18.02.20 Kowa DA-10, camera to eyepiece adapter.

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The DA-10 inner barrel screws onto the Kowa zoom eyepiece in place of the rubber eye cap. The latter simply unscrews to expose a fine thread.

An adapter ring must match the filter thread of the camera lens to the DA-10 outer barrel. I chose to use a 20mm f1.7 'pancake' lens with 46mm ring on my Lumix G9. The camera's amplification factor is close enough to neutral with a 20mm lens and 22mm sensor diagonal.

The view inside the DA-10 shows the Lumix lens. The DA-10 is beautifully made and well thought out. It even has a rubber moulding on the inner barrel to protect the eyepiece. While providing better support and ideal friction when rotating the camera between portrait and landscape orientation.

A large thumb wheel runs in a groove in the inner barrel to allow rotation without the risk of falling apart.

This image shows the zoom eyepiece with the inner barrel screwed into place. The inner barrel replaces the rubber eye cap. A rubber ring is provided for user comfort to avoid direct contact with metal when using the telescope visually.

The advantage of this arrangement is the ease with which the camera can be removed. To allow the user to look through the telescope. The accuracy of placing one barrel over another ensures perfect alignment of camera and telescope without repeated adjustment. I could never get the Ixus 117HS camera perfectly central on the PS-100. 

The camera feels very secure once the adapter is in place. Any sign of camera droop is purely imaginary or the result of my poor photography.  Or, quite possibly,  barrel distortion on the TZ7 12x zoom lens.

There was absolutely no sign of vignetting using the 20mm lens at any zoom power on the Kowa 25-60 zoom eyepiece. Sharp focus snaps into place on the Kowa focusing knobs.

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