New To Digiscoping

[Hawks]

I have a Nikon D200 and Nikon Fieldscope ED 82.
Is there a bracket on the market to steady all this?

[mfreiberg]

Hawks,
Hey there! My name is Mike Freiberg and I am the birding/optics specialist with Nikon Sport Optics. I currently have a D200 in the mail to me, good choice. We have an SLR adapter which works fantastic from my experience. The 30x eyepiece is built into the adapter, so the eyepiece doesn't need to be used. The adapter threads right into the scope. This adapter can only be used with Nikon cameras so you're in good shape and it retails in the states for 300$. Most every camera in the Coolpix 4000 series and up has a specific adapter that ranges from 80-150$. The latest camera out is the P1 which is 8mp, 2.5 inch LCD screen, and Wi-Fi. Soon, the P4 will be hitting the market which is essentially the same as the P1 except it has a VR system built in. Should you choose to use the point and shoot camera, you will need a digiscoping eyepiece. I recommend the 30x since it gives you sufficient magnification without losing to much depth of field/light absorption. However, we do have 40x and 75x eyepieces for digiscoping as well.

Since you have most of the essential pieces, using Nikon all the way through will ensure that you cut your vignetting to an absolute minimum. I shoot great shot after great shot due to the cohesiveness of this unit. I switch between my D70s/soon to be D200 and the P1 since there are advantages to each. It gives me a broad range of shooting technique. Let me know if you have other questions. Cheers!

Mike Freiberg
Nikon Birding Market Specialist


I have a Nikon D200 and Nikon Fieldscope ED 82.
Is there a bracket on the market to steady all this?

[Neil]

I was testing my D2x on the Swarovski STS80HD yesterday and I used the Manfrotto Micro Positioning Plate to adjust the balance. This was fine for the Center-of-Gravity but not for the rigidity. As the scope is very lightweight compared to a professional nature lens 300/2.8 or 400/500 f4 I need an extension bar so that I can stabilise the scope and the camera. Manfrotto had one in their catelogue but I haven't been able to find one in Hong Kong. I'm wondering whether a Wimberly type head might be a better way to go. If you are a home handyman you could make one up yourself. I hope this addresses your question,Neil.

[Hawks]

Thanks for that Mike but I have all the camera attachments for the scope. A steadying bracket for the digiscope to sit on when on the tripod is what I am after. There is one for use with the coolpix but I don't know whether this will suit the D200?

[Hawks]

Thanks Neil. If I find anything to suit I will let you know. Otherwise the hacksaw may need to come out.

[yossi]

I use the D200 with the Gitzo 1348 tripod, an Arca Swiss ball head and a plate made by Manfrotto to rebalance the setup.
The Nikon scope adapter which I have is the older version (no metering with the D70s and D100 but meters fine with the D2X and the D200). The adapter converts the scope to a 1000mm lens. I'm not excited with the optical results. On the other hand, the Leica Apo 77 with the Leica scope adapter (resulting in a ~800mm lens) outputs crystal clear images with the D200. I've tried the Leica adapter even with a Nikon 2x TC (~1600mm together) and the results are good.
Mirror lock up (MLU) is required in any case.
The D200 is far better for this purpuse than the D2X. I guess it's because the stronger mirror and shutter flap that the D2X does, upsetting stability at those focal lenghts.
Maybe the Nikon FSA-L1 is better that the older adapter.

[Hawks]

Thanks for the information Yossi. I cannot comment too much on results yet as I have not taken enough shots in the field yet but the one I have taken of static objects look okay. The biggest problem is with movement of the set up so I have had to use the self timer but I shall be getting a MC 30 remote cord (Thanks to the comments received in this forum) which should give me real time shutter relaese.