name	cropped (pixels)	JPG Compressed (~150k)	original (pixels) (~750k)	Taken with the MX-700 and monocular, near dusk. Autoflash was on, which made for the dark image and outstanding moon.
Birds	467x345	n/a	(1280x1024)
BackYard	n/a	1280x1024	1280x1024
Street	n/a	1280x1024	1280x1024
Landmark Center, St. Paul	1280x524	n/a	n/a
St. Paul Skyline	1564x444	n/a	n/a
St. Paul Skyline (II)	n/a	1280x1024	n/a
Minneapolis Skyline	3498x979	n/a	n/a
Self Portrait of the author	640x512	n/a	n/a

After reading the TawbaWare pages about "The Poor Man's Digital Camera Zoom Lens" I decided I needed another excuse to take more digital pictures. (I've already got too many online)

The concept is so simple it's embarrasing. Hold a monocular (Like a set of binoculars cut in half) in front of your digital camera as a high power zoom lens. One of the recommended monoculars was a Tasco 8x21, and I thought I'd read that it was available at most Walmarts. Turns out the Simmons was from Walmart, and wouldn't you know it, I live in the city. The hunting collection at the closest Walmart was a bit sparse, so I moved on to Target. And then REI. On my way to Best Buy and Gander Mountain (I was on a quest at this point) I stopped at SportMart on a whim. Got their last Tasco 8x21 (Model Number 565RB) for $19. (10% off since it was a display, so it was less than $19 after tax, even!)

Took it home, but it was getting dark, light was fading, didn't get many good shots, etc. Not a great first try. Came home from work the next day and figured I'd give it a second chance. Got some really amazing results, thus justifying the expenditure. (Like it was going to take much!)

After an email note from Max Lyons, author of the Tawbaware pages, I quickly learned the easiest way to hold both camera and lens. Not only can I comfortably shoot a bunch of pictures, but I've improved my ability to adjust the focus of the monocular on the fly, as well.

Also, the digital zoom feature of my Fuji MX-700 helps reduce the shadow around the image, but it's evident in a few of the zooms on the following pages. Max's page talks about corrections, etc. I'm not going to go into all that here, as this is more of a collection of examples.

Questions, comments, or more information can go to Robert Craig.

Warning: The original images loading can be HUGE, some up to almost a Megabyte. The compressed JPG versions are MUCH smaller, but don't do the high resolution of the images justice. (They do make the zoom more dramatic..) I intend to provide a 'cropped' version for each as well as the original, just as soon as I find the time.. :)