Digiscoping advise please!

[PBH]

Hello there!

I am thinking of having a go at digiscoping and plan to use a DSLR body on my Nikon ED82A.

Questions:-

1 - Can I only use a Nikon DSLR (D40, D60, D200) connected by the FSA-L1 D-SLR Nikon fieldscope adapter?

2 - Can other manufacturers DSLRs be attached to the ED82 in the same way but using a sutiable adapter?

3 - Is the ED50 suitable for digiscoping using a DSLR?


Many thanks,
Phil H.

[RJM]

Hi Phil,

1. Yes Nikon dslr + FSA-L1 is the way to go.
2. No you can't and you really don't want to either. The FSA-L1 adapter is unique among dslr adapters because it let your Nikon dslr shoot in Aperture Priority mode instead of full Manual. You also will have Exposure Compensation control and full Matrix metering.
3. No, Nikon does not support it with the FSA-L1 adapter settings.

cheers,
Rick

[PBH]

Rick,

Thanks very much for the advice!

The question now is which Nikon DSLR - D60, D80 or a used D200......

Cheers,
Phil H.

[RJM]

The D90 is the best of the current DX sensor dslrs. If you can't afford it then the D60 but it and the D300 may updated by Summer so it could be prudent to wait. I would not be interested in a D80 or D200 at any price over $300 now.

good luck,
Rick

[vkalia]

Rick, how would aperture priority mode work with a scope? Unless the adapter has aperture blades of sorts in it, you are pretty much stuck to shooting at one aperture (scope's default) anyway. About the only benefit I can see from having electronics in the adapter body is AF-confirm. Even metering should work properly via TTL (atleast, it does with my Canon-TV85 setup).

To the OP - it should be possible to attach a Canon camera to the scope by using an EOS-to-F adapter (Ebay has these for $8 or so). Whether or not you want to do so will depend on the issues raised by Rick - I am not familiar enough with Nikon to comment.

Vandit

[RJM]

Without a modern camera lens, unless your camera lets you manually enter the aperture (Nikon D300 allows this) you will have to manually juggle/adjust the correct ISO/shutter speed combos for proper exposure for every shot with no possibility to make Exposure Compensation adjustments in camera. Also, metering is by the inferior Spot only instead the more accurate Matrix.

In short, Manual mode without a modern camera lens really means old-school manual operation for most cameras. I prefer to put off as much work onto the camera as I possibly can so I can concentrate on the shot composition and catching the action. It is smarter/faster at making these decsions than me!

In Nikon Aperture Priority and FSA-L1, you only choose the desired shutter speed and the camera takes care of ISO for proper exposure. You also can control of Exposure Compensation up to the limits of your camera.

Of course, many of the newest dslr's have some kind of Auto ISO setting now but the in-camera Exposure Compensation control is usually deactivated. You can adjust exposure in software later, but usually only 1-2 stops instead of the 3-5 stops of most cameras. Always best to get exposure right when making the shot, instead relying on fixing it in software.

cheers,
Rick

[Paul Corfield]

I can see where Vandit is coming from. I shoot in full manual mode but the only setting I ever have to adjust is the shutter speed and using the scale on viewfinder light meter it's easy to make the necessary compensation as it's always the same. For some reason when I'm in Live View the light reading is always spot on and I don't need to make any compensation. ISO usually comes down to the conditions on the day and rarely needs to be altered but on a decent camera it usually has it's own quick select button.

According to the Nikon website matrix metering is only available with the D2 series cameras when using the FSA-11. On other models it allows the use of centre weighted and spot metering.

Either way I can see the benefits of having the FSA-11 relaying accurate information, especially for beginners or someone with their first dslr it should be quite handy.

Paul.

[RJM]

According to the Nikon website matrix metering is only available with the D2 series cameras when using the FSA-11. On other models it allows the use of centre weighted and spot metering.

No idea what's up with that. I can only confirm that all metering modes including Matrix Metering is enabled with the D40/90.

Rick

[Jaff]

No idea what's up with that. I can only confirm that all metering modes including Matrix Metering is enabled with the D40/90.

Rick

Sounds to me to be a simple case of the website is in need of updating. Unless there's something really special about the D2 series. ;)