Red Dot Sights (RDS) - a few thoughts

BIFR said:

BIFR wrote:

Small world Mike. I've been watching this exact auction for a couple of days

They usually go for a bit more than £12 though

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I'll hold off for a while, we don't want to be bidding against each other! I'm still researching anyway.

Mike

I use the dot within a circle setting on my sight. The Gadget.brando attachment was improved over what Sherm had, but it will still move around within the hotshoe, so that means a re-alignment each time you put the site on the camera. I don't normally have to re-align the site once its on the camera, unless I accidentally give it a knock.

I don't carry the site on the camera all the time, only when I think there will be an opportunity for getting action shots. That usually precludes thick bush, or densely treed areas. The best places to use it are in wide open spaces where you can generally get a view of birds flying towards you from a little distance away. That gives you the chance to line the bird up. Great places for doing this are wetlands or the seashore/beach and if you are into aircraft, airports.

Sorry, no.

Mike

BIFR said:

BIFR wrote:

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BIFR said:

Quick question, you do tend to keep the RDS attached at all times or just when you need it ? And does it ever need realigning when you reattach it?

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I know you were not asking me, but I would just put the RDS on when needed, there's no way I would want to add 100 grammes or so to any of my cameras permanently.

I would go for something like the Xtend-a-Sight Plus mount which comes with the foot width slightly oversize and you file it to fit your hot shoe closely. That way it takes up the same position each time.

Mike

Rodger1943 said:

Rodger1943 wrote:

I use the dot within a circle setting on my sight. The Gadget.brando attachment was improved over what Sherm had, but it will still move around within the hotshoe, so that means a re-alignment each time you put the site on the camera. I don't normally have to re-align the site once its on the camera, unless I accidentally give it a knock.

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One way or another I'd want to get the foot fitting snug in the hot shoe so that it cannot move around, e.g. the Xtend-a-Sight which one files to a final fit.

Rodger1943 said:

I don't carry the site on the camera all the time . . . . . .

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Neither would I, it's going to be 100 grammes or so. Another reason for a snug fit.

Thanks Rodger,

Mike

Hatstand said:

Hatstand wrote:

Hatstand said:

BIFR wrote:

Ah ha ! I thought your username looked familiar. We discussed RDS's on the UK airshows forum about a year ago (I raised the topic under a different username)

Glad it's worked out well for you

Quick question, you do tend to keep the RDS attached at all times or just when you need it ? And does it ever need realigning when you reattach it?

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Aha! Once again I have to thank you for bringing Red Dot Sights to my attention in the first place! :-D

I only put it on when I need it. And I only carry it at all, when I think I'm likely to need it. I wouldn't leave it on all the time:
a) it might get damaged
b) it blocks the hotshoe
c) on the FZ150/200 it prevents you popping the built-in flash

I started with the gadget.brando mounting, which would not retain alignment while it was attached, never mind after detaching and re-attaching. I did improve it somewhat with a bit of DIY, but it was still pretty rubbish. Somebody here said it had been improved, but I don't know how exactly.

The Photosolve Xtend-a-sight mounting, requires you to grind one side of the hotshoe fitting just enough that it's a nice snug fit. Once I'd done that, I aligned it once and (I'm not joking) - I never had to realign it again... until I changed to different camera, from FZ150 to FZ200.

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Thanks Hatstand, helpful as ever

After a bit of a break (9mths) I've decided to dust off my old camera gear and get back into plane/bird photography, starting where I last left off with a RDS

I ordered my Xtend-a-mount earlier today and now I'm after a good RDS

BIFR said:

BIFR wrote:

I ordered my Xtend-a-mount earlier today and now I'm after a good RDS

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As I said, I'll try to avoid being on the same auction at the same time.

Here's another (different) RDS:

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/330855773967?_trksid=p5197.c0.m619

The dimensions look sensible and it fits an 11mm dovetail. Might be plastic not aluminium but that would not bother me.

The seller is called Ramsbottom, how English is that, with an address - no doubt one could find their phone no. and ask them a few questions, which would be a nice change!

That's the cheapest one I've seen - probably simple, 1-brightness Red Dot, no reticles, sensible mirror size . . . might suit me, I don't need a lot of options, and the only thing wrong with the Daisy, for me, is the inadequate brightness against bright sky or bright cloud.

Compared with airgun use, we don't need fine aiming accuracy. We mostly have cropping space round the bird, plane, racing car, motor bike, running dog . . . and it doesn't matter if the target is not exactly in the middle of the frame. Setting the wider AF square allows for a bit of slop too.

