Fuji F31 and Swarovski zoom

[Sandpiper]

I have a Swarovski ATS 80 HD, 20-60x zoom and a DCA adaptor. Am considering buying a F30/F31/F50 having read good reports on these cameras for digiscoping. I realise that I will have to buy a suitable bracket/ threaded adaptor to connect the two.

My questions are:

How much camera zoom will I need to get rid of vignetting?
Will it work on full camera zoom?
Are high scope magnifications possible?
What results am I likely to get?

Any feedback would be appreciated.

Many thanks,

Sandpiper.

[Neil]

I have a Swarovski ATS 80 HD, 20-60x zoom and a DCA adaptor. Am considering buying a F30/F31/F50 having read good reports on these cameras for digiscoping. I realise that I will have to buy a suitable bracket/ threaded adaptor to connect the two.

My questions are:

How much camera zoom will I need to get rid of vignetting?
Will it work on full camera zoom?
Are high scope magnifications possible?
What results am I likely to get?

Sandpiper,
There is some good discussion in this thread
http://www.birdforum.net/showthread.php?t=91060&highlight=F31fd
but in summary -
Very little zooming to eliminate vignetting at 20x (at about 8mm)
At 60x it's around 16mm . In between it will vary a bit but you can use 30x/40x/50x/ without going to full zoom. I have got the results somewhere but can't find them at the moment.
Using Macro Mode you can rely on the little Green AF spot up to about half zoom , then you should switch Macro off as it slows down AF and makes it unreliable.
Attached is a comparison of the 4500 and the F31fd at 60x zoom.
Neil.

[Birdingben]

I realise that I will have to buy a suitable bracket/ threaded adaptor to connect the two.



Sorry to backtrack a little but can't you use the Fuji F31 with the DCA 'straight out of the box'? If not,what about the DCB?

I've been using my F31 for several months now & am generally happy with the results but as I am hand holding the camera there is some serious room for improvement!

What do other people use with the same scope/eyepiece/camera combination that Sandpiper
is considering?

Many thanks for any advice.

[NoSpringChicken]

I realise that I will have to buy a suitable bracket/ threaded adaptor to connect the two.



Sorry to backtrack a little but can't you use the Fuji F31 with the DCA 'straight out of the box'? If not,what about the DCB?

I don't think you can use the DCA adapter 'straight out of the box' as the Fuji F31 doesn't have a lens thread. You could use the DCB as that incorporates a tripod mount but it is a lot more expensive. I think you could use the DCA with the FoxFoto universal camera adapter to provide a lens thread on the F31.

Ron

[Birdingben]

Thanks very much for your quick reply,Ron.
I have also emailed Swarovski to see what they have to say.

[Neil]

Have a look at the solutions from SRB-Griturn
http://www.srb-griturn.com/digiscoping-swing-out-brackets-8-c.asp

Neil.

[Birdingben]

Thanks for the suggestion,Neil.

I did look at the SRB Griturn option a few months ago(Jan/Feb time) but didn't go ahead then as there seemed to be a few issues highlighted on BF.

As I remember, they included:


the camera becoming misaligned fairly easily,even when you took the device off the scope when walking about;
it's general stability with regards to the 'stop' when you swing the camera away from the scope;
an issue with regard to light getting in,effecting picture quality ('flashes') when the sun was at a certain height


Obviously,these were issues only affecting some users & DIY remedies were found.
Also,many months have now passed & maybe the design of the adapter has been 'tweaked' to render the above 'issues' as no longer applicable.

I should say that when I revisited their site after your suggestion,I was very impressed with what I saw & will very likely go ahead with an order - I'm just wondering whether anyone who has bought the swing-out adapter recently (last couple of months,say)has still noticed the same issues?

[Neil]

Thanks for the suggestion,Neil.

I did look at the SRB Griturn option a few months ago(Jan/Feb time) but didn't go ahead then as there seemed to be a few issues highlighted on BF.

As I remember, they included:


the camera becoming misaligned fairly easily,even when you took the device off the scope when walking about;
it's general stability with regards to the 'stop' when you swing the camera away from the scope;
an issue with regard to light getting in,effecting picture quality ('flashes') when the sun was at a certain height


Obviously,these were issues only affecting some users & DIY remedies were found.
Also,many months have now passed & maybe the design of the adapter has been 'tweaked' to render the above 'issues' as no longer applicable.

I should say that when I revisited their site after your suggestion,I was very impressed with what I saw & will very likely go ahead with an order - I'm just wondering whether anyone who has bought the swing-out adapter recently (last couple of months,say)has still noticed the same issues?

They have re-designed the adapter after discussions with Paul Hackett and others. I'm picking one up at the Post Office today and will give it a run through tomorrow (thanks to Paul)
Neil.

[NoSpringChicken]

They have re-designed the adapter after discussions with Paul Hackett and others. I'm picking one up at the Post Office today and will give it a run through tomorrow (thanks to Paul)
Neil.
Have you got the adapter yet, Neil, and if so is there any chance of posting some photos of it in action? I would be interested in seeing the saddle onto which the camera now mounts.

Ron

[Neil]

Have you got the adapter yet, Neil, and if so is there any chance of posting some photos of it in action? I would be interested in seeing the saddle onto which the camera now mounts.

Ron

Ron,
I've been playing around with it but the light has been bad the last couple of days so no decent photos yet. Here is the revised version on my scope.
Neil.

[NoSpringChicken]

Ron,
I've been playing around with it but the light has been bad the last couple of days so no decent photos yet. Here is the revised version on my scope.
Neil.
Neil
Thanks for the pic. It certainly looks a quality product. I take it the saddle moves on the slotted bottom bar until the correct position is found and the camera then attaches to the saddle? Does it look as if everything will stay correctly positioned when it is removed from the scope?

Ron

[Neil]

Neil
Thanks for the pic. It certainly looks a quality product. I take it the saddle moves on the slotted bottom bar until the correct position is found and the camera then attaches to the saddle? Does it look as if everything will stay correctly positioned when it is removed from the scope?

Ron

Ron,
It won't take much knocking around so I pack it away when moving . It would be best if it had it's own box.
Neil.