Canon Powershot A95

[buzzard12]

Having spent a lot of time online have decided the the Canon A95 seems a superb camera for digiscoping, having seen some really beautiful shots taken with it. Is it still widely available? I have a Leica Televid 77 scope and assume it will be compatable with the right adapter.
Any more info on this model would be gratefully received.

[John M]

I think they have been discontinued, but I am sure there will be someone who can confirm if this is the case.
Cant see any on ebay either. None in warehouse express

[iporali]

Having spent a lot of time online have decided the the Canon A95 seems a superb camera for digiscoping, having seen some really beautiful shots taken with it. Is it still widely available? I have a Leica Televid 77 scope and assume it will be compatable with the right adapter.
Any more info on this model would be gratefully received.

Yes, unfortunately the A95 is discontinued and its successors A610/620 produce more vignetting. A very good, currently available camera is eg. the Sony Cybershot W7. You can connect it with your scope by a handy Swedish adapter: Focus DA1 (or DA universal) http://www.cyberphoto.se/?http://www.cyberphoto.se/kikare/focus/adapt.php

Best of luck,

Ilkka

[buzzard12]

Yes, unfortunately the A95 is discontinued and its successors A610/620 produce more vignetting. A very good, currently available camera is eg. the Sony Cybershot W7. You can connect it with your scope by a handy Swedish adapter: Focus DA1 (or DA universal) http://www.cyberphoto.se/?http://www.cyberphoto.se/kikare/focus/adapt.php

Best of luck,

Ilkka

Thanks Ilkka, have looked at the few W7 images in the gallery, seem nice and sharp, though depth of field seems fairly shallow? Will definitly check out the W7 here in Stockholm though, seems like a serious option at this stage. The adapter is great news, thanx for your help...
Maybe someone out there can give me some feedback on the Sony W7....

[buzzard12]

I think they have been discontinued, but I am sure there will be someone who can confirm if this is the case.
Cant see any on ebay either. None in warehouse express

Cheers, thank you for the effort John. I live in Stockholm, getting my hands on a proven model for digiscoping is proving quite difficult! Will keep plugging away! Thank you again!

[Robert L Jarvis]

If you have a Leica scope suggest your look at the Leica digital and their own adapter before going after other cameras, it might just save you some heartache.

[rogerscoth]

I have just had a look at Pricerunner :-
http://www.pricerunner.co.uk/photography/digital-cameras/223289/prices
and although there are 2 entries stating "in stock", only Digitalfirst are still advertising the A95, albeit at £194.95 :-
http://www.digitalfirst.co.uk/camdetail.asp?cat=Compact%20Cameras&ProdID=1558
I am not sure what the price (with delivery) will be to you in Sweden.
Hope this is of some help.

Just noticed this one for sale on this forum:-
http://www.birdforum.net/showthread.php?t=52392

Roger

[Peewee]

Having spent a lot of time online have decided the the Canon A95 seems a superb camera for digiscoping, having seen some really beautiful shots taken with it. Is it still widely available?

I bought the A95 about 1 month ago from a well know online shop in the netherlands. They still have it for sale. See link: http://www.kamera-express.nl/index.php?page=showproduct&product=14379

They do ship outside the netherlands but it will cost you €20 shippingcost and you have to pay in advance. Unfortunately their site is Dutch only but I am sure there must be other on-line shops that still have the A95 for sale.

I have no experience digiscoping yet with this camera because I am still waiting for my scope to arrive. Hope to get it soon so I can start digiscoping. Good luck with your search.



Cheers Peter

[buzzard12]

Looked up your dutch friend. He had the A95 in stock. When I told him I was in Stockholm he refered me to an outlet here in Stockholm owned by a friend of his. I have been there today and have managed to nail down a new A95 with an adaptor for a really good price.Thank's so very much PeeWee!
Will post my first shots up in the next few weeks when I get up and running! Good birding to you and thank you again. All is well that ends well!
Alan

[buzzard12]

Just a word of thanks to you all for your help with advice, much appreciated. Yet another example of the birding communities friendliness!

[Peewee]

Thank's so very much PeeWee!

Alan

Alen

I am glad I have finally helped someone else on this forum. I've had so much help from others that I would seem fair to help if possible.

I am sure you will not regret you bought this camara eventhough I have not yet experienced digiscoping with this camera. I will be looking out for your first pictures. Good luck.

[Condor305]

I have had the Canon A95 since July 2005 and I am mildly satisfied with the camera. I used a Nikon 880 till it died and the main difference between the two cameras is that the 880 focused much faster. Also with the A95 It seems to have trouble with exposure in very bright sunlight.
I am using the Swarovski 65HD scope and I also use my Swarovski EL binoculars. I am still looking for the perfect camera just like the rest of you. I think the A620 focuses faster so it may be an good substitute. As to the vignetting, I often do not extend the zoom all the way on the A95, just until vignetting stops. I think this is about 2.5X. I get better exposure by not zooming all the way out so I am sure this would work with the A620 as well.

I still get a lot of good/acceptable pictures but some times it seems like I can’t get a good exposure no mater what setting I use.

Here’s my setup and some recent pictures. I am now using the Swarovski Adapter for the scope instead of the homemade one shown here and it is pretty sweet.

Peace,
Don

[buzzard12]

Here a a few shots taken last weekend. Am getting used to the camera with practice and better understanding of the settings. So far I have not really experienced much problems in the way of exposure, though the light here in Sweden is generally good.

[Neil]

I have had the Canon A95 since July 2005 and I am mildly satisfied with the camera. I used a Nikon 880 till it died and the main difference between the two cameras is that the 880 focused much faster. Also with the A95 It seems to have trouble with exposure in very bright sunlight.
I am using the Swarovski 65HD scope and I also use my Swarovski EL binoculars. I am still looking for the perfect camera just like the rest of you. I think the A620 focuses faster so it may be an good substitute. As to the vignetting, I often do not extend the zoom all the way on the A95, just until vignetting stops. I think this is about 2.5X. I get better exposure by not zooming all the way out so I am sure this would work with the A620 as well.

I still get a lot of good/acceptable pictures but some times it seems like I can’t get a good exposure no mater what setting I use.

Here’s my setup and some recent pictures. I am now using the Swarovski Adapter for the scope instead of the homemade one shown here and it is pretty sweet.

Peace,
Don

Don,
Well done on the homemade setup. Looking at the photo it looks to me like a quality of light issue and distance. It's hard to resolve detail with an 80 mm scope over about 25 mm so with a 65mm scope think in terms of 20 meters. Over these distances , and particularly over water, the atmospherics play havic with quality (haze). I take a lot of photos in these situations and play with exposure and focus and hope that one or two will be ok (2 out of 20 is good ). I had a play with your photo of two ducks (I hope you don't mind) and got this image. Not too bad. If the original had been taken in RAW then it would have saved all the detail for processing later. I don't use RAW all the time but I like to have it for the marginal light days. You should have better luck with the Swarovski DCA as it's a well engineered bit of kit and enables you to get on the bird faster. Keep the photos coming, Neil.
ps I looked closely at your raptor photo and realised that it was quite sharp. Check the barbed wire. I would dial in about -0.5 stops as Default and for birds with white on -1 to -1.5 stops