ChaosProjects.com

For one of my projects I needed a way to get a huge amount of zoom for the lowest possible dollar. What I came up with was the zoom-converter.
The one on the picture above (made mostly from Manfrotto components)
is actually my second version. The first was made from various scrap metal
from bikes etc. which worked rather well, but wasn’t as stable as the second version.

The concept of the construction is very simple; The main thing is to fixate the camera lens
exactly behind the occular of the telescope. The simplicity of this concept makes it usable in
a large variety of combinations: Webcam, Camcorder, Digital camera, Surveillance camera,
Telescope, Nightvision, Thermal scope, etc. (This can also be done with just some pieces of wood aligning almost any sort of camera behind the ocular of almost any kind of monocular)

So the biggest advantage of this construction is that you are never bound to just one
combination or brand. And you can very easily change the camera or scope. Though the theory
is very simple, the main problem is stability. The camera needs to be held exactly in the right
position at all times to get the best result.
Another great thing about using Manfrottos “ClickPlates” (see Photo, the little gizmo just
below the camera and the scope) is that you are able to quickly disassemble the camera
and scope from the construction and use them separately or to be stowed away for travel.
Then, when needed, all the pieces will fit right back together and are ready for use in the field
if they have been calibrated correctly the first time.