Fabrizio's Digital Camera Project 2. Build a Do-It-Yourself Telephoto Lens

Fabrizio

Italian photographer Fabrizio has devised some very clever ways to increase the versatility of his favorite camera, a Casio Exilim EX-Z120. This 7-megapixel camera has minimal shutter lag, an excellent menu system and is powered by rechargeable or standard AA-cells. Fabrizio's methods can possibly be applied to other cameras, so here is the second in a series of projects from Fabrizio's Casio Extreme web site. Editor.

This series of projects describes how you can expand the versatility of the Casio Exilim EX-Z120 and possibly other digital cameras.

You can make a telephone lens for your camera with a spotting scope and a center-slotted aluminum bracket as shown in Fig. 1. The camera is attached to the bracket with a bolt that fits the camera's tripod mount. The spotting scope is attached using appropriate hardware.

Carefully adjust the position of the camera with the power on and the lens fully extended. Otherwise, the lens may strike the scope when it is switched on.

For best results, mount the telephoto assembly to a tripod to keep the arrangement perfectly still during exposures.

Readers who assemble a macro lens modeled after the one designed by Fabrizio are encouraged to submit sharp sample photographs for possible publication in "Backscatter" or "Gallery." Send your contributions, a detailed caption and your name here. Editor.