Upgrade to A590IS or P5100?

[dtpavlik]

Hey All,

I have talked with Neil, but would like a few other opinions. Within the next few days I plan to upgrade my digiscoping camera. I want something that will make a difference that I will be able to see. Right now I have a Canon A95. Will I see a difference with a A590IS or P5100? What is the best in your opinion?

I have a Zeiss Diascope 65 T*FL straight eyepiece.

Thanks,
David

[RJM]

As much as I prefer Nikon's dSLRs over Canon's, I think Nikon makes some of the worst digicams. You would think they are made by two very different companies. Nikon's flagiship P5100 is slow and has a terrible user interface and menu system.

On the other hand Canon's digicams are excellent and the A590IS is the best of the entry level digicameras with great performance with an intuative interface and menu system. In many ways, it gives nothing up to Canon's new flagship G10.

All that said, if I had a Zeiss scope I would hold off for reviews of the new Panasonic micro 4/3 G1. It may become the digiscopers hot new camera.

cheers,
Rick

[Robert L Jarvis]

I replaced my A95 with a P5100 and have not regretted it one bit. For me the overriding factor is the LCD screen. On the Canon A95 series it is nigh on useless and I suspect on the later "a" series it is little better. The LCD screen on the Nikon is excellent, do not be put off by people who say it is slow that IMO is rubbish. You will find with the Nikon there will many more keepers. As for menus etc you will soon get used to what ever system a camera has so for me this is a negligible point.

Having said that you may wish to look at the Panasonic as well but I have no expereince of this.

[Sleeper]

Hi
I have the P5100 and have owned the 4500 and Samsung NV3.

Owning the P5100 has plenty of plus points the main one for me being good IQ. It's got plenty of digiscoping extras available for it and it seems durable.

The downside is slow focus lock, hit and miss with regards to the focus being accurate (read other section on defoccusing).

I would love to have the IQ of the P5100 coupled with the speed an accuracy of the focus on the NV3.

Of course this is only my opinion having only used three cameras so I am only going off my experience of using those said three and the comparison of these cameras with said issues I mention. People with other cameras will have different experiences depending on so many variable variables!

In short buy em' both! I am going to try out the canon in the not so distant future if one comes along cheap enough.

[dafi]

I down graded to the cannon after my nikon packed up. The cannon was a pretty good wee camera for the money(£99)No question the nikon had the edge though. I realy liked it out in the field. I didnt think it slow to use digiscoping. I didnt miss the huge files on my slow old computer though.

[Derry]

gave the grandaughter the A95 when I bought a P5000,, could it be better in many ways, yes as any camera I have ever owned,, I like the features the Nikon offers as well as what if offers when not mounted on the scope,,\

I still have the Nikon fisheye and wide angle from my 990 days that work great on the P5000,,

Canon also makes some great cameras,, any chance you can try them out at a local store,, I'm finding the camera stores are better at working with you these days as the economy is drying up,, they want some sales,,

Derry

[wings]

I have the A590IS and while it has many nice features, my opinion is that the 115,000 pixel LCD does not satisfy accuracy of focusing and viewing. The A590IS does have a magnification feature in the LCD but I find it pretty useless.

Some digiscopers may have a swing away universal bracket which allows them to focus their scope first using the scope eyepiece instead of viewing the focused scope through the camera's LCD (my complaint). Doing it the second method has compromises that I'm not happy about. Anyone agree with this?

Oh for a 920,000 pixel LCD: but then I'd have to get the Canon 50D. Later, maybe.

[RJM]

I use this gadget from Velbon that makes the LCD easier to see in sunshine. Also has a built-in 2x magnifying loupe.

cheers,
Rick

[wings]

I use this gadget from Velbon that makes the LCD easier to see in sunshine. Also has a built-in 2x magnifying loupe.

cheers,
Rick
____________
Hoodman also makes one. While it shades out glare, and in spite of its 2x magnification, I still don't think it'll solve my problem. But then I haven't tried one either.

[Paul Hackett]

____________
Hoodman also makes one. While it shades out glare, and in spite of its 2x magnification, I still don't think it'll solve my problem. But then I haven't tried one either.

Wings

I see that you are discouraged to use a swing out adapter?

If so, then for me, using this type of accessory is a must with my eyesight for close focussing, i have used one for my Nikon Coolpix 990, 995 and 4500, also Contax U4R, SL300 T* Kyocera 300 & 400, Samsung NV3, Sony N1 and W200 and W300, and Fuji F30, it helps me to accurately focus the screen always!

