cup the scope in the left hand, with the right hand through the strap, focusing with the index finger.
I'll try your two grip approach on my next excursion.

A biggish (50mm deep) hard rubber sun shade shields the scopes objective and cushions it while in the backpack for travel. NYC may be a summer festival, but it is not smart to flaunt gear of any kind in the subway.
So far, no damage from this treatment, it is pretty solid kit.

My only beef is that no place in the US has a 27xMC eyepiece for sale any more, because Nikon seems to have lost interest. Amazon.jp is my last hope.

I do think that a lightweight tripod free scope would be a real game changer and that Nikon has all the pieces to produce it. Just take their VR system and fit it into something small and light enough for people to hold, not just the hulking EDG 85.

A scary moment (1 Viewer)

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