Panasonic Lumix G1 at last - what a gem for digiscoping (1 Viewer)

Martin Standley · May 15, 2009

Hi neil

Just been out tonight with my new Lumix, first impresion was that it is 'ok' I think I need to get the settings adjusted.
It does not appear that you can shoot in A and macro at the same time? (as you can with the 8400).
I would be very grateful if you could list out the settings tha I should be using.
Thanks in advance.

Neil said:
Martin,
You will use similar settings as with the 8400.
Neil.

Neil · May 16, 2009

Martin Standley said:
Hi neil

Just been out tonight with my new Lumix, first impresion was that it is 'ok' I think I need to get the settings adjusted.
It does not appear that you can shoot in A and macro at the same time? (as you can with the 8400).
I would be very grateful if you could list out the settings tha I should be using.
Thanks in advance.

Martin,
I haven't done a test on the Macro Mode to see if it makes a difference as you can't have Aperture and Macro at the same time. The dedicated Macro Mode is designed from max DOF ( high f stops )so maybe not suitable for digiscoping.
SETTINGS
Aperture Priority
iso 400 (I like the Shutter Speed to be around 1/500th second or more )
Continuous Shot
AFS - this is faster than AFC but I haven't tested accuracy of the two.
Film Mode STANDARD Contrast +1 Sharpening +1
Aspect Ratio 4:3
Picture Size LARGE
Quality JPEG ( switch to RAW in tricky lighting as it's slower )
Metering Mode SPOT
Stabilizer Mode 1 ( I also haven't tested this function)
Self-Timer 2 seconds

Let us know what you find, Neil.

Neil · May 16, 2009

The G1 comes into it's own on close up , fast paced action, like the birds coming down to water in the local park on a hot day. Switch it to iso 400 and Jpeg only and it will shoot away until the card is full to make sure you don't miss any of the action. I was varying the iso but able to get speeds up to 1/1250th second at iso400. Neil

Panasonic Lumix G1 plus Swarovski STS80HD scope and Sw30x eyepiece and DCA adapter

Hong Kong Park,
Hong Kong,
China.
May 2009

RJM · May 16, 2009

nice job Neil. The perspective looks like you were at water level!

Neil · May 16, 2009

I've finally found a digiscoping use for my old Leica M lenses ( for
my M6). I picked up a Leica M to Micro Four Thirds and a Nikon to
Micro Four Thirds adapter for my Panasonic G1 today. I tested the 35
mm,50 mm and 90 mm lenses on the G1 ( camera only ) . It was too
dark when I finished so I only had a quick look at the setup on the
scope ( see photo ). It looks like the 35/1.4 will be the one to use
but the 50/2.0 could also be ok. I'll try and get out tomorrow with
it but there is rain forecast for the next week.
Does anyone have idea whether it's better to increase the scope
eyepiece magnification or the lens magnification? I'll finally be
able to get back to some decent magnifications over 2000 mm with a
top quality lens. Neil.

RJM · May 16, 2009

Unlike a digicam lens, a dSLR lens should have a much larger physical aperture opening than the largest exit pupil in a fieldscope eyepiece, so I would bet increasing lens focal length is the way to go.

When I still had the Nikon ED82 with the 30x, 50x, and 75x DS eyepieces, I tried to use it with a 50mm AF lens on the Nikon D90. Only the 30x came close to giving me enough light to see through the viewfinder. Still too dim for AF to work though.

have fun!
Rick

johnno · May 16, 2009

Hi Neil,

Absolutely Stunning Photos,Something I,m sure a lot of us would like to Achieve.

Cheers.
John

YellowBudgie · May 16, 2009

Hi Neil,

Great photos with your new camera/scope!

Thanks for posting on your new setup with the Panasonic Lumix G1. Only needing to buy the camera since I own the Swaro STS80HD, SW 30x and DCA is tempting.

I read the firmware update let you use a 55mm prime lens on the camera and still AF. You mentioned a zoom eyepiece/zoom lens would require a rail to adjust. Is the rail adapter you have custom made?

Is this the rail your using? (The green section I can see on the bottom)?

http://www.birdforum.net/showpost.php?p=1221359&postcount=20

Thanks,

Neil · May 17, 2009

YellowBudgie said:
Hi Neil,

Great photos with your new camera/scope!

Thanks for posting on your new setup with the Panasonic Lumix G1. Only needing to buy the camera since I own the Swaro STS80HD, SW 30x and DCA is tempting.

I read the firmware update let you use a 55mm prime lens on the camera and still AF. You mentioned a zoom eyepiece/zoom lens would require a rail to adjust. Is the rail adapter you have custom made?

Is this the rail your using? (The green section I can see on the bottom)?

http://www.birdforum.net/showpost.php?p=1221359&postcount=20

Thanks,

The Firmware update allows some primes to AF eg the Olympus 25/2.8 Pancake (using the Panasonic adapter ) . Panasonic should release a 20/1.7 mm lens this year which should be good for digiscoping on zoom eyepieces.
This is a better photo of my balance bar setup. A friend makes most of my "stuff". All you need is a piece of flat steel or aluminium tube and have some 5/8th inch bolt holes drilled though it. Using the Manfrotto Sliding Plate for the camera just makes it easier to slide the camera backwards and forwards but if you cut a slot in the bar you don't need this. Neil.

