Opticron Universal Digital Camera Adapter - Manual

40849 Universal Digital Camera Adapter
Instruction Guide
Telephotography with digital compact cameras/camcorders
(Eyepiece projection)
The nature of image capture with digital cameras allows Opticron telescopes to be used as long
focal length telephoto lenses for wildlife photography. There are some limitations to this
conversion however as viewing eyepieces are not specifically designed for taking photographs
with digital cameras. As a result it is often difficult for a viewing eyepiece to project a large enough
dia. path of light into the camera lens and onto the CCD within. This results in a partial image
being created in the camera and a condition known as vignetting or circular image within the
available rectangular image frame. Vignetting can be ‘cropped out’ of the final image using photo
editing software but the final image is equivalent to using a narrow field eyepiece.
To get the best results:
1. Choose a camera with a small lens diameter. The smaller the lens diameter the more of its’
surface area will be covered by light exiting from the eyepiece. Commonly camera lenses of
diameter less than 20mm give best results and camera lenses over 30mm in diameter will
require at least 3x optical zoom to attain a ‘full frame’ image.
2. Use the optical zoom function on the camera/camcorder to effectively reduce the aperture of
the lens to ‘match up’ with light exiting from the eyepiece. Remember the higher the optical
zoom setting, the higher the magnification of the final image. E.g. 20x eyepiece plus 3x optical
zoom = 60x* magnification
*assuming 1x setting = 1x magnification.
Note. In addition to eyepiece magnification and camera lens diameter, variables such as eyepiece
eyerelief and F.O.V together with individual camera zoom lens mechanisms all play an important
role in achieving the best overall ‘set-up’ for this type of telephotography. There is therefore no
substitute for individual testing.
40929 Opticron digital telephotography lens [DTL]
This eyepiece is designed specifically to maximise the diameter of the path of light exiting the
telescope [EPD] and being projected onto the lens of the digital compact camera/camcorder. As
such it allows full frame photographs to be taken on more types of camera when used at their
lowest magnification setting. The eyepiece screws directly into HR80, H66, HR60MT, GS, ES,
Imagic, Classic IF-2 MT, IS and MM2 models.
PO Box 370 • Unit 21 • Titan Court • Laporte Way • Luton • Bedfordshire • LU4 8YR • UK
Telephone: 01582 726522 • Facsimile: 01582 723559 • E-mail: [email protected]
Model Magnification Model Magnification
HR80 14x CLASSIC IF-2 75* 9.5x
HR66/60 10.5x CLASSIC IF-2 60* 8x
ES100 16.25x IS60* 9x
GS815/ES80/IM80* 12.5x IS50* 7x
GS665/IM65* 9.5x MM2 52* 6.9x
* Due to the large aperture of the DTL eyepiece, the image projected from it with some of the smaller prism scopes is rectangular and not
circular as with normal viewing eyepieces. This condition does not affect the overall quality of the image for telephotography purposes.
The 40929 Digital telephotography lens [DTL] is a metric threaded lens eyepiece and cannot be fitted to the following Opticron models:
HR60/80 pre 1998, Classic IF, Classic IFMKII, Piccolo 60.