Additional EVF Functionality for Long Teles....?

Even though I will probably never be able to afford the up-and-coming 800mm PF, a thought occurred about EVFs.

Nikon makes a Red Dot sight for the P1000, the DF-M1, because finding your small target at an EQ of 3000mm is nigh-on impossible. It also has a one-button zoom out and return feature.

I'm OK with the 500mm PF, the 'look at and bring lens up to target' method works fine, a bit like x10 binoculars. However, when I add the TC1.4 and pop it on my D500, EQ ~ 1050mm or x21, I have more problems, especially for small, or far away, BIFs.

I wonder if it would be possible to integrate a small, say 150mm EQ finder scope with a direct 'toggleable' feed into the main EVF?

A small, say 6 x 4mm, 4MP sensor with, I'm guessing, something like a 30mm lens would do. It needn't be any bigger than an 18650 battery. Heck, it could even be mounted on the lens hood and connect via Bluetooth. A pair of set screws would allow accurate centering of both optical alignments, like a gun sight.

Potentially on the Z9, it could replace the feed to the EVF, but still allow the 'imaging' stream to function normally.

Aim at 150mm and take at 1050mm (or more) without taking your eye away from the (E)VF or hand zooming on any of the bigger zooms. That's almost impossible to do with the Nikon 200-500mm or Sigma 60-600mm anyway.

There's plenty of space on any of the big tele. CF hoods to make it look pretty neat too....:cool:

alignment

Works OK for firearms, and they're subject to some awful shocks.

But, yes. The hood to lens mechanical interface, be it bayonet or the rather poor style on the 'screw to lock' CF hoods might need a bit of help!

The Red Dot Sight on the hot-shoe is possibly the worst idea I've come across....:(

The rotational accuracy part is a non issue. The separation between main lens and hood/finder axis will be about 50mm. At 200m, that's still 50mm....;)

Works OK for firearms, and they're subject to some awful shocks.

 

But, yes. The hood to lens mechanical interface, be it bayonet or the rather poor style on the 'screw to lock' CF hoods might need a bit of help!

 

The Red Dot Sight on the hot-shoe is possibly the worst idea I've come across....:(

 

The rotational accuracy part is a non issue. The separation between main lens and hood/finder axis will be about 50mm. At 200m, that's still 50mm....;)

But on a rifle,

- The scope mount is SOLD, the scope does NOT move relative to the barrel.

- - As you said the hot shoe is a disaster in terms of a solid mount.

- You spend a LOT of time and effort sighting in the scope/rifle so that the scope is aimed at where the rifle shoots.

A similar setup is the finder scope attached to astronomical telescopes, for the same reason.

And there they have a similar problem, the finder scope has to be aligned to the telescope.

But astronomical telescopes are not subject to handling like a camera lens, so the finder scopes are not "rugged," because they do not have to be rugged.

So the lens would have to have an attached finder scope, with a SOLID mount, on the lens barrel, not the hood.

Or . . . K I S S

Go back to the 1970s and earlier.

Put a metal sight (front and rear) on the lens, and do your preliminary aiming with the sights, then transition to the EVF.

Back in the 1970s, my brother's 600mm had a basic sight like that.

Granted the metal sight is not as convenient as a toggle image in the EVF.

You spend a LOT of time and effort sighting in the scope/rifle so that the scope is aimed at where the rifle shoots.

Agreed; but the accuracy/precision required is at least an order of magnitude less.

It doesn't matter if you're off by an inch or 10 inches relating to a bird 50 yds away.... with a camera.

I have a Nikon red-dot sight, which fits in a flash shoe. It's easily aligned with the lens, and alignment is not critical. I use it mainly for video when shooting a musical performance with a long lens, because it makes locating a particular subject relatively quick and easy. It is also useful in locating a dim astronomical object, like a comet. Since there is no magnification, you can use it with both eyes open or with the help of binoculars, to see these objects at night. If you've ever shot an air show, you know how hard it is to find and track a small, fast moving object in a big sky with a 200 mm lens, much less 600 or more.

The advantage of a red-dot sight is an unrestricted field of view, something that an EVF can't do. As an alternative, I have sighted, roughly, along the top of a lens, much like with fixed sights on a rifle, only without the sights.