Neil · May 17, 2009

I took the G1 out with the Leica 35/1.4 lens today. I'm using it on the balance bar as I don't have an adapter ring for the Leica thread yet. I'm quite happy with the results and will check out the 50 mm and 90 mm in the next few days.
Neil

Panasonic Lumix G1 and Leica 35/1.4 M lens on Swarovski STS80HD scope and Swzoom eyepiece and homemade balance bar

Hong Kong,
China.
May 2009

ps the last photo was just camera and leica lens.

Adey Baker · May 17, 2009

I'll bet that Leica never dreamed their 35mm Summilux would be used for bird photography!

YellowBudgie · May 17, 2009

Neil said:
The Firmware update allows some primes to AF eg the Olympus 25/2.8 Pancake (using the Panasonic adapter ) . Panasonic should release a 20/1.7 mm lens this year which should be good for digiscoping on zoom eyepieces.
This is a better photo of my balance bar setup. A friend makes most of my "stuff". All you need is a piece of flat steel or aluminium tube and have some 5/8th inch bolt holes drilled though it. Using the Manfrotto Sliding Plate for the camera just makes it easier to slide the camera backwards and forwards but if you cut a slot in the bar you don't need this. Neil.

Thanks for the photo and description. I have medical issues at the time that prevent me from using my Canon 40D and 100-400mm from the car window. (Have a bad back at the time)

Maybe sitting in the back yard and shooting the birds up in a few tall trees (Ash) would cheer me up. One huge Ash tree is dying and one very healthy.

Thanks again!

Neil · Jun 2, 2009

Adding a teleconverter onto the G1

In order to make more use of my sharpest short lens, the Nikon 20/2.8 D , I added an old Nikon 1.6x teleconverter into the mix. Not the sharpest of teles and my Nikon 1.4x would do a slightly better job but I'll test that later. Down to the local park to test on the usual suspects. I'm impressed with the results at 15 - 35 metres in good light this morning. The lcd screen makes it easy to Manually Focus.
The range using the Swaro zoom was 1200 - 2000 on the night herons. For the flamingo dozing I bumped the zoom up to 60x or 3840 mm .
Neil.

Panasonic G1 and Swarovski STS80Hd scope and Sw zoom 20 & 30x and special balance bar
Nikon 20/2.8 D lens and Nikon 1.6x teleconverter

Hong Kong,
China.
June 2009

Neil · Jun 2, 2009

At the same time I re-tested the Olympus 25/2.8 Pancake lens using the Panasonic adapter. Auto Focus is possible this way if the camera is supported separately from the scope on a balance bar or universal type adapter. Same equipment and subjects as the previous post.
The fire hydrant is obviously not digiscoped.Neil

Hong Kong,
China.
June 2009

Derry · Jun 2, 2009

Neil the eye & feather photo is one of the best bird photos I have seen in many a year,,

a large print of that would be spectacular,,

one of the best,,

Derry

rob lee · Jun 2, 2009

Yeah I second that, & given the magnification, that makes it even better.
Excellent shot Neil.

Neil · Jun 2, 2009

Thanks Derry and Rob. As you say the detail is pretty good and this is full frame. Digiscoping still has a part to play for closeup photography where you don't want or can't intrude into the birds comfort zone. With the new scopes and eyepieces coming out we should be able to improve the resolution captured by another 10%. I might test my Nikon D3 again on these subjects as a comparison. Neil.

Neil · Jun 8, 2009

We have bitterns migrating through at the moment and this Yellow Bittern was hanging out near the edge of the main pond at the local park. It was nice to have the speed of AF of the G1 and I was able to stand back from the others with only 300 mm and still fill the frame. Neil.

Panasonic Lumix G1 plus kit zoom lens and Swarovski STS80HD scope and Sw30x eyepiece and DCA adapter

YellowBudgie · Jun 8, 2009

Good point Neil. I'm a medical mess at the time, have never been able to walk a known good birding trail.

Neil · Jun 9, 2009

I took the G1 out onto the mudflats last week to see if there were any waders still left. I was a bit late for the incoming tide so I waiting 2 hours for the outgoing. I had never seen so much rubbish in the water which made photography even more difficult. When the waders started dropping back out to the mud to feed they were very active so I was glad to have the AF of the G1 and the Continuous Mode. It's difficult to use the P511/P6000 in these situations. The Terek Sandpipers run across the mud , twisting and turning and they mostly stop with their backs to you. The Sandpipers dart and stop , dart and stop with not much time to get AF and no time for manual focus (if you wear bi-focals as I do ). I was using the Olympus 25/2.8 Pancake lens so the AF was a little slower than the kit zoom ( which I had forgotten ) but still much faster than my other digicams.
Neil

Panasonic Lumix G1 and Olympus 25/2.8 P ( Panasonic adapter ) on Swarovski STS80HD scope and Sw45x eyepiece and special Balance Bar

Mai Po Nature Reserve,
Hong Kong,
China.
June 2009

Panasonic Lumix G1 at last - what a gem for digiscoping (1 Viewer)

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