Little MAK Digiscope

lewtwo@bigfoot.com

Probably the simplest (and certainly the least espensive) of my attemps to match a digital camera and a telescope. I took a 28-37 stepup ring and removed the 37mm portion. I then glued this ring to the back of a Little Mak scope. Now it attaches directly to the Nikon 995. Notice that scope does not weight 'down' the lens section.
(Click on the image for a larger picture) Little Mak mounted on Nikon 995









The Little Mak is produced by Lomo America. It is a Maksutov Gregorian 10x30 Telescope. One of the advantages of this design is that no prisms are needed to correct the orientation of the image. It has a 30mm aperture, 152mm Focal length, 5.1 focal ratio and a suggested retail price of $39.95. The step ring was another $5.00.
(Click on the image for a larger picture) Little Mak Maksutov Gregorian












So how does it work ??? The subject matter is not very interesting, but these pictures will give you an idea.

Shot with the Nikon 995 at full open (wide angle).
(Click on the image for a larger picture) WIDE









Shot with the Nikon 995 at full zoom (4X). (Click on the image for a larger picture)
ZOOM









Shot with the Nikon 995 and the Little Mak at full open (Wide Angle).
Lots of vigeting, but a whole lot closer.
(Click on the image for a larger picture) MAK1X









Shot with the Nikon 995 and the Little Mak at half zoom(2X).
Almost a full frame, but the focus is soft.
(Click on the image for a larger picture) MAK2X









Shot with the Nikon 995 and the Little Mak at full zoom(4X).
Full frame, no vigetting, but the focus is Lousy.
(Click on the image for a larger picture) MAK2X









The focus problem I have with all combinations of scopes and this camera. One reason is my OLD eyes and that tiny little LCD on the back of the 995. I am hoping to fix that with with an Extend-A-View. I got the Extend-A-View, but alas it did not solve the problem. It seems there is a limit to what can be achieved with this Combination. That is a shame ... it really did make a handy package.


Jay Turberville made a similar conversion with the Little Mak's big brother The Captain. The captain is a 10x40 Maksutov Gregorian Telescope. His results were better than mine, but still a bit short of optimum. That being said the results are very good for the money invested.