Which eyepiece i should use in cp8400

[The Analog Kid]

Hi again!
Are there any specialists to advice me which eyepiece would be better for Nikon coolpix 8400.20x60 zoom or 30x wide? I have both eyepieces and adaptor only for 20x60 zoom.Now i´m not sure if zoom is better because i had to zoom cam´s zoom allmost end to get off those black edges.
I have possibility to change my zoom adapter to 30x if i want.
So..I need some help to make my decision. |<|
Thanks
Oh..Allmsot forget it:Scope is Swaro ATS65
(o)<

[iporali]

Are there any specialists to advice me which eyepiece would be better for Nikon coolpix 8400.20x60 zoom or 30x wide?
Terve,

If the field-of-view is what you mainly need, the 30xSW may be a better choice because it has a wider AFOV and a couple of mm's better eye-relief. I don't know the CP8400 well enough but I would assume it would benefit from better eye-relief, allowing you to use wider camera zoom. The 20xSW is IMO Swarovski's best digiscoping eyepiece, but unfortunately you can't use it with the best cameras, because of its short eye-relief.

You could compare the eyepieces by taking pictures without an adapter (at lowest possible zoom to avoid vignetting) just to see whether or not the usable image area with the 30xW is larger. If the difference is significant enough (which may not be the case), you could start using the 30x as your primary digiscoping eyepiece - but if you like to use the zoom for birdwatching it is up to you to decide if this will sacrifice versatility.
Anyway, I would be very interested in seeing the results of your comparison.

Best regards,

Ilkka

[The Analog Kid]

Terve terve!
I add two pics show the difference.I took these through window so quality is poor.I think if i choose 30x i have more space to use cameras zoom....
Kiitos,Thanks

[iporali]

Terve terve!
I add two pics to show to difference.I took these through window so quality is poor.I think if i choose 30x i have more space to use cameras zoom....
Kiitos,Thanks
Net-falco,

Just trying to avoid confusion. Is the CP8400 maximally extended at wide-end of the zoom? You could still make one more test by fixing the distance between the camera and the eyepiece (eg. having a filter adapter barrel attached on the lens) and zooming in to a point where the vignetting just disappears for each eyepiece. This should better resemble a real world digiscoping situation. If you still get similar results, the 30x does give you more room to compose the image.

Ilkka

[avan]

The problem with wide angled camera, is it's hard to find an eyepiece for. I have try a CP 5000 (28mm-85mm, instead the 24mm-85mm of the CP 8400) on my Nikon wide 30X DS eyepiece, and it result with vignetting close to the end of the zoom. Maybe you can look at a low powered eyepiece like eagleeye 10-12X DS eyepiece, that accept wider lens. Every Nikon CP camera with minimum of 35mm at widest angle work at full (or close depending of the eyepiece) cappacity for digiscoping.

[Neil]

The Swarovski 30x is the best for digiscoping due to 20mm of Eye Relief and 72 degrees of view. Particularly useful with the Nikon 8400 which has wide lens and so you won't get enough magnification at 20x (15 mm of ER ). The 20-60 zoom is probably around 20mm of ER at the 20x but drops to around 17 mm at 30x. I've just bought the 30x today and there is no vignetting on the Olympus 7070wz (28mm - 110mm) from about 35mm - 110mm. There is a small issue of the DCA adapter with the 30x and it may need a small adjustment to fix it firmly. Neil.

[Dave Stewart]

Neil,

What was the equivalent non-vignetting range you were getting from the 20-60 zoom?

Dave

The Swarovski 30x is the best for digiscoping due to 20mm of Eye Relief and 72 degrees of view. Particularly useful with the Nikon 8400 which has wide lens and so you won't get enough magnification at 20x (15 mm of ER ). The 20-60 zoom is probably around 20mm of ER at the 20x but drops to around 17 mm at 30x. I've just bought the 30x today and there is no vignetting on the Olympus 7070wz (28mm - 110mm) from about 35mm - 110mm. There is a small issue of the DCA adapter with the 30x and it may need a small adjustment to fix it firmly. Neil.

[Neil]

Dave,
With the camera lens at wide zoom there was a little vignetting which was easy to crop out and was nice to use on bigger birds eg. egrets and herons ( 20 x 28/50 = 11.2x optical or 560 mm ). The vignetting got worse when the camera lens was zoomed until about 3/4 zoom when it disappeared. I use full zoom most of the time ( 20 x 110/50 = 44x optical or 2200 mm ) . When using more zoom on the eyepiece I stick to full zoom on the camera lens. I wanted the new 30x ( I have two old 30x ) to give me more range with the one eyepiece and to work with the DCA adapter. The other nice thing about my combo is I don't have "purple fringing" in any situation. Neil.

[Forcreeks]

Say, Neil, Net-Falco, other CP8400 users. I'm considering getting the 8400, and have three questions I'm sure you can answer. 1) Are you using the wireless remote shutter release to digiscope free of vibration, and does it truly trigger the shutter near-instantly when you press the remote sender's button, as the write up of one online retailer here in U.S. claims? I was a bit skeptical as my Olympus C-60 remote has a considerable delay when pressed, and is troublesome positioning for a sure send-receive signal. Therefore I had to rig up a cable release to choose the moment of capture surely and consistently; I notice the 8400's manual release is angled downward and I'm not looking forward to modifying another cable bracket!

