eye peace

[ps11aj]

Hi
I wonder what is to predfere when I am going to digiscope;
a fixed eyepeace (20x or 30x) or a zoom 20-60x? Is the light and sharpness much higher on a fixed eye peace then a zoom?
I am concidering to buy a telescope andwant to know.
Regards Pierre

[alan_rymer]

Pierre

I think it depends on Scope body that you are buying!.
Have you looked at the scopes and decided on which manufacturer and model and the objective lens size?.
Going by everything I have read on this forum and elsewhere, Swarovski, Leica, Zeiss, with all the top end scopes with ED, Flourite glass its possible to digiscope successfully with a Zoom lens.
It seems that each setup has to be tailored as to what Scope and eypiece will work with which adaptor and camera, There are some camera's and adaptors which seem to work on virtually any scope. Some adaptors stop the user from adjusting the zoom on the eyepiece when mounted, others work with some eyepieces.
Get the scope and eyepiece that you are happy with for watching birds first and foremost. Then start to worry about the adapter and camera.

I bought my scope witha 30x eyepiece. I soon bought a zoom lens and have not had the 30x on the scope since then. I am still trying to find a suitable camera!.

Hope that doesn't confuse you too much?.

[Bill Came]

Hi Pierre, I've been using a leica 20x - 60x zoom lens for a couple of weeks, and have found it peforms very well indeed. Excellent for generel birding, and very versatile for digiscoping.
Regards
Bill...

[Doug]

I have a 20- 60x zoom on my Swarovski ATS80HD and find it excellent for digiscoping - especially at between 20 and 40x zoom. at 60x you need a lot of light to get a sharp image.

I find the zoom excellent for viewing the birds too

[Ragna]

Pierre
I use a 30x on a Swarovski ATS80HD and find this an excellent eyepiece also used a 30x on a Kowa before this, i think you will find greater field of view on a fixed eyepiece than on a zoom and if digiscoping most only ever use 20 or 30x

[Al Downie]

I've just bought my first scope (Leica 62 APO), and I'm VERy pleased with its lightness, compactness and image quality. I thought long and hard and tried to find something to like about the Swarovski ATS80HD, and cost wasn't a factor, but I just preferred the Leica image, and the portability, AND the ease of focussing when using it on a beanbag on the hide windowledge!

Anyway. One of the things that made me think hard about the larger 80mm Swarovski was all the fuss I'd read about the extra brightness being crucial in digiscoping (which I've yet to try); people seem to reckon that the difference between 80mm and 65mm is worth about 1 stop in photographic terms. But the difference in brightness between a zoom and a fixed eyepiece must be worth *at least* one stop! After spending all that money on your extra brightness, why sacrifice it because you can't be bothered changing the eyepiece?

It's good news for me though - if you guys are getting satisfactory results with a zoom, then maybe I'll be able to get something reasonable on my wee scope with a good fixed eyepiece...

Al

[ps11aj]

Thanks for your replies. Different opinions, but I think I got a lot of help :).
Regards

[loggah]

Pierre

I use a 20x60 zoom on my Leica, but I always use it at 20 power for digiscoping. I haven't had much luck with my efforts at higher power settings, although I intend to continue trying.
Cheryl

[ps11aj]

hi Cheryl;
I have seen your pictures and I think you are doing very well with those 20x and they are a good argument to buy a zoom; or a 20x fixed eyepeace.
Regards

[Andy Bright]

Try to stick to an eyepiece that you feel comfortable using for general scope use and not concentrate on getting an eyepiece specifically for digiscoping.

My own choice is for a 20-60x zoom as much digiscoping is done at 20x and this will give more light to get a faster shutter speed than a fixed 30x. The difference in light gathering for digiscoping purposes between a good modern zoom @30x and a fixed 30x is negligible.

I have experimented with the Swaro' 30xwwa and 20-60x @ 30x and the results were identical.... I have even seen reviews from reliable sources that put the Swaro' zoom @ 30x as being better (sharper) than the fixed e.p. Though remember that you will not be resolving quite as much detail at 20x as you would at 30x with an 80mm scope, smaller scopes (60-66mm) stop resolving more detail at just above 20x.... though some produce far better images at 30x+ than others

[ps11aj]

Thanks Andy and the rest of you;
I think I have got inoff information on this issue. I think that with a 20-60x zoom I will be able to combine birdwatching and digiscoping in a good way.
Regards