Red dot sight for cameras

[EricY]

Last yr I invested in a red dot sight adapted for use in cams hotshoe. Purchased fro Hong kong @ 42US$ delivred. Had a few probs setting it up & still have to fix it so it will not move (might try spot of epoxy). Uses CR2032 battery so no power from hotshoe. Now starting to get used to it & certainly a lot easier to follow bif's than with the tiny evf on my fz150. Example today of a Barn Owl sooc except crop & resize. Looking forward to trying it on butterflies & dragonflies when the season starts. Eric

Barn Owl sooc fz150, crop & resize, red dot sight used

[David M]

Lovely shot, Eric.

[Padfield]

It is a lovely shot.

Is it safe to use lasers with birds and animals? I'm thinking of the temporary (or even permanent) effects on their eyes if they look down the line of the beam.

Guy

[MikeOxon]

Is it safe to use lasers with birds and animals?

The red dot sight does not use a laser - it is basically a reflector sight, which superimposes the aiming point on the field of view. See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red_dot_sight for a description. It is an up-to-date version of the old 'sports finder' that used to be fitted to Rolleiflexes.

Mike

[Padfield]

Thanks Mike. I've never heard of that before - just assumed it was some kind of laser sight.

Guy

[JKT]

The offset between the sight and the optical axis could become problematic with the smaller critters and shorter distances. At least you'd have to remember to aim a bit over. I Thought this might be quite nice in a spotting scope, where the offset would be too small to matter due to longer distances and larger coverage.

[EricY]

Yes I am sure adjustment is needed the closer you are, not sure if I will have to do it as you say by changing point of aim or correctly as per instructions. When used for its original purpose as a gun sight the instructions say to adjust higher/lower or right/left using a provided allen key after a few test shots. They obviously have to be very acurate whereas with a camera there is a bit more latitude. My ambition is to get some openwing flight shots of a Clouded Yellow! if I can find one, I can but hope. Eric

[JKT]

It may work or not. The thing is there is only a limited amount of adjustment available. For your stated purpose it might work - especially if you use tele. If you used it only for short range, you could compensate most of the offset when mounting it. I have to say the idea is rather good. Now where did I see the shoulder stock for camera use...

[JohnR]

Is it safe to use lasers with birds and animals?

The red dot sight does not use a laser - it is basically a reflector sight, which superimposes the aiming point on the field of view. See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red_dot_sight for a description. It is an up-to-date version of the old 'sports finder' that used to be fitted to Rolleiflexes.

Mike

There must be more than one type of red dot sight in use then. The one I have on my rifle is a straight forward laser, red dot on target, bang. I gave up using it because of the safety issue of how did I know that the red dot sight remained aligned with the scope without check firing each time I took it out.

[MikeOxon]

There must be more than one type of red dot sight in use then.

The sight you describe is usually called a 'laser sight' and certainly should not be used for photography. The 'red dot sight' is a type of reflector sight and does not fire a beam at the target. It's important to distinguish the two types.

Cheapest I've seen is £6.99 from J S Ramsbottom ( http://www.jsramsbottom.com/products/re ... mount.html ) Worth a play at that price!

Mike