TELEPHOTOGRAPHY THROUGH BINOCULARS | WITH YOUR EDMUND CAMERA AND BINOCULAR HOLDER. No. 70,223 Can you recall moments in the past when you wished that you had a telephoto lens for your camera? Famous personalities passing in a parade, exciting events at an auto race, a shy animal at the edge of a distant forest, and many other "impossible" pictures can now be yours with the Edmund Camera and Binocular Holder. The new Edmund Camera and Binocular Holder allows you to attach most binoculars and monoculars to practically any camera and to use one half of the binoculars as a telephoto lens for your camera. Since there are so many types of cameras and binoculars presently in use, it is vir- tually impossible to set-up hard and fast rules that will apply in every situation. We offer these suggestions, however, as a guide to assist you in obtaining satisfactory results from your particular camera-binocular combination. If you first take a few experimental rolls of film, you will soon find out the capabilities and limitations of your system. This early experimenting will save you film and assure you of better pictures later on. GENERAL INSTRUCTIONS FOR MOUNTING YOUR CAMERA AND BINOCULARS FOR ‘TELEPHOTOGRAPHY. Regardless of the camera that you are using, the mounting of the binoculars will always be the same. First open the binoculars so that the two binocular bodies are farthest apart, holding them as you normally would FIGURE A for viewing. Loosen the clamp on the "bino- cular" post (See figure A) and slide the binocular post down between the binocular hinge pin (the cylinder between the bino- cular bodies) and one of the binocular bod- ies until the binocular hinge pin lies in the V-shaped groove of the binocular post. Position the flat clamping plate so that the small set screw is on top and then tighten S==— the clamping screw until the binocular post = is clamped firmly in the V-groove but can re LIGHT SHIELD still be moved for adjustment. The small set screw has been put in the clamping plate to enable the binocular post to be used with a large variety of binoculars and should be adjusted to provide the best fit for your binocular hinge pin. In the advent that the hinge pin of your binoculars is very large and will not allow the binocular post to be slipped down between the body and the hinge pin, then it is necessary to remove the clamping assembly from the post and slip the binocular post up between the bino- cular body and the hinge pin from below. Now replace the clamping assembly and clamp the binoculars firmly but so they can still be moved for adjustment. Now place the rubber light shield on the right-hand binocular eyepiece. This light shield prevents stray Light from entering the telephoto system between the binocular eyepiece and the HNOCOLAR CLAMPINE ASSEMBLY Wo = 20 STO. Tro vaneAD Ine MOLE THREAD FOR MONCOLAR AR POST LOCKING HX 1camera lens and also provides for the movement of | the eyepiece in focusing. After the binoculars have been mounted, attach the f Al ml era on the bar and secure it by passing the screw threads on the camera locking knob up through the slot into the standard 1/4-20 threaded tripod socket located on the camera body. Tighten the knob so that CO the camera is held securely but still may be moved for adjustment. jvacn.an 0.26608 Figure B yen oe cate When both the binoculars and the camera have been means mounted on the bar you are ready for final adjust- L Leal ment of the unit. Loosen the binocular post locking knob and move the binocular post up and cy down until the right hand eyepiece of the binocular emt ¢ ‘avon WoL is level with the camera lens. Now move the cam- era forward and turn it and the binoculars until the camera lens is directly in line with the right- AMERA-RIMOCULAR HOLE hand eyepiece of the binoculars with a 3/8" space in between for focusing. ‘Tighten all the clamps and knobs and attach the whole assembly to your camera tripod, screwing the tripod into the threaded mounting hole provided on the bar. (See figures Band C.) Now we come to the greatest problem in binocular telephotography, focusing the unit, Because of basic differences in camera design, we must treat the main types of cam- eras separately. We shall start with the type of camera best suited to this work, the single-lens reflex. TELEPHOTOGRAPHY WITH BINOCULARS AND A SINGLE LENS REFLEX After mounting the camera as explained in the general instructions, set the focus of the camera lens at infinity (s*) and open the iris diaphragm to the smallest f/stop value. Now look at the ground glass screen of the camera and focus the image by turning the right eyepiece of the binoculars. If your binoculars are of the center focus type, you may adjust both the center focus and the right eyepiece to form a sharp image. Now find the rated f/stop of your camera-binocular combination from the chart on page 5 and set the shutter speed of the camera to give the proper exposure for the film