Astromania 1X40RD Reflex Red Green Dot Sight Lighted Scope Mount to fix to a DSLR Camera Flash Type Connection

I bought this to use as a red dot finder on my Nikon DSLR for astrophotography, mounted on my Star Adventurer. My initial experience was terrible. The unit fit very loosely on the hot shoe and would even slide off if the camera was pointed straight up. The unit would flop around easily from left to right. But, just as I was about to give up on this, reading another review in here I discovered my mistake. This is NOT a simple slide on, slide off accessory, like a camera flash. The hot shoe adaptor plate has two very small hex head screws - therefore the tiny little allen wrench that comes included. The installation process therefore is: 1. slide the adaptor plate onto the camera hot shoe. 2. Tighten it down to the camera with the tiny allen wrench. 3. slide the red dot finder scope on the adaptor plate, 4. Tighten the two side screws with the larger allen wrench. This thing, therefore becomes sort of a permanent fixture on your DSLR - not quick and easy install and removal - but when done right, it is rock solid, and very effective. I love it.

Please Contact BuyerThere was no documentation or manual at all in the box it came in, and one of the itsy bitsy tiny screws for the adapter is missing. Since I have no manual, and no battery was included, I dont know which one to get. Please contact me

The instructions do not show how to attach the scope to a DSLR camera, nor was it clear how to zero it out. The fitting is very loose in the hot shoe until you use the small allen wrench provided to tighten the very small hidden screws. Once that is done, the shoe fits.To zero the sight, you need to unscrew the caps on the horizntal and vertical adjustment screws. This reveals the slots that you can turn with a penny to align the scope with the camera axis.The scope works quite well for the price. It's a little annoying that you must take it apart to remove it each time, but that's not a serious problem. Also it needs a battery that was not included. I think the item description said the battery is not included because I remember looking at batteries online, but somehow forgot to buy one. So I had to run to the store to get one after I received the scope, before I could try it out.All things considered, I'm happy with it.

On the up side this viewfinder was very easy to setup AFTER I had to jerry rig an adapter to fit my scope. It has a nice field of view! The downsides outweigh the upsides. They DO NOT PROVIDE all the hardware needed to use the finder scope, therefore I had to destroy my old finder to be able to use the Astromania scope. Beware the red dot is entirely to bright and to viewing field is way to dark to find anything but the Moon! Trying to find any of the brightest celestial bodies was feudal! Returning!

As others wrote, the instructions are not written well, but if you follow the photos on the sellers page you will figure it out. But once mounted it is very stable and will not drift on you. It has nice bright lights to point out your target. I got this to use for astrophotography, really speeds up finding the Moon, stars, planets, etc... quickly. The only other complaint I have is that the knob on top to select, green/red/off is very stiff and takes a little effort to turn, maybe this will loosen up with use. But other than that I really like it, it has both the looks and feel of real quality. You can use a penny or a quarter to adjust the left/right, and up/down knobs, and to remove the battery cover on the center knob as well. Really quite impressive for such a reasonable price.

Mine did not come with a set screw. At least I could not find one. I just tapped it for one that I purchased, and that resolved that issue. After that, it really didn't take it long to mount to my camera. Trial and error, but maybe 2 tries. That cost it 1 star of rating. My biggest complaint is it did not come with a battery. I am trying to set up early for some astro pictures I want to take tonight and I was counting on this green dot spotter to help with targeting the correct area. Been raining for days, so my window for astro pictures closes really quick. This is the other rating star loss. When you mount it correctly, it is very stable and I am not worried about it falling off. Once it is calibrated, I believe this will make life a lot easier for me for astro pictures. I have no complaints with the build quality. I do recommend this with the 2 caveats I mentioned. Don't be surprised if you don't find the set screw, and make sure you pre purchase a battery to power it.

This scope is high quality and performs perfectly. I read many reviews where customers returned the scope or complained that it was loose or shimmied when placed on the camera's hot shoe. Unfortunately there are no instructions that specifically instruct the user to use the smaller of the two hex wrenches provided to tighten down the bracket to the hot shoe. This deficiency in instructions is the only negative of this product. I use it to align my 300mm telephoto lens onto astrophotography targets. This can be a rather frustrating experience when trying to locate faint objects at higher magnifications. A properly aligned scope makes the process simple. Also the process of aligning the scope to your lens view is accurately accomplished by removing the caps off of the horizontal and vertical adjustment dials. Adjustments are very precise and stay in position. Also, there is adequate length in the attachment bracket that placement of the scope can be moved forward or back to provide better balance depending on the weight of the attached lens. I have use this in conjunction with a Sky Watcher tracking mount and have been extremely pleased with the benefits that this scope provides. It weighs in at 8 ounces and provides a target dot in either red or green. Your choice. Also requires a coin size battery of 3 volts. The DSLR camera I am using is a Canon

This scope was designed for firearms not really for DSLR, not a good fit but works for me although I wish description was more specific indicating us for firearms not for DSLR. Difficult to zero the green dot, offset too high. I did not returned because helps me to find constellations in the dark sky.

Literalmente me cambió la vida. Ahora no pierdo tiempo buscando los objetos nocturnos al tanteo o por la mirilla.

Great aid for astrophotography when aiming a long lens.

Helps take pictures at. Distance