Nikon CP 5700 - help

[DOC]

I have been playing around with my cp5700 for quite a while now but it seems i cannot get those extremely sharp photos. I've been looking around the different forums and galleries and some pics here are just amazingly sharp.
I would like to know : do you shoot in "High" resolution or is "Fine" enough? How many pixels in each shot ?
Are all the close up pics coming through digiscopes or can u get a sharp image from zoom only? ( optical not digital ).
What setup is recommended for shooting flying birds ( in flight ) so as to get them in "freeze" focus ? Do you use high shutter speed and \ or multiple shots ( continous high? )
When i do get a sharp enough photo and try to upload it to the gallery it loses sharpness when resizing it, why?
I would greatly appreciate some help, tnx

Doc

[scampo]

I'm only just starting with digiscoping but I think that many shots taken through a scope are less than sharp, but those that are make their way to this forum and others like this.


If none of your shots are sharp do what I did: set the scope up in the garden aimed at a metre ruler. Playing around with this set up is revealing.

Try setting your camera on infinity focus, on macro focus and so on but always focus finally with the scope. trained on a ruler in thsi way, it is easy to see even the millimetre gradations.

Also - many people do carry out "post-processing" sharpening using software such as Photoshop's own "unsharp mask", NeatImage, AutoEye, Focus Fixer, Focus Magic, etc. I am putting together a test of some of these and will be writing about it later. Many have free trial downloads if you want to give them a try - the easiest to use is Focus Magic.

[DOC]

Thanks Scampo, i have photoshop but i still prefer my pics sharp from the start.
I was more concerned at having a sharp pic without the scope.....
I'm still trying ,
Doc

[scampo]

I agree with you - then I guess either your focusing is to blame or your tripod is somewhat lacking?

By the way - your posting has brought back happy memories of birding whilst on a business trip in Ma'gaan Michael and the Golan Heights. What wonderful birds I saw and people I met.

[IanF]

Hi Doc,

Even with the CP4500 I seldom get sharp photos straight out of the camera. I always have the camera set on fine, normal sharpening and always try for the highest shutter speed possible. Depth of field is a lower priority for me as it's pretty tight even at high f-stops.

I rely on any of the photo processing programs for sharpening, but more often than not it's Thumbsplus with PSP and NeatImage as alternatives.

Flying birds I would say will always be easier to shoot with a hand held camera, but then it's a question of reach. A guy I know has been using the Canon 10D+ 100-400 IS lens to produce some amazing results of both flying and static birds. The combo seems to have the advantage of portability over some of the longer fixed lenses.

Digiscoping wise flight shots are difficult to say the least. In my limited experience I have found that pre-focus on a spot and waiting for the bird to pass whilst requiring patience, gives better results. The other method that worked for me with Marsh Harrier was to pan along the feeding route from half mile away and snap away in continuous mode.

As regards the Gallery problem, it may possibly be the order of your processing that is causing the problem. I always crop my shots, usually to 1600x1200, re-size to 800x600 or 640x480 do whatever processing is neccessary such as contrast / colours though seldom do I need to do this. Last of all is the sharpening. I believe it should always be the very last process applied - apart from maybe the 'save for web' optimisation to reduce the file sizes.

I'm no expert with these techniques but they seem to work for me.

[DOC]

Thank a lot Ianf, i'll try out some more pics and maybe put them up for criticism.
Doc

[J_K]

Hi Doc
I used the cp5700 with converters, but never with a scope, robin starling and mute swan I up loaded were all cropped.Camera was set on jpeg fine and electronic shutter release used. Did have problems with the auto focus not locking where I wanted it, and with the electronic view finder and me wearing glasses, alot of pics that I thought were in the bag ended up out of focus. I also sharpened them in photoshop. Never had any success with flight shots,coolpix was just too slow focusing. Now use a D100 and it's GREAT B (:

[DOC]

Thanks J_K- i myself am thinking of upgrading to D100 or maybe the new D-70 which is due soon .
Personaly - i still get my best shots from my old Nikon 8008 - it has the same shutter speed as the cp5700:
1\4000 sec, it is faster in focusing and of course ; lenses.
I believe it's all a matter of practice and knowing by heart all the camera's manual.
One can find the power of digital photography in :
digitalphotocontest.com where excellent digital shots are presented daily by realy realy good photographers ( refining the photo with PS or other software is almost prohibited ) , so it is possible to reach
excellent results with digital cameras.
Doc