I found a small, neat (50mm long) aluminium 20mm picatinny rail that can be fitted to an upturned lens foot,

5 Slot Picatinny/Weaver Rail For Handguard Rail Section Aluminum 2 inch UK 7109994660238 | eBay

With a bit of modest machining to the rail, ie drilling a new bolt hole, the original tripod foot-mounting holes can be utilised with no modding required. This allows precise re-location when needed.

Pretty much all dot (and other) gun-sights are designed to fit this design. It seems Picatinny is the gun-World equivalent to Arca Swiss...:p

When I get back to base, I'll upload a pic.

Wot I can't do is feed video into the EVF a view from a separate Bluetooth or wifi camera!

I have a Nikon red-dot sight, which fits in a flash shoe. It's easily aligned with the lens, and alignment is not critical. I use it mainly for video when shooting a musical performance with a long lens, because it makes locating a particular subject relatively quick and easy. It is also useful in locating a dim astronomical object, like a comet. Since there is no magnification, you can use it with both eyes open or with the help of binoculars, to see these objects at night. If you've ever shot an air show, you know how hard it is to find and track a small, fast moving object in a big sky with a 200 mm lens, much less 600 or more.

 

The advantage of a red-dot sight is an unrestricted field of view, something that an EVF can't do. As an alternative, I have sighted, roughly, along the top of a lens, much like with fixed sights on a rifle, only without the sights.

When I shoot sports, I do not zoom in tight.

On a tight zoom, I have little to no room for error if the subject moves in a direction I was not prepared for.

So, I do a "loose" zoom in the camera, and crop the image later.

When getting ready for a shot, like you, I lift the camera to just below my sight line, so that I can sight along the top of the lens, like a shotgun.

When I am ready to shoot, I just lift the camera up, and 90+% of the time I am on the subject.

With practice you can get pretty darn good lining up a shot, even with a LONG lens.

Note, this is much easier if you hold the lens with your thumb and index finger forward, like holding a shotgun. If you hold the lens reversed, with the thumb and index finger back, it is much more difficult. This is because the thumb and index finger naturally point, but not the heel of your hand.

With practice you can get pretty darn good lining up a shot, even with a LONG lens.

Indeed, but a small bird up a tree is very tricky if there are no distinguishing features in the tree.

...and just how long is LONG for you?.....;)

Indeed, but a small bird up a tree is very tricky if there are no distinguishing features in the tree.

 

...and just how long is LONG for you?.....;)

Up in a tree. Elevation angle makes that more difficult. I am more used to shooting level, or close to level.

300mm on a m4/3 camera, so approx 600mm on a FF camera. 2x crop. 12x magnification.

I don't have anything longer for m4/3.

Although, I did not have much trouble using a 500 mirror on the m4/3. 20x magnification.

But that was just an experiment to see if the IBIS would work with the mirror lens, which it did. :D I don't normally use the 500 on my m4/3 camera.

I've just realised, I've re-invented the Twin Lens (non) Reflex camera!

:p

The only technique I've used regularly is one I'm sure everyone is familiar with. I zoom out for a wider field of view, center and focus on the subject, then zoom in for framing. While the plus side is in its simplicity, the down side is that it (a) takes more time, (b) few zoom lenses are even close to parfocal, and © with a 200-600 mm lens, 200 mm is not all that wide.

The time element figures significantly where there is action, as in sports and air shows. It's always a factor for video, where you would like to keep acquisition time under 10 seconds (in order to maintain program flow). Among the time-saving tools I use are focus motors on rails to engage geared zoom rings. Rather than reaching around the camera, I can use a thumb wheel. This also eliminates the jiggle you get if you have to touch the lens. With a little practice, you can also use "muscle memory" to locate subject fairly quickly. With the demands of live-streaming, I typically run 3 or more cameras, and increasingly rely on robotic pan-tilt-zoom devices. With these, I can map out presets in a script or stage diagram. Unfortunately, PTZ cameras have too much lag and control granularity to follow moving subjects. There's no substitute for an operator with a handle.

The Red Dot Sight on the hot-shoe is possibly the worst idea I've come across...

Nikon flash cable, can not remember which one, has infrared # crosshatch sight on the hot-shoe, and it will focus Your dslr in dark unlit bathroom through mirror image in light unseen by eye. Might be best idea in world or worst if war helicopter thinks You're bad boy.