a review by Tom Piper
There were many fascinating and innovative devices shown at the 2017 Consumer Electronic Show (CES). Here is another which really grabbed my attention. I’ve had a number of devices that would hold my phone close to an eyepiece, but this one really does the job well.
The HookUPz 2.0 Smartphone Optic Adapter from Carson Optical, Inc. may be the best lightweight device that I have ever used. i can connect my iPhone 7 plus to any of optical tools, including binoculars, monoculars, spotting scopes, telescopes, microscopes, borescopes, slit lamps, night vision and more that have a similar eyepiece (not for rifle scopes, though). This allows me to digitally record and capture everything I see through my optical device, then immediately share it by text, email or even social media.
According to Carson’s website, this patented HookUpz 2.0 has been designed to accommodate all the popular smartphones on the market, including the larger-sized phones and phablets — even with their cases on, like mine. It is super-compact, lightweight and offers a user-friendly design. It fits a wide range of optics with an outer eyepiece diameter of 25-58mm. It weighs about half a pound, and measures about 5.8” x 2.5” x5 .8” in size. It even comes with a special “lens spacer” especially for optics with small eyepieces (microscope, telescopes, others) or eyepieces with long eye relief, which is a way for the image to fill the screen of the smartphone, rather than viewing it within a smaller circle on the screen. As an added bonus, when not in use, the adapter stores nicely in the included hard-foam carrying case.
When I first connected my iPhone to my 10x25 monocular, it was quick and easy. The exclusive, adjustable clamp and optic cam lock ensured a snug grip to both my phone and optic. I’ve not been able to achieve a “full frame” telephoto shot, rather an “image circle”, which is predictable, but crystal clear and most impressive. When mounted to my telescope, the lens spacer was needed, which then delivered a startlingly crisp image. Using it on a spotting scope provided a similar experience. My only suggestions are that the green “grippers” be longer when used with the spacer, and that an optional tripod mount be made available, particularly for monoculars.
I was very impressed by the demonstration video (showing many of the exciting ways to use this adapter with various optical devices), as well as the videos and pictures for proper mounting and adjustment, use with different types of phones, sizing guides, and online instruction manual. Their Q&A section covers virtually every topic I could think of, and many that hadn’t occurrd to me.
The HookUpz 2.0 is available at http://www.carson.com for a very reasonable $89.00. Carson Optic, Inc. also has a wide variety of other high-quality products like binoculars, magnifiers, spotting and rifle scopes, and much, much more.