youare using and the prevailing light conditions. (See EXPOSURE, page 4). Now trip the shutter in the normal manner to take the picture. Although as a general rule it is best to leave the camera's lens focused at infin- ity, you often can focus on objects closer to the camera by also using the focussing =~ adjustment on the camera's lens, Be care- ful when focusing in this manner that there is sufficient space for movement between the camera lens and the binocular eyepiece.ADAPTING A TWIN-LENS REFLEX TO TELEPHOTOGRAPHY Mount the twin-lens reflex as described in the general instructions but adjust the as~ sembly so that the right-hand binocular eyepiece is aligned with the upper "viewing" lens of the camera, Leave enough space between them so that after focusing, the binoculars can be moved down in front of the "taking" lens. Set the camera's focus at infinity (©° ) and open the iris diaphragm of the taking lens to its smallest f/stop value, With the right-hand eyepiece in front of the viewing lens, focus the image on the ground glass screen. Now loosen the binocular post locking knob and move the binoculars down so that the right-hand eyepiece of the binocular is aligned with the taking lens of the camera. Find the rated f/stop of your camera-bino- cular combination in the chart on page 5and set the shutter speed of the camera to give the proper exposure for the film you are using and the prevailing light conditions. (See EXPOSURE, page 4 ). Now trip your shutter in the normal manner to take the picture. USING A NON-REFLEX TYPE CAMERA FOR TELEPHOTOGRAPHY ‘The final type of camera that we shall discuss is the non-reflex type. ‘This type of camera usually has a simple optical viewfinder and no ground glass on which to focus the image. Most box, folding, and movie cameras are of this type. Since it is im- possible to view the image before you take the picture with this type of camera, the binoculars must be calibrated before any picture taking is done. Mount the camera and binoculars as described in the general mounting instructions. Set the focus of the camera's lens to infinity (o2) and open the iris diaphragm to its lowest f/stop value. Now open or remove the back of the cam- era and insert a piece of wax paper or ground glass so that it lies exactly where the film would normally be. (Ground glass is best to use be- cause it is flat and gives a better image than wax paper. Ground glass of various sizes is listed in our catalog. Insert the ground glass so that the rough side faces the lens. Hold the glass in place with small pieces of masking tape. Aim the camera at some distant object such as a house, water tower, etc. Look at the ground glass and turn the righthand eyepiece until the image is sharp. A dark cloth can be used just like the old-fashioned focusing cloth to keep extraneous light from the ground glass and thereby allow the image to be seen more easily. ‘You will notice that the binocular or mon ocular eyepiece is marked with a numbered scale, This scale has positive (+) numbers located on one side of zero and negative (-) numbers on the other, With the distant ob- ject in focus, look at the eyepiece scale and place its reading in a chart, (assume its dis- tance to be infinity.) Now focus the camera, using only the eyepiece adjustment, ona somewhat nearer object and place its esti- mated distance and the corresponding scale reading inthe chart, Repeat this processa number of times until values that cover the 3 eeeWhole focusing range of the binoculars. You can now use this chart as a reference when you take pictures. If you have center focus binoculars, use the side that has the adjustable eyepiece in- stead of the side that works with the center wheel. It will also be helpful if you now cut a mask for the viewfinder so that you see through the viewfinder only what appears on the ground glass. Now take out the ground glass and place film in the camera. Find the rated f/stop of your camera-binocular combination from the chart on page 5 and set the shutter speed of the camera to give the proper exposure for the film you are using and the prevailing light conditions (See EXPOSURE, below .) Estimate the distance to the object you are photographing and consult the chart that you filled out to find the proper binocular setting for sharp focus at this distance. Turn the eyepiece to the proper setting on the scale and trip the shutter. DUMMY CAMERA A big help in using a non-reflex type camera for binocular telephotography would be a dummy camera. This dummy camera can be built using a mirror, a ground glass, and a lens of the same focal length as the lens of the camera used, This dummy camera can be attached to the half of the binoculars not being used for picture-taking and can be used to both frame and focus the picture when used with center focus binoculars. For detailed instructions on building a dummy camera see our booklet Stock No. 9035, price 20¢ postpaid, = EXPOSURE