robertjerl Loc: Corona, California

I believe you will find it works very well. It does take a bit of getting used to.

robertjerl Loc: Corona, California

Double post

robertjerl Loc: Corona, California

robertjerl Loc: Corona, California

Try finding a small moving subject at a distance through a small tube with only one eye open - that is what you are doing with a viewfinder. Try doing it quickly, it is hard.
Then open the other eye so you can now search and track with both eyes - that is how a Red Dot sight works. If it didn't work then the trap, skeet and action shooters wouldn't be using them on rifles, shotguns and pistols. Tactical shooters like SWAT, competition and the military have adapted them in huge numbers. They are not like a target scope for precision, they are a quick acquisition device.

Kencamera

I purchased one recently and it does not fit tightly into the flash shoe. Therefore it is easy to knock out of adjustment. I don't use it for that reason. If it fit correctly I think it might be useful. Ken

robertjerl Loc: Corona, California

I can realign mine fairly quickly now, practice. It doesn't need to be exact like if you were using it on a gun to target shoot.
Try a different adapter* that fits better in your hot shoe, or try shimming it with a layer or two of tape.

If you knock it out of alignment take a shot and then view with focus points showing, where is the center point now? If it is just a little bit then just hold off by that much. With practice it will work fine. I have done it often.

*I have two Red Dots, two adapters (two cameras). One adapter is pretty sturdy, the other, not so much. Of course one was $10 and the other $29.

bsprague Loc: Lacey, WA, USA

Are you referring to the Olympus EE-1 or an adapter?

Geegee Loc: Peterborough, Ont.

I know, and it is a pain! Here is how I overcame that problem. First, you have to be able to really tighten the sight in your hotshoe. There will be a knurled knob which you tighten down on the rails of your hotshoe but you can't tighten it enough with your fingers.
Remove the knurled knob and clamp it in a small vise which you can put on the table of your drill press. Drill a 7/64 dia. hole radially right through the center of the knob through to the other side. Rotate it ninety degrees and drill another hole through. You will have to use a 14/20 tap to clear the burrs out of the inside threaded hole. (You will need a 3/32 allen key to fit in the holes which you have just drilled.)

Re-assemble the knob but put a thin plastic washer under the knob to protect the rails of the hotshoe of your camera when you tighten the knob.

Push the assembly all the way into the shotshoe on the camera and rotate it clockwise to place all the clearance in one direction. Do this very positively. Now insert the allen key in one of the drilled holes and tighten it snugly. It should not move, even if it is bumped.

Now mount your camera with your long lens on a tripod and sight in the red dot sight using the adjusting screws for horizontal and vertical corrections. The red dot should be in the center of your frame.

Note: You don't use the red dot sight to frame your picture, you just use it to locate your subject in the center. You will have to estimate where your subject will be so that you can adjust the zoom accordingly. You can "lead" the bird just like your would when shooting skeet and your bird will be leading into your frame. I have found that with this red dot sight I have more pictures of the bird's heads rather than their tails because I can be faster. Parallax should not be a problem for the distances which you will be using the sight.

The next time you want to use your red dot sight just insert it in the hotshoe, rotate it clockwise and tighten it. It should still be aligned or very close. The whole secret here is to carry out this procedure the same way every time so that the result is always the same.

PS If you don't have a vise and drill press get a handy friend to do it or take it to a machine shop.

bsprague Loc: Lacey, WA, USA

"I know, and it is a pain!"

Which is why that if you want a dot sight for a camera, you buy the EE-1 from Olympus instead of trying to adapt one for a gun.

shughes

What does the red dot do to the eye of the bird? Is it a laser? Airline pilots get blinded by laser beams.

robertjerl Loc: Corona, California

It is not a projected laser, it is an image of the reticle (dot) on the glass of the sight. This diagram is of one type of Red Dot sight.

bsprague Loc: Lacey, WA, USA

Olympus is probably an ethical camera company. I don't think they would make a telephoto lens aiming device that would blind birds and airline pilots.

phlash46 Loc: Westchester County, New York

I have and use one with the same problems but it is definitely worthwhile!