Help Nikon cp4500 vs Contax U4R

[Suki]

OK I am new here (joined today) but have read a lot of the reviews and am still wondering which way to go.... to do digiscoping with my Swar 65 HD ATS

I am now way too interested in adding a digital camera not to make the investment and am leaning toward the Coopix 4500 but have seen reports on the Contax U4R that interest me.

Any recent info as to which may be better??? I am a birder not a photograher so simple is better. I read that the 4500 is out of manufacture and I understand that Kyocera is going out of the camera business.

:h?:

[tornsvala]

Hello forum and Suki!

I have used the Contax U4R for digiscoping with Zeiss 85 for about a month. Some of my pictures gets rather OK I think. I have not tried the Coolpix but have friends with this camera. I think the Contax is very easy to handle and a great advantage vs coolpix is the large LCD monitor. There are more possibilities to control shutter and time on coolpix.
But as said, the contax is very easy and gives good pictures, so I am very satisfied with this camera.

[Doug Greenberg]

I actually own both these cameras and have used them both for digiscoping. The one big advantage of the U4R is that it has very little lag time before/between exposures. Another advantage, though less significant in my view, is its larger LCD screen. Not long ago I would have added that it's an advantage that it's a new model camera, but now that Kyocera/Contax is closing shop, this really is no advantage at all.

The Coolpix 4500 is, in and of itself, a better camera. The pictures it produces are slightly better than the U4R's, particularly at longer focal lengths. It has an optical viewfinder, has MANY more manual and creative options, and it's far better for closeup photography. Another advantage of the CP is that there are many more add-ons and accessories, and it features a direct-mount 28mm. filter thread. The U4R uses a flimsy filter adapter that even Kyocera says is not great for securing "supplementary lenses." If you choose to buy the U4R, I'd go to the Eagle Eye UK web site to check out whether and when their digiscoping adapter for this camera is available.

Images taken while digiscoping with the two cameras are pretty similar, in my experience, though I think that the CP ultimately is capable of slightly better sharpness and slightly better color rendition. The differences are so slight, however, that this actually is not likely to be useful as a deciding factor.

Overall, if the shutter-release lag is not a decisive issue for you, the CP 4500 is the better camera. But the quickness of the U4R shutter release is VERY helpful in the field.

[IanF]

Certainly the Contax/Kyocera models are simpler to use and are faster and a lot smaler to carry about. I have the Contax SL300RT as well as the Nikon CP4500 and rate them about the same. There are more keepers with the Contax as it's so fast though it's one MP less. I had expected the Kyocera SL400 to become the replacement for my cameras at some point but that now looks doubtful. The CP4500 certianly gives more overall control with very good results, but it is dated now for slow speed of operation.

The Canon A95 seems to be producing very good results and is at least still being manufactured which is the worry about the other models. A few members have them, but I haven't tried one myself. Check out the Gallery to see some results - thoguh you can search the Forums and the Gallery to see what people have said about it.