What is this thing?

bob cole

bob cole

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I picked up this gadget along with a Minox Binocular Attachment but I don't believe it's for Minox...Anybody know what it might be? I mounted it on a Leica ball head so I could take a JPEG... It has a European thread...
 

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Years ago I bought a box of stuff that had mainly minox accessories, and it included one of these things, so I think it is some kind of minox accessory. Otherwise it would be a big coincidence.
 
It could be a tripod adaptor. The Minox camera gets clamped by this thing which then attaches to a tripod head as in your picture.
 
It holds an umbrella and a shoe-mount flash onto a tripod or a lightstand equipped with a tripod thread.

The flash unit attaches to the horseshoe-shaped clip on the top (the center cutout keeps it from shorting out the center terminal of the hot shoe.)

The shaft of the umbrella goes through the diamond-shaped space between the two metal pieces. Tightening the screw squeezes the metal pieces together to clamp it firmly.

It seems a bit more crude than the usual type of umbrella adapter (for example, there's no way to vary its angle unless you mount it on a ball head) but it's more compact than most accessories of this type, and it looks sturdy.
 
I think you should put it on eBay and rate it as "super rare" and "gorgeous" and then add that you don't know anything about cameras, but it's mint and works perfectly.

(I'm being sarcastic here.)

I thought it looked like some kind of accessory shoe. I'm stumped as well.
 
The screw of the clamping pieces is much too long to clamp a thin umbrella shaft. Additionally, they are cork cushioned, (to protect the camera from scratches.)

The strange piece at the top (in the original picture) may hold a cable release in position above the camera's shutter release button.
 
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What is this thing?

FrankS said:
Years ago I bought a box of stuff that had mainly minox accessories, and it included one of these things, so I think it is some kind of minox accessory. Otherwise it would be a big coincidence.
Click to expand...
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Many thanks, FrankS and all the other wise guys...regards, bob
 
It is part of the binocular attachment. It's called "holding device for cable release", and does just that. It is supposed to clamp around the... hmmm... don't know the name of that part... it is a rod that the focus wheel attaches to. Keep in mind that it is designed for older binoculars.
 
micromontenegro said:
A picture is worth a thousand words:http://www.cosmonet.org/camera/min_ac_e.htm
Click to expand...

The picture on this link doesn't look anything like the picture of the device shown in the first post.

Maybe it's an older version, or a homemade substitute...?

I'm willing to believe it's a binocular attachment rather than my original theory of a flash umbrella clamp, but it doesn't look at all similar.

Maybe the original poster could supply some measurements, or photograph it again with some known-size object to provide a scale reference...?
 
jlw said:
The picture on this link doesn't look anything like the picture of the device shown in the first post.

Maybe it's an older version, or a homemade substitute...?

I'm willing to believe it's a binocular attachment rather than my original theory of a flash umbrella clamp, but it doesn't look at all similar.

Maybe the original poster could supply some measurements, or photograph it again with some known-size object to provide a scale reference...?
Click to expand...

I think the device in question is largely hidden in the linked pic. If you look close, mostly obscured by the monocular attachment is a clamp around the center "hinge" of the binoculars, and the remote cable release is held in the so-called "cold shoe." It appears the device is basically a tripod attachment for binoculars, with a clip for a cable release.
 
40oz said:
... It appears the device is basically a tripod attachment for binoculars, with a clip for a cable release.
Click to expand...

You've got it! Look at the cable release and you'll see the top of the mystery object- one wouldn't handhold binoculars with a camera clamped on, this is the tripod mount. Appears the cork padded bit holds the binoculars center 'post' or 'rail'. Well done 40oz. and micromontenegro!

I love these kind of threads!
 
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