Canon A-95 Swivel Monitor (Vari Angle)

[Craig Thayer]

I am seriously considering getting involved in digiscoping. Based on this forum as well as good reviews in camera magazines the Canon A-95 is very appealing as it can also serve as a general purpose camera. I have never purchased a digital camera before so I am a complete newbie. Can experienced users comment on the utility of this camera's swivel LCD mount (vari-angle). Is it really that helpful(for diigscoping or general photography)? It seem as though it might be a gimmick of not much usefulness . Also is it susceptible to breakage??


Thanks Craig Thayer Chicago IL (USA)

[Keith Reeder]

The swivel LCD is a real advantage for digiscoping, Craig - not a gimmick at all.

In fact, if you're using an angled scope I'd say it's practically essential to have an adjustable LCD - just imagine the problems you'd otherwise have getting a shot of a bird in a tree or in flight...

I'm not quite so persuaded about the value for normal shooting, but that might be just because I prefer to use the viewfinder for that anyway.

It's no coincidence that the Nikon 4500, the Contax/Kyocera swivel compacts and the A95 are all popular for digiscoping: one thing they have in common is a swivel LCD of some sort.

I suppose there's a theoretical increased likelihood of breakage - more moving parts = more things to break - but I've heard nothing myself.

[Craig Thayer]

Keith:

Thanks much for the quick reply. After I purchase the A95 I'll post my review for Bird Forum members!!!

Craig

[Erwin Driessens]

I recently bought a A95 mainly for the purpose of digiscoping. A few days
ago I bought a scope and I'm now busy making an adapter to couple the
A95 to my scope. The A95 has a bajonet mount, I prefer this over a thread
I have taken a few handheld shots through the scope eyepiece, and the results are encouraging.
I've been using the camera as a 'normal camera' too, and find the swivel
monitor very handy, especially in sunlight. You can usually position it so
that the view on the screen is ok.
What I like most is the manual focus with an enlargement on screen. I don't
use the camera focus in manual mode (too slow), but instead I just focus the scope itself. This turns out to be reliable.
I don't worry much about the robustness of the monitor. A good thing is
that you can actually protect the LCD surface by folding it onto the camera.

I have yet to figure out the details of getting optimal optical quality. Things
like eyepiece lens - camera lens distance, camera zoom - scope zoom setting, focus distance of the camera (is it better that the camera is focussed at infinity, or at macro, or somewhere inbetween?).