Alpen Digital Camera Adapter for Spotting Scopes

This adapter is what it looks like - no surprises. Feels pretty sturdy (and heavy) and universal. There are many degrees of freedom. One of them allows you to pull the camera away in one motion, allowing you to use the scope alone - a useful feature. Some tightening knobs are hard to find (especially the one that holds the vertical slider), so expect some effort at learning all the operating details before becoming frustrated - it can be confusing at first. Read the manual first - it contains some important advices. But be mindful of the screw which holds the pad on which the scope is mounted - it tends to slide off if not tighten properly. I tried this adapter with Meade Redtail 60x77 scope and Canon A510 camera and got some nice pictures, although I got similarly good pictures before by simply holding the camera with my hands at scope's eye piece. The adapter is useful mostly when you need long exposure photography, like at night. Note that digiscoping works best with small objective lens cameras. If you have a large and heavy SLR and you're having a hard time shooting anything through the scope, it's probably not the adapter's fault. Try a smaller camera.

a little complicated but will get the camera in position as desired...slight bumps to the equipment causes the camera to become slightly misaligned with the eye-piece and must be carefully monitored