My self made coupling
device
1 2
3 4
5 6
7 8
I made this adapter from
the protective plastic eyepiece cover
supplied with the Opticron Fieldscope,
with the closed end cut off and a 28mm
to 37mm stepping ring fixed to the cut
end.
Step 1 was to measure from the base of
the thread where the cover attaches to
the scope (see photo 2) to the top of
the eyepiece (see photo 3) in my case
was 44mm. I then added the thickness of
the stepping ring 4mm, a total of 48mm.
Step 2 was to cut the eyepiece cover to
48mm and then fix the stepping ring to
the inside with epoxy glue. Fortunately
a near perfect fit, only a little trimming
was neccessary. (see photo 4) also (see
photos 7and 8) Photo 8 shows the threaded
end that attaches to the scope.
Photo 5 was set up to show the
coupling in relation to the eyepiece (
temporary fixed with blue tack ) prior
to screwing on to the scope in photo 6.
A tip to keep in mind is, that just before
the epoxy glue sets, attach the coupling
device to the scope and carefully screw
the camera to the 28mm threaded end. Then
ensure that the camera is lined up horizontal
to the scope. That is, that when you view
the LCD screen the horizon would be parallel
to the top edge of the screen. Try to
ensure that the stepping ring does not
move within the plastic sleeve when removing
the camera and just in case it does draw
a pencil line across the joint so that
it can be re-aligned.
You may have noted by
my measurements that I have a gap of 4mm
between the eyepiece and the camera lens.
I believe that this is the cause of the
vignetting you see in the test
photographs focal lengths 7.85mm to
13.8mm. If my eyepiece had been 2mm to
3mm less in diamiter the stepping ring
would have slipped over the eyepiece and
I would have had near glass to glass fit.
I am still experimenting with this and
am confident that I will come up with
a solution.
When attaching the camera to the scope
it is probably better to screw the adapter
to the camera first then to the scope
to avoid damage to the 28mm filter thread
on the camera.
I have made some enquiries
and found that a number of brands of fieldscopes
are supplied with protective eyepiece
covers, (unfortuneately not the Leica
or Swarovski but maybe the one you possess
now) and am sure that with a little initiative
and experimenting that you would be able
to manufacture a similar type of coupling.
The length to cut the cover determined
by the dimensions of the eyepiece and
the stepping ring size 28mm to ?--determined
by the diamiter of the eyepiece cover.
I can assure you it is a very safe and
secure way to attach the camera to the
scope. Also that the camera is perfectly
lined up centrally with the eyepiece
There are a number of adapters available that will attach the camera to the eyepiece of the scope. These are a couple that are popular.
The
Eagle Eye Optics Zooms 'Digimount'
adapter. This adapter has been around
for some time, but has now been revised
with a direct 28mm thread instead of a
37mm thread that required a step-down
ring to fit Nikon filter threads.
LE adapter at Lensadapter.com
Have a look at the MaxView
at ScopeTronix
HERE
is a printer friendly copy of the above
instuctions.