The age old tip is to enable the Digital Zoom on the camera to enlarge the image right into the digital zoom, a bigger image is easier to focus, hold the focus lock on the shutter with one finger/cable release, then focus the scope quickly back and forth with the other hand until features on the bird i.e wing, beak eye, etc are pin sharp or brittle looking (due to the 2X glass in the sunshade it magnifies the pixels) then take the digital zoom back down to the optical zoom you require/size of image.

Then snap the picture, review the pic by enlarging on the screen to see if its sharp, then either repeat or, keep on snapping, if its a moving bird you have, then constantly refocus if need be, as it moves and keep snapping and take loads of pics, at first, this method seems laboured, but practice, and it will come together, its a cheaper option to a new camera;)

N.B. dont leave the setup with your back to the sun, it tends to burn little white dots on your LCD!

Good Luck

Paul

[Feathered one]

I have a homemade 5x magnifier for all my digiscoping, using P5000, p5100 and A590is
Yes it is a bit more difficult to see focus on the A590, but have had some good photos with it, see here.............

http://www.digiscoping.lynandmalc.co.uk/a590page1.htm

Malc

[kshea]

I know I'm late jumping on this thread but this guy on Flickr uses the Nikon P5100 and he produces some really nice images.

http://flickr.com/photos/mcbrian/

~K

[Gordon Hodgson]

Just discovered this thread. In the 2 years that I've been digiscoping, I have used only the Fujifilm FinePix A350 (a very limited camera) and the Nikon Coolpix P5100, both on my Nikon 82mm Fieldscope. I am very happy with the P5100, and Nikon's FSB-6 bracket mates the camera to the scope's eyepiece perfectly. However, after finding the bird in the scope, trying to fit the camera and FSB-6 bracket onto the scope quickly (before the bird moves) is another story! The bracket doesn't always slip onto the eyepiece as easily as you might expect, and adding the camera weight to the scope invariably redirects the aim of the scope slightly upwards, so that trying to find the bird again using only the camera's LCD can be quite frustrating, especially in bright light (and even with my eFilm fold-out shade over the LCD). To solve these problems I am hoping to get an SRB-Griturn swing-out bracket soon. See http://www.srb-griturn.com/digiscoping-swing-out-brackets-8-c.asp

See my BirdForum Gallery for pictures digiscoped with the P5100: http://www.birdforum.net/gallery/showgallery.php/cat/500/ppuser/59631.

Gord

[Eugene Archer]

Hi David,

I recently bought the Canon A590is having used a Nikon CoolPix 990 for years with only moderate success. After a few weeks of trying it in various situations I have to say that I'm very impressed and very pleased with it. It's light, fast, easy to use, great in burst mode for moving birds and the results are better than I expected given that I'm more of a birder than a photographer and I wanted something that I could put up to the scope quickly and easily to take shots (I also use a Zeiss 65mm plus zoom lens). I have a home-made adapter using a piece of PVC tubing and a replica Canon LA-DC52G lens adapter which I bough on eBay for £6.99 including the postage (see http://www.birdforum.net/showthread.php?t=124088 for more details).
I was out this morning to try out the set up with the new adapter in a local park in windy conditions but with good light. You can judge for yourself below how the camera performs in the hands of an amateur! Chaffinch taken at about 10m in shady situation, Meadow Pipit moving around a bit in the open feeding, 20-25m away, BH Gull just sitting on the lake with lots of sunshine, at 50-70m distance.

Eugene

[ghostrider]

Great shots Eugene. I've just bought a 590is and made my own adapter. Looking forward to trying it out.
Your pics are very sharp, what settings did you use? Particularly focus settings.

[Eugene Archer]

Hi Ghostrider,

Generally, the camera is set on ;
Aperture priority,
ISO 80 or 100,
spot metering,
continuous shooting,
"my colours" set to off
superfine picture quality / largest file size.

If the light is not great I change the ISO and if the bird is close I sometimes change the F stop to get a bigger depth of field. I haven't really played around with the exposure compensation settings yet. Most shots were taken on the Macro setting but it seems to work ok on Normal also. Needless to say taking lots of pictures with the continuous mode is essential to get a few worth keeping ! Good luck with your camera.

Eugene

[Dermot Breen]

Hi all

I'm thinking of purchasing a Canon A590is myself but have a Swarovski 65 telescope with the 20 - 60 zoom eyepiece. I know only the Zeiss scope has been mentioned here but has anyone tried Eugenes set-up with a Swarovski scope? Is it too big/small for the euepiece? Ace Cameras selling Swarovski DCA Zoom Adapter for £129 a pop which seems a little much considering you can buy the camera for less!

Dermot

[dafi]

Hi there David.

I was curious seeing its a while since you started this thread and you have been quite quiet. What did you choose and how are you getting on with it?

regards

daf.