In any kind of photography, a certain amount of light (depending on the ASA speed of the film used) must reach the film in order to form a good image. There are two things that control the amount of light reaching the film: (1) the amount of light that can pass through the lens during a specified length of time; and (2) the length of time that the film is exposed to the light. In a camera the amount of light passing through the lens is con- trolled by the f/stop at which the iris diaphragm is set and the length of time that the shutter remains open. In a binocular-camera combination the amount of light passing through the camera lens is limited by the amount of light that can pass through the binoculars being used. ‘The exposure in a binocular-camera combination is controlled by the rated f/stop of the bino- culars used and the shutter speed of the camera. When a camera is used in conjunction with binoculars do not try to vary the f/stops by using the cameras own iris control. Always leave the camera's iris at its widest opening (the smallest f/stop.) Closing the iris on the camera lens will result in severe vignetting of the picture (see page 6.) To figure the exposure for your particular telephoto system we must first find the {/stop value for the entire system. First find the size of the binoculars you are using. We will say for this discussion that we are using a pair of 7x50 binoctilars. Then look at your camera lens and find its focal length in millimeters *. (This will usually be mark- ~~ ed some where on the lens body) In our example case we will use a camera lens of 50 mm focal length. Now look at the chart in figure B and find the rated f/stop that applies to the particular camera-binocular combination that you are using. In our test case we find that the rated f/stop is rounded out to f/8, (actually £/7) which is be- tween £/5.6 and £/8, 4* If the focal length of your lens is given in inches, multiply the focal length in inches by 25.4 to find the focal length in millimeters. (1 inch equals 25.4 mm) Now use your meter or the chart that comes with the film and determine the proper ex- “sosure for the film you are using and the light that is present, Then find the appropriate shutter speed that will properly expose the film when used with the rated f/stop of your camera-binocular combination. In our example we shall use Anscochrome color film (which has an ASA film speed of 32) and we shall take our picture in bright sunlight. In the chart packed with the film we find that the proper exposure for bright sunlight with Anscochrome is 1/50 at f/11. If the rated f/stop of our camera-binocular combination is f/8, we must set the shutter at 1/100 to properly expose the film. For every full f/stop increase, as from {/11 to f/8, you must double the shutter speed. For every full f/ stop decrease, as from {/11 to f/16, you must cut the shutter speed in half. (If the basic exposure for a film is 1/100 at f/11, you could use 1/50 at {/16, 1/25 at f/22, 1/200 1/200 at £/8, 1/400 at f/5.6, 1/800 at 4.5, etc. and still properly expose the film. } F/STOP VALUES FOR VARIOUS CAMERA-BINOCULAR COMBINATIONS *CAMERA LENS FOCAL LENGTH BINOCULAR [125mm 25mm 50mm 75mm 90 mm_—135 mm 6x30 £/2.8 115.6 far 116 6x42 £)2 £14 2/8 #11 £/16 #/22 | 1x38 £/2.8 £/5.6 fr £116 £122 1/32 ~ 7x50 £/2 #14 1/8 £1 £16 £/22 8x30 £/3.5 5/6.3 #16 £/22 £/32 1/45 x40 £/2.8 £/5.6 f/1l 16 t/22 1/32 10x50 | £/2.8 115.6 fa £16 £/22 £/32 FIG. B. “Systems below are rounded out to the nearest camera marking. If you want to use in between "F" stops use formulas we note #1 and #2. Note#1 To find the EFFECTIVE FOCAL LENGTH of your telephoto system, multiply the focal length of the camera lens by the magnifying power of the binoculars. (The magnifying power of binoculars is usually designated by the first number in the mark- ing. 8x30 binoculars have a magnifying power of 8X.) Example: 8x30 binoculars used with a camera having a 50 mm focal length lens. 8x magnification x 50 mm (camera lens f.1.) = 400 mm. ‘This combination has an effective focal length of 400 mm. Note #2 To find the f/stop value for your system if it is not listed above, divide the effective focal length of the system (found by the method outlined in note #1) by the diameter in millimeters of the binocular objectives (the front lenses.) (The diameter of binocular objectives is usually designated by the last number in the marking. 8x30 binoculars have objectives with a diameter of 30 mm. ~ ‘Example: Effective focal length of system 400 mm. Diameter of binocular objectives 30 mm. System f/stop = 400 mm”. 