1st July Digiscoping system weights and folding stool.

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The overall weight of the G9 camera with PA7 adapter, battery grip and wireless receiver is 1270g or 2lbs 13oz. Of which the PA7 adapter with T2 bayonet ring weighs 225g or 8 oz.

The Kowa TSN-884 telescope with PH-180 plate, anti-rotation brace and zoom eyepiece weighs 2069g or 4lbs 9oz.

The Manfrotto 055 tripod, Viking carry bag and PH-20 gimbal head weighs 4kg or 9lbs.

Carrying the assembled bundle of camera, telescope and tripod along the drive, with just one hand gripping the central column, now reminds me of the considerable overall weight! 7.4kg. or 17lbs!

Better add another pound for the stool when I go to the lake. Then there are the 8x42 Monarch 5 binoculars at 720g or 1.9lbs with soft padded case. The Lumix TZ7. Assorted bags and cases. It is lucky I have my touring trike. With its huge carrying capacity in the 40 litre saddle bag on the rear rack.

 My new, Crespo folding stool:  Not intending to be lazy, but rather to provide a lower profile on the side of the lake. I can lower the tripod and sit behind the camera in perfect comfort. The folding stool is light enough to be carried easily and is a proper size in all dimensions. Some of these folding stools are so mean in size that you end up sitting on the frame. With your knees higher than your chin!

This one should fit nicely on the tripod carrier bag as I cycle to the ponds. Note the flat bars which rest on the ground. Rather than small feet which would just sink. The image shows the tripod legs with the first section retracted. Which is the perfect eye height for the camera when pointing close to the horizontal at the lake.

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1st July Kowa TSN-PA7 camera adapter.

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The PA7 digiscoping adapter has arrived. Along with a T2 - 4/3 bayonet ring.  Triggered by absence of a recognised lens the Lumix G9 camera wanted to know what focal length I was using. I set it to the maximum of 1000mm. I had already set focusing to Manual.

The sky was rather overcast and the images in the viewfinder rather dark but nicely sharp. I snapped away as the tree tops swayed in and out of view in the wind. Just to have a record of the first exposures with the [lenseless] digiscoping system. I may have to raise the ISO. To 3200.

The images above and right show the TSN-PA7 adapter in place over the zoom eyepiece. The tubular adapter is a surprisingly large, but light and sturdy bit of kit. Magnesium alloy?

First a grooved, locating ring screws on in place of the decorative ring at the tail end of the telescope body. Then the zoom eyepiece goes back in. The adapter is slid over the previous two components. The large, captive, chromed thumbscrews on the adapter itself provide a secure hold while allowing easy, camera rotation. It all feels very sturdy and the lack of a relay lens means that the image should be even sharper.

The previous DA10 adapter thumbscrew was not captive and frequently fell out! Not clever for an outdoor accessory likely to be used in the wilds! 

At the camera end of the PA7 a bayonet ring screws to the T2 thread [42x 0.75mm] to hold the camera. A range of these bayonet rings is available for popular camera makes.

There are no lens contacts on the bayonet ring. The large cut-outs in The PA7 allow access to the Kowa zoom ring on the eyepiece. The PA7 contains a small filter glass to seal the camera body when it is attached.

Rain temporarily stopped play as I was about to take some pictures and explore the new camera/adapter set-up. Sunny periods are promised so I can start again later.


I tried a few shots with the new adapter. Mostly the results were too dark. While very distant shots were rather soft.

Somehow the G9 is fixated on 1/2000. Which is too fast for today's overcast conditions. I am using the Pixel wireless, shutter release for its very positive 2-step shutter release and lack of vibration. Now I need to go through the camera menus to see what I've done wrong.

I reset the camera to shutter priority and then took pictures of a coloured, printed, catalogue page from various distances up to 60 yards. An overgrown hedge and a slight curve in the drive made further range impossible. The legibility of the smallest text is easily improved with slight sharpening in image handling software. Enough to make it possible to read. This is at the equivalent focal length of 2,450mm! I could read the small print on both the camera screen and in the viewfinder.

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