Mike

Mikedigi said:

Mikedigi wrote:
I would go for something like the Xtend-a-Sight Plus mount which comes with the foot width slightly oversize and you file it to fit your hot shoe closely. That way it takes up the same position each time.
Mike

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I'm sure you're a wiz at DIY, but I thought I'd share this just in case it's helpful to you or anyone else thinking of the Xtend-a-sight mounting:

When I got my Xtend-a-sight, I put a piece of wet-and-dry sandpaper (keep it wet!) on a sturdy flat surface, and carefully ground one of the side edges a little at a time until it fitted my hotshoe easily, but very snugly.

I advise grinding the edge against the sandpaper, not the other way around...
...and across the edge or using circular motions - not back and forth along the edge.
(Holding the sandpaper and rubbing it against the edge, will not give you a straight result.
And if you grind along the edge, you're likely to make it curved instead of straight).

--

I actually had to grind the thumbwheel down a bit too. It's quite thick, and there wasn't enough travel to raise it above the top of the hotshoe (it would hit the rail before it was high enough). So it was an obstruction, when trying to put the mount into the hotshoe.

I couldn't raise the height of the rail to give it more travel eg. by putting a thin washer on top of the post before sitting the rail on it - because then the locking screw for the rail would have met the post too near the top, and wouldn't have locked securely.

So I just made the thumbwheel a little thinner - by about 1mm. Actually, I think 0.5mm probably would have been enough. Note that if you do this too, you should avoid taking off too much of the thick plastic shell, such that you start cutting into the aluminium core of the thumbwheel (that could damage the threads, or reduce the amount and strength of the threads).

Hatstand said:

Hatstand wrote:

When I got my Xtend-a-sight, I put a piece of wet-and-dry sandpaper (keep it wet!) on a sturdy flat surface, and carefully ground one of the side edges a little at a time until it fitted my hotshoe easily, but very snugly.

I advise grinding the edge against the sandpaper, not the other way around...
...and across the edge or using circular motions - not back and forth along the edge.
(Holding the sandpaper and rubbing it against the edge, will not give you a straight result.
And if you grind along the edge, you're likely to make it curved instead of straight).

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Spot on! I've ground a lot of things on wet Wet 'n Dry (black) sandpaper and I'm told that laying wet 'n dry sandpaper on flat modern glass, wet, is a great way of sharpening plane and chisel blades.

In this case I would mostly grind across the edge and lightly deburr the sharp corners as I go along.

Hatstand said:

--

I actually had to grind the thumbwheel down a bit too. It's quite thick, and there wasn't enough travel to raise it above the top of the hotshoe (it would hit the rail before it was high enough). So it was an obstruction, when trying to put the mount into the hotshoe.

I couldn't raise the height of the rail to give it more travel eg. by putting a thin washer on top of the post before sitting the rail on it - because then the locking screw for the rail would have met the post too near the top, and wouldn't have locked securely.

So I just made the thumbwheel a little thinner - by about 1mm. Actually, I think 0.5mm probably would have been enough. Note that if you do this too, you should avoid taking off too much of the thick plastic shell, such that you start cutting into the aluminium core of the thumbwheel (that could damage the threads, or reduce the amount and strength of the threads).

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Oh dear! That's a design fault - have you written to Photosolve about it? They are very communicative there and I am sure they would be delighted to get your careful, positive kind of feedback.

Or of course they may have fixed this in the Plus version? If I go for one, I'll certainly use your text, if you allow me to, and ask them.

Mike

Whoops! Had a problem with last message - the second half is about having to grind the thumb wheel.

Mike

Mikedigi said:

Mikedigi wrote:
Oh dear! That's a design fault - have you written to Photosolve about it? They are very communicative there and I am sure they would be delighted to get your careful, positive kind of feedback.
Or of course they may have fixed this in the Plus version? If I go for one, I'll certainly use your text, if you allow me to, and ask them.

Mike

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This was the Plus version (the original didn't have the locking thumbwheel at all) - and no, I didn't contact Photosolve about it. Which I admit was a bit slack...

Feel free to quote me if you get in touch with them.

Come to think of it, it would probably be helpful if they gave people a few guildelines like the above in their instructions, and/or make a "best practice" video or something. Then again, perhaps they sell more if they let people stuff it up the first time! :-D

Mikedigi said:

Mikedigi wrote:

. . . . Here's another (different) RDS:

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/330855773967?_trksid=p5197.c0.m619

The dimensions look sensible and it fits an 11mm dovetail. Might be plastic not aluminium but that would not bother me. . . .

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I wrote to J S Ramsbottom about this RDS and they say it will probably have about the same Red Dot brightness as the Daisy and that if I cut open the packaging I would be unable to return it for refund unless it was defective.