6/13 which is between f/11 and {/16, eeeVIGNETTING ‘One common problem that often comes up in a binocular-camera combination is vig- netting. This condition is apparent in the ground glass or the finished picture as an excessive loss of light at the edges of the field. If just one or two of the corners are darkened the trouble is probably misalign- ment of the camera lens and the binocular eyepiece. Repositioning one or both will usually remedy this condition. If the edges are evenly dark the first thing to do is to see if the iris diaphragm of the camera lens is all the way open. If this is not the trouble the camera lens and the binocular eyepiece are probably too far apart. Move them as close together as possible, even to the extent of removing the eye cup from the binocular eyepiece and placing the rubber light shield on the remaining lens assembly. An example of vignetting If none of these techniques help, the reason for the vignetting is probably that the cam- era lens is "seeing" a wider field than the binoculars, If this is the case, instead of having the camera set at infinity, set it to focus on its closest distance. This will throw the system out of focus. Now refocus the binocular eyepiece to bring the system in focus again. Non-reflex type cameras must now have a new focusing chart (see page 3) made out for them. FILTERS As in regular photography, filters are important accessories to a telephoto system. ‘There are two places that filters can be used in a telephoto system, between the cam- era's lens and the binocular eyepiece or in front of the binocular objective lenses (the large front lenses.) Often a conventional filter holder will take up too much room and won't allow close placement of the camera lens and the binocular eyepiece. This will sometimes lead to difficulties (see vignetting.) An alternate method is to cut a circle from a piece of the proper gelatin filter that will fit the binocular objective lens. This will enable you to place the camera and binoculars close together and still enjoy the advantages of a filter. Remember that most filters absorb some of the light that would normally reach the film and therefore a longer exposure is needed to compensate for this loss of light. The most useful filters for black and white photography are the med- ium yellow (K-2) and the medium orange (G). The medium yellow filter gives proper tonal rendition of sky, clouds, and foliage with slight haze penetration. This filter re- quires an exposure increase of about one stop. The medium orange filter gives great- er haze penetration and darkens the sky for a more dramatic effect. This filter re- quires an exposure increase of two whole stops. The most useful filters for color ~ photography are the ultra-violet haze filters and the outdoor conversion filters for us~ ing film that is balanced to tungsten or flash in sunlight. For more information on filters we recommend the Eastman Kodak Filter Data Book that is available at most photo stores.TELEPHOTOGRAPHY WITH MOVIE CAMERA _~Although mounting a movie camera and a pair of binoculars for telephotography is similar to mounting any other camera-binocular combination on the Edmund camera and Binocular Holder, focusing and finding the proper exposure for such a combination presents some special problems. Since most movie cameras do not have ground glass or through the lens focussing, they must be used in much the same manner as any other non-reflex type camera. A piece of ground glass should be used to set up a focussing chart as described on pages 3 and 4. When a piece of ground glass is placed in a movie camera, it is very important that the ground side of the glass lies right at the film plane. In some cameras it may be necessary to remove the film pressure plate or otherwise partially disassemble the camera in ‘order to accomplish this. A magnifier and a small mirror can often be used to advantage in focussing the stall image that is, formed on the ground glass. Exposure also presents a problem because on most rrovie cameras the only way that the shutter speed can be changed is to change the number of frames per second that the filry moves through the camera and this would change the speed of the motion in the finished film. The light cannot be cut down by using the camera's iris diaphragm because this would result in vignetting. The only place that the camera-binocular lens system can be "stopped down" is at the objective lens of the binocular. One way to cut down on the light passing through the lens is to make a home- made diaphragm from black paper. Cut a circle of black paper that will just cover the objective lens (the large front lens) of the binocular. Now cut a hole in the center of this disc and attach this donut-shaped piece of paper to the objective lens of the bino- culars, this is your iris diaphragm. The size of this center hole determines the amount an0f light passing through the system just as the size of the iris diaphragm opening con- trols the amount of light passing through. a regular camera lens but a diaphragm placed at this point in the system will not cause vignetting. The smaller the hole, the smaller the amount of light reaching the film. A variable iris diaphragm that could be used for this purpose can be found in our catalogue under "photographic