Binnoculars as a Teleconvertor?

[Hieroglyph]

I have recently purchased a Canon Powershot A75 camera and looking to extend its telephoto capabilites.

From reading extensively other Forum threads, I have had all sorts of ideas... But I am now confused! Do I want portability (standard 2x) or high power as in the Russian 14x models or outright quality...

But then thought, I already have a pair of Fabulous Leica 10x25 BCA Binnoculars and after a lot of dodgily-lined up/outa focus wobbly *hand-Held together* shots, I successfully took a pic through the single barrel of the bins which showed it would be a good option if only I could get some stability organised!. As for degredation of image there was none - you can't beat Leica lenses IMO...!! Afterall, the Bins were over twice the camera price!

Using the Canon's x3 zoom, you get perfect match to the exit pupil dia of the Leicas. So now, what I am looking for is an adapter arrangement to allow the canon to be fixed to the Leicas... Is this feasible?? The LE Adapter looked abit bulky...?

Many thanks if you can help...

[eastcoast909]

Hi:

I know of several options for atttaching a Monocular, (CrystalVue, Kenko) that allow owners of smaller cameras to gain greater Telephoto abilities.

I have never seen an adapter to use Binoculars for this purpose.

If you are interested at looking at some of the options available for telephoto then perhaps this site www.ckcpower.com might be of interest. It does not list an adappter for the A70 but if you send them an e-mail they will be able to tell you where to get one if they exist.

I use a CrystalVue Monocular with varying results. The
biggest problem being camera shake and chromatic abberation.

[Bodryn]

I can't say which method would be best for getting long distance photos, but I recently faced this same question with my Canon A70. I did buy the lens adaptor and the 3x teleconverter which gives good results, but of course the regular viewfinder is obscured and you need to use the LCD screen.

Right about the same time I bought a Canon S1 IS because it comes with a 10x optical zoom as well as 3.2 digital zoom.

I compared the two methods and decided that my money was best spent on the Canon S1 IS, but it comes at a price: nearly $500 at a WalMart in the U.S. Best of all, it comes with image stabilization which means nearly all photos come out clearly at maximum zoom even when handheld, unless you are shooting in dimmer light. Which means, all I need to have along to get good distant shots is the camera - no tripod, no inconvenient adapters, and immediacy of use. Also, at 10x, the photos are zoomed in much closer than the 3x that the A70 gives me. I think they are also more likely to have a clear focus. However I have not yet tried shooting through binoculars or a telescope.

Prices may have come down since I bought it two months ago. I don't get any use anymore out of the telephoto lens, but I do get lots of use out of the A70 wide angle attachment.