The Howland ScopeTronix Gear Page

Page by Royce
Last update: $Date: 2003/06/22 05:53:27 $ (UTC)

Another big chunk of our digiscoping gear is from ScopeTronix. This company manufactures and sells its own scopes and camera adapters, and also resells equipment from a number of other manufacturers such as Meade, LOMO and TeleVue. We have found the company good to deal with. Note that our interest is strictly that of satisfied customers. Please perform your own research before purchasing from any vendor you are not familiar with -- caveat emptor.

Our ScopeTronix equipment, pictured below, includes the following:

• ScopeTronix 90mm Maksutov-Cassegrain spotting scope
  • Accepts standard 1.25" eyepieces
  • Weight is about 4lbs, good for tramping around without breaking one's back
  • Objective lens is 90mm
  • Focal length is 500mm at F5.6
  • Note that is called a "fast" scope
• ScopeTronix erecting prism
  • Used for upright viewing
  • Reflector scopes normally show a view that is upside down and backwards, unless you use an erecting prism to flip things back to normal
• ScopeTronix 25mm Plossl eyepiece
  • Provides 20X magnification viewing
  • To get the magnification power for a scope, divide its focal length by the eyepiece size (500mm / 25mm = 20X)
• ScopeTronix 2X Barlow lens
  • Magnifies any other eyepiece an additional 2X
  • Barlow lenses can be dropped in between the scope and any eyepiece
• ScopeTronix MaxView 40 eyepiece
  • Converts between the 1.25" eyepiece mounting and a threaded T-ring attachment for cameras
  • Provides 12.5X magnification (500mm / 40mm)
  • Cap for viewing by eye is removable, exposing T-ring threads
  • Has adjustable eye relief
• ScopeTronix STAK50
  • Variable length T-ring adapter for the Nikon CoolPix 5700 digital camera
  • Mates to the MaxView 40 eyepiece
  • Length is adjusted via thumb screws to accommodate varying CP 5700 lens position at different zoom levels

We found ScopeTronix prices to be reasonable. During our research, the owner (Jordan Blessing) was quite helpful, providing responsive email advice about different product combinations. Shipping was timely and everything arrived well-packed with no damage. Quality of all the gear is very good.

We have been pleased with the 90mm Mak scope's performance when used with the human eye. Images are bright and clear, with good chromatic quality (not noticeably yellow- or blue-toned as with some refractor scopes). There is a slight a "doughnut hole" effect when viewing by eye with the standard 25mm Plossl eyepiece, caused by the central obstruction in the scope's objective lens. The 25mm eyepiece does not have an adjustable eye relief, which I think would help correct the effect.

When this set of equipment is used for digiscoping with the Nikon CoolPix 5700, results are mixed but mostly not satisfying. The combination of the Mak scope and camera is a challenge, despite the fact that both are excellent in their own right. In contrast, using the CP 5700 and MaxView 40 eyepiece with a Pentax PF-80EDA scope produces much better results. See the Digiscoping Experiments (Round 1) and Digiscoping Conclusions pages for details.

Resources where you can find out more:

• www.scopetronix.com, the web site for ScopeTronix

Apologies for the yellow cast on the following photographs. The lighting sucks in the room I was shooting within and I am too lazy to reshoot everything right away in a better lit environment.

	Front view of ScopeTronix 90mm Maksutov-Cassegrain scope.
	Rear view of ScopeTronix 90mm Maksutov-Cassegrain scope.
	Bottom view of ScopeTronix 90mm Maksutov-Cassegrain scope, showing Manfrotto sliding and quick release plates.
	ScopeTronix erecting prism.
	ScopeTronix erecting prism.
	ScopeTronix 25mm Plossl eyepiece.
	ScopeTronix 25mm Plossl eyepiece.
	ScopeTronix 2X Barlow eyepiece.
	ScopeTronix 2X Barlow eyepiece.
	ScopeTronix MaxView 40 eyepiece.
	ScopeTronix MaxView 40 eyepiece with eye cap removed.
	ScopeTronix MaxView 40 eyepiece.
	ScopeTronix MaxView 40 eyepiece with eye relief at maximum extension.
	ScopeTronix MaxView 40 eyepiece with STAK50 adapter for Nikon CoolPix 5700.
	ScopeTronix MaxView 40 eyepiece with STAK50 at maximum extension.
	ScopeTronix MaxView 40 attached to STAK50.

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Unless stated otherwise, all photos and other content on these pages is copyright © 2002 - 2003 by Royce Howland.

Please don't steal anything for your own purposes, in particular if you have a plan for making fabulous stacks of cash in so doing. If you would like to use a photo or other content you find here, or just want to contact us about something, please send email to royce@3ge.com.