2) Does the EV or electronic viewfinder serve well as a digiscoping sunshade so that a velcro-on magnifier/Xtend-a-View doesn't need to be rigged up for the flip out LCD external monitor? In effect the EV makes the camera digiscope like a DSLR, yes? Of course the swivel LCD would still be helpful for difficult angles etc.

3) When using manual focus, which I'm really looking forward to having; does the display magnify a portion of the view so you can focus the scope accurately, or does it simply show a focus-locked indicator light to indicate the camera is in focus? From what I've read, everything shown on the big LCD will also show in the EV. Thanks for all comments to these questions. -Steve B

[The Analog Kid]

Say, Neil, Net-Falco, other CP8400 users. I'm considering getting the 8400, and have three questions I'm sure you can answer. 1) Are you using the wireless remote shutter release to digiscope free of vibration, and does it truly trigger the shutter near-instantly when you press the remote sender's button, as the write up of one online retailer here in U.S. claims? I was a bit skeptical as my Olympus C-60 remote has a considerable delay when pressed, and is troublesome positioning for a sure send-receive signal. Therefore I had to rig up a cable release to choose the moment of capture surely and consistently; I notice the 8400's manual release is angled downward and I'm not looking forward to modifying another cable bracket!

2) Does the EV or electronic viewfinder serve well as a digiscoping sunshade so that a velcro-on magnifier/Xtend-a-View doesn't need to be rigged up for the flip out LCD external monitor? In effect the EV makes the camera digiscope like a DSLR, yes? Of course the swivel LCD would still be helpful for difficult angles etc.

3) When using manual focus, which I'm really looking forward to having; does the display magnify a portion of the view so you can focus the scope accurately, or does it simply show a focus-locked indicator light to indicate the camera is in focus? From what I've read, everything shown on the big LCD will also show in the EV. Thanks for all comments to these questions. -Steve B

Well Steve

I haven´t still had a time to do real testing to my couple weeks old 8400.Only some minor photoing in my yard.Here Finland is still winter so here isn´t too much "real targets" to photo.But i can say that there is a 2sec. delay in wireless remote shutter.I have used release cable method.Now i just had to wait when migration starts,then i will start a real testing project....Sorry that i couldn´t help you more.... yet.
Regards Net-falco

[Bob Thompson]

Well Steve

I haven´t still had a time to do real testing to my couple weeks old 8400.Only some minor photoing in my yard.Here Finland is still winter so here isn´t too much "real targets" to photo.But i can say that there is a 2sec. delay in wireless remote shutter.I have used release method.Now i just had to wait when migration starts,then i will start a real testing project....Sorry that i couldn´t help you more.... yet.
Regards Net-falco

I suggest you go to the Nikon site and up grade to firmware to ( I think ) it is 1.6 this upgrade removes the delay. I found it was neccessary to go through several levels of upgrade as my firmware when I bought the camera was 1.1

Forcreeks, the evf does not have a magnification spot but I think you should beable to focus without it. I am waiting for my DCA before I can connect the 8400 to my ATS 80HD. As mentioned by other posters I am getting the 30xSW finder as well.

I hope this is of some help

Bob

[Forcreeks]

Very much help, thank you both. Bob, the firmware upgrade tip is marvelous. This explains why the retailer, normally very reliable: B & H Photovideo has put that it instantly snaps the shot. Too bad my Olympus doesn't have such firmware downloads. It just seems to me a "no-brainer" that electronically controlled cameras could be made to plug a cable release into either the USB port or a special cable-port for shutter control, and they could make more sales with this accessory. Yet these high-end compact consumer cameras don't offer it.

If you two learn new interesting things about your 8400's as you use them, I'd love to read it here. Thanks again. Steve B.

[yossi]

Just my 2C:
I use the CP8400 for quite a long time. The zoom useful range is very limited - only towards the end (~75-85mm). The single exception is when using the Pentax XW EP (can be used on the Swaro with the Plossl adapter and after cutting off a piece from the end of the EP - quite crazy, but works). With those EPs one can zoom out till @ 50mm or so.
The camera is great, the EVF is quite detailed and the output quality is very good. Obviously, since it is so good for digiscoping, Nikon stopped making it...

[Neil]

Steve,
I didn't reply as I use an Olympus 7070wz so my 8400 info is second-hand as I have some friends that use it.Neil.

[The Analog Kid]

I have now added some new photos in my gallery.I took them in my yard.I must say that i´m surprised positive with those test-photos.Normally when you try to scope small birds you need to take 100 shot to get few succesfull.But with 8400 it´s not like that. For example Willow Tit and Blue Tit which are in my gallery,i only managed to get two "panic-shots" for both, but still i´m pleased to quality.

Pete

[bilgeo]

Hi everyone,
I'm using my 8400 with pentax 80 ed 20-60 zoom EP. The useful zoom range is limited as Yossi said. Has anyone had an experience with W/O dcl28? Does it help to improve the zoom range, light and sharpening?

[Neil]

If my understanding is correct the EP zoom is the expensive one and shows good Eye Relief (18-22 mm ) The fixed eyepieces are stated at 20 mm so not much difference there but from my experience fixed is better than zoom for digiscoping and you want something around 25x - 32x power. You don't want to go over 60x total zoom (camera plus scope ) with an 80 mm objective scope. As the 8400 zoom is on the short side you would want your eyepiece to be around 30x. Looking at the relative brightness stats for the 30x and the 25x though, more light is better for shutter speed , so the 25x would be a good compromise. It may not give you more unvignetted zoom range than your existing eyepiece though so it would be good if you could test it out.Neil.