reflex camera or digital compact one for digiscoping? (1 Viewer)

Hi everyone!

I'm looking to buy a camera and a 80mm spottingscope to do some digiscopy, but i clearly need some help to choose the right equipment. Many seem to be using a simple compact digital camera, but isn't it better with a reflex one?
However, the adapters for the reflex cameras seem to connect directly to the body of the spotting scopes!Does it mean that i won't be able to use the 20-60 zoom eyepiece that often comes with the spottingscope?
Many things i don't know, and i really want to make the right choice. I would go for a reflex system only if the adapters for those type of cameras allow the use of the eyepiece zoom and correct the vigneting due to the bigger diameter of the camera lens compared to the eyepiece one.
Please advices! thanks a lot guys!

Regards, Loic

loic said:

Hi everyone!

I'm looking to buy a camera and a 80mm spottingscope to do some digiscopy, but i clearly need some help to choose the right equipment. Many seem to be using a simple compact digital camera, but isn't it better with a reflex one?
However, the adapters for the reflex cameras seem to connect directly to the body of the spotting scopes!Does it mean that i won't be able to use the 20-60 zoom eyepiece that often comes with the spottingscope?
Many things i don't know, and i really want to make the right choice. I would go for a reflex system only if the adapters for those type of cameras allow the use of the eyepiece zoom and correct the vigneting due to the bigger diameter of the camera lens compared to the eyepiece one.
Please advices! thanks a lot guys!

Regards, Loic

Click to expand...

Hello!

No doubt the picture quality will be better with an adapter / SLR (reflex) system.
But the adapter is used instead of the eyepiece. During photography you will observe through the camera.
For ambitious photography much preferable to a compact camera.

Maybe the best solution is a an eyepiece with an inbuilt digital camera.

A compact camera with an ordinary eyepiece is a compromise for the occasional snapshot.

Maybe this helps.
Thomas

loic said:

Hi everyone!

I'm looking to buy a camera and a 80mm spottingscope to do some digiscopy, but i clearly need some help to choose the right equipment. Many seem to be using a simple compact digital camera, but isn't it better with a reflex one?

Click to expand...

One would think so, but here's what I've found. First off, the SLR adapter (for the Swarovski, i.e. their TLS 800) is very expensive, and also sticks out pretty far at a right angle to the scope, creating a bulky package that would be difficult to carry around safely. I haven't tried their swing-away adapter, also because of its bulk and expense. One can improvise by using the simpler adapter designed for lighter cameras, but you need to support the SLR's weight in some way and it's not a satisfactory arrangement for the long run. As a last straw, when I've experimented with my Pentax SLR it has great difficulty autofocussing through the scope. (It's also about impossible to use manual focus. This limitation may be less serious in other models.) The upshot is that I'm using a Nikon P5100 with the DCA adapter. The dim view in the display window and the lower-quality optics are compensated by ease of use, portability, and better focus.


Steve