Right Angle Viewfinder

I have strained my neck innumerable times trying to look through the polar finderscopes on my mounts. This device solves the problem, your polar picture is now clearly visible from a much more comfortable position. Also, the unit can be turned sideways left or right to make the view more comfortable, which is a very nice feature. The package appears to be a combination of a well made DSLR camera finderscope and a 3-D printed nice sturdy plastic mount that grabs the telescope finderscope firmly with three nylon screws. I was pleasantly surprised on how well made it is, and how well it works. So far I have attached it to a Skywatcher Star Adventurer II, to a Celestron AVX mount with (optional) optical finderscope, and to a Skywatcher HEQ5, and it fits perfectly on all three (the polar finderscopes on all three are made very similarly it seems). 5 stars for sure !

I note several points: 1) The description is very accurate as to the polar scopes it fits. My scope was a little too small in diameter. That I fixed with a few turns of black electrical tap. My exposed scope length was a little short. That I fixed by putting a thin shim in the back of the collar of this viewer. All works great. Knowing the exact requirements before purchase allowed me to figure out a fit. 2) Right angle polar scopes look to be priced from $75 to $140. They all look to have the same optical system from the same Chinese factory. Certainly this one was excellent and sharp. 3) I have an old fashioned polar scope with 3 star alignment on the pole. This requires seeing to the edge of the field. This right angle adapter did not quite reach to the edges of the field on my scope. However if your polar scope uses the new clock scheme where Polaris is put in the correct position on the circular graticule, then I think this adapter will work perfectly. 4) So, if you don't mind the funky green adapter, you can save $50 with this excellent unit.

After several uses, this product serves its purpose. Definitely saves my neck and back from the pain of polar alignment. Quality wise it seems pretty good, though the plastic collar with the nylon screws may or may not last. We will see. I’m giving it 4 stars because it does seem a bit pricey. But I do like it and can recommend based on my early use

This review is for the Right Angle viewfinder with plastic finder scope adapter. This item is a godsend. I am using it with an iOptron SkyGuiderPro star tracker, and it makes aligning the tracker with Polaris so much better than having to crouch down and look up through the alignment scope situated in the axis of the SkyGuiderPro. Being able to stand, and look down through the right angle viewfinder is significantly easier and more comfortable than crouching down and trying to look up at the right angle to see through the finder scope. If you have a compatible star tracker, but don't have this viewfinder, it is very much recommended. You will be blown away by how much more comfortable it is to align the tracker using this viewfinder than it would otherwise be. As well, the unit comes with a large number of SLR camera viewfinder adapters to allow it to be used for double duty on a SLR camera as a right angle viewfinder. The SLR camera use would primarily be for macro or tripod mounted shots where crouching or excessive bending over to look through the viewfinder would be uncomfortable. So the unit can serve double duty, use for aligning a star tracker and use on a SLR for macro/tripod work. Also, while not mentioned in the listing here, the Nikon SLR adapter that ships with this item is compatible with a D7000 SLR (see the attached photo showing it attached to a D7000). With the above said, the adapter is not perfect. The edges of the view have some image distortion, but the center (where one is going to be looking in almost all cases) is quite clear and does not look distorted at all. I estimate that at least 90-95% or so of the view is clear, with only the last 5-10% along the edges having some distortion. However, for the price as compared to a genuine Nikon right angle adapter (the DR-6, $285.95) the fact that the edges are slightly distorted is well worth the nearly $260 savings in total overall cost.

The scope works well but the adapter to attach it to my Star Tracker is made of a 3D printed plastic and broke upon first use.

Fits perfectly on my Star Adventurer, well made. Neither over or under engineered. Will save my neck for sure! Well priced as well.

Too expensive for poor quality. I had to remove a piece of metal to allow the connector to fit. Whoever is making these with their 3D printer needs to make adjustments. Also, the plastic connector doesn’t fit properly over the lens. There isn’t a view finder part for a Sony camera. Why did Amazon recommend this??

I've been an astrophotographer for about 15 years. Equipment improves steadily over time, but every now and then there's a simple gadget that makes imaging waaaay easier. This is one of those gadgets. The only thing I'd want to make you aware of is that MSM now makes a metal version of the "interface" (adapter) piece that goes between the viewfinder and the polar scope. I'd highly recommend ordering that version since I don't quite trust the longevity of the 3D printed piece. Order it—you won't regret it!

For those of you who was wondering if it fit well on a I-optron SkyGuider Pro, Yes it does really well 👍. The Green 3D printed attachment fit well on the SkyGuider Pro without any modifications which is great. 👍 The only slight issue I have so far from day one is with one of the 3 tapped hole on the Green 3d printed attachement, where the inside thread is so loose that I can't really tighten that screw, but fortunately the other two screws can be properly thighten. The plastic screws itself do have enough thread on them, the issue is really coming from the ID thread on the Green sleeve attachement, but only on one of the 3 tapped holes. If it's getting worst, i will eventually need to fill that thread hole with glue, and just drill and Tap that hole again to fix it. Other than that every thing worked as expected

Pratique et bien fait. Fonctionne bien.