Not worth the risk, so I shan't bother with that.

Not easy this, because these gadgets are designed for shooting targets on the ground etc not for pointing into bright light.

Mike

Hatstand said:

Hatstand wrote:

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Hatstand said:

. . . . . . This was the Plus version (the original didn't have the locking thumbwheel at all) - and no, I didn't contact Photosolve about it. Which I admit was a bit slack . . . . .

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Thanks, I've noted all your comments.

I think you said that your "brando" has 3 brightness levels not 5? And the brightest one is bright enough against bright cloud, etc?

If so, there's a chance that the newer one with 5 brightness levels will do the job at least as well.

Mike

Here's the Brando (left) and the Daisy (right) with the Brando at the highest of the three levels.

The Brando is clearly brighter, and the complex reticle makes it much easier to detect than the dot.







The Brando I use. The Daisy sits in a box.

Sherm

Mike,

My Oly XZ-2 has a mode for vertical panning, and a separate mode for horizontal panning, and then mode 1 normal IS.

Very interesting thread.

I recently received the Brando RDS - 4 patterns in red or green, 3 brightness levels. The brightest level is pretty good in all lighting and I prefer the circle with cross hair pattern:


Brando Red Dot Sight

Today was my first test out my back window targeting moving objects (small birds and airplanes). Tracking was easy and quite good with both eyes open, but I'll have to get used to some of the caveats:

• Ensuring focus by having the patience to wait for the focus confirmation beep
• Ensure the area of intended use is fairly clutter-free to prevent getting shots of tree branches in focus rather than the wanted moving objects

For BIF, I'd suspect that 1-area or 23-area AFS might work best? I've seen the recommendation mentioned here of 1-area resized one larger than default but I haven't had much best success with it yet.

Anybody have any luck using AFF or AFC? I'd suspect that they may be useful with a clear sky background?

I'd be interested in others' experiences/suggestions for AF modes and styles.

--

Bruce
You learn something new every time you press the shutter

kkardster said:

kkardster wrote:
For BIF, I'd suspect that 1-area or 23-area AFS might work best? I've seen the recommendation mentioned here of 1-area resized one larger than default but I haven't had much best success with it yet.
Anybody have any luck using AFF or AFC? I'd suspect that they may be useful with a clear sky background?

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I haven't tried birds, but for airshows I use 23-area AFC. Seems to work, but it's mostly planes in flight with no obstacles in between. A lot have sky as backgrounds, but if they're low-level there can be a lot of scenery in shot - landscapes, trees, buildings etc.

I've seen on one of Graham Houghton's FZ200 video tutorials - he shot birds with "1-area" expanded to practically the size of the frame. It seemed to work for him, but I'm not sure what you gain from that, vs 23-area etc. Plus, Panasonic STILL hasn't fixed that "I forgot the size of your 1-area box" problem... -_-

Hatstand said:

Hatstand wrote:

Hatstand said:

kkardster wrote:
For BIF, I'd suspect that 1-area or 23-area AFS might work best? I've seen the recommendation mentioned here of 1-area resized one larger than default but I haven't had much best success with it yet.
Anybody have any luck using AFF or AFC? I'd suspect that they may be useful with a clear sky background?

Click to expand...

I haven't tried birds, but for airshows I use 23-area AFC. Seems to work, but it's mostly planes in flight with no obstacles in between. A lot have sky as backgrounds, but if they're low-level there can be a lot of scenery in shot - landscapes, trees, buildings etc.

I've seen on one of Graham Houghton's FZ200 video tutorials - he shot birds with "1-area" expanded to practically the size of the frame. It seemed to work for him, but I'm not sure what you gain from that, vs 23-area etc.

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Thanks for your sensible reply - I'll give it a try.

Hatstand said:

Plus, Panasonic STILL hasn't fixed that "I forgot the size of your 1-area box" problem... -_-

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Yeah, same for Exposure Bracketing - terrible oversights.

[I don't need and thus won't mention eye cups.]

sherman_levine said:

sherman_levine wrote:

Here's the Brando (left) and the Daisy (right) with the Brando at the highest of the three levels.

The Brando is clearly brighter, and the complex reticle makes it much easier to detect than the dot.

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Thanks Sherm. Good photo.

Does this look like your Brando? If so, and I think it is, it now has 5 brightness levels instead of 3:


You're always right, you know.

Mike

Gary Leland said:

Gary Leland wrote:

Mike,

My Oly XZ-2 has a mode for vertical panning, and a separate mode for horizontal panning, and then mode 1 normal IS.

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Thanks Gary, maybe it was on my Oly E-410 or E-600 that I noticed a panning mode in the IS options.

Mike