items". Polarizing or neutral density filters could also be used to cut down the amount of light. Experimen- ting with various methods of light control for your particular case is probably the best solution to this problem. HINTS ON TELEPHOTOGRAPHY One of the most important things in any kind of telephotography is to make sure that the camera-binocular holder is mounted on a sturdy tripod or other rigid support so that the unit cannot move. Camera movement that would not cause visible effects in a picture taken with a normal camera lens can cause a noticeable blur in a telephoto- graph. Another handy device to reduce camera movement is a cable release. When first trying your camera-binocular combination, it is a good idea to take a series of test pictures to check exposure so that any inaccuracies in either the shutter speed of your camera or the rated f/stop of your binoculars can be compensated for in future picture-taking. Finding the recommended exposure for the situation and take a picture at this exposure. Then take pictures at two and four times the shutter speed of the /~irst and also pictures at one half and one quarter the shutter speed of the first picture. ‘This technique is called "Bracketing" your exposure. Be sure to write down the shutter speed used for each shot, Look at the finished pictures and pick the best exposed one. If the best exposed picture was the first one that was taken, no correction need be made in future pictures. If, however, the best exposed picture was one taken at one half the 7first shutter speed, use this as a guide and take future pictures at one half the indicated shutter speed. Likewise, if the best exposed picture was one taken at twice the first shutter speed, in the future always double the indicated shutter speed. ~ You can take action photographs through your binoculars if you use a high enough shut- ter speed. Today's fast films allow you to use high shutter speeds and many of these films can be "pushed" in processing to allow even higher speeds. Remember that it takes a higher shutter speed to stop action passing directly across the camera's field than it does to stop action coming directly at the camera. If the action does pass dir- ectly across the field of view you can use a slower shutter speed if you "pan" with the moving object. In the finished picture, for instance one taken at an auto race, the rac- ' ing car will be sharp and the background will be blurred. You can keep unwanted light from shining into the binocular objective by constructing a sunshade with black paper and masking tape. Dust, fog, haze, and heat waves will effect long distance telephotography to a greater degree than normal photography so the best time to take telephotographs are cool, clear days. More flexibility in exposure control as well as increased depth of field can be obtained through the use of an iris diaphragm placed in front of the binocular objective lens ‘A Giaphragm placed here will not cause vignetting of the picture as stopping down the camera lens will. A simple paper iris diaphragm can be made by cutting a circle of black paper to fit the binocular objective and cutting a hole in the center of this circle. ‘The size of the hole will control the amount of light passing through the system; the smaller the hole, the smaller the amount of light passing through the binoculars and hence to the film, Several of these circles can be cut to give different "stops". A variable iris diaphragm that is suitable for this purpose can be found in our catalog under "photographic items", We can not give any rules to follow as to what size hole is needed to provide a specific f/ stop because this varies with the focal length of the camera lens and the size of the binoculars used, Polarizing and neutral density filters can also be used to cut down the intensity of light but these devices will not give in- creased depth of field as the iris diaphragm will. | | | Picture at left shows how to mount the imported 7 x 50 monocular (No. 70,639) to the Edmund camera binocular holder. This modern monocular has a threaded hole in the base to screw onto a standard camera tripod or to the holders vertical bar. ACCESSORIES FOR TELEPHOTOGRAPHY IMPORTED 7 X 50 MONOCULAR. Mace by a leading Japanese optical house. Coated optics, well made, just the thing for telephoto shots or just plain seeing, Has threaded socket for standard tripod or camera binocular holder. Carrying case and straps in- cluded, plus directions for telephoto use. No. 70,639 $17.50 Ppa SERIES V ADAPTER, You just remove the plastic eye cap on the above monocular and screw the adapter on, then screw the other end into your camera's filter holder, this = couples the system securely. Use step up rings for series VI cameras. No, 40,680 $1.50 Ppd. IRIS DIAPHRAGMS. Use this to vary the light that enters your binocular or monocular. No, 30,118 max, aperture 1-5/8", minimum aperture 1/8", O. D, 2-1/4" price $4.50 Ppd 8