Tockman said:
Hi,
Attached Coal Tit even had a touch up in PSP, but still not as sharp as I'd like.
I turned a sleeve to fit camera to scope,and used a cable release, although camera speed not good, due to overcast weather.
Also focused very carefully on 60x then down to 20x to take shot.
Any tips anybody?
Tip1 - Don't expect to use 60x and get sharp pictures. It may work once in a blue moon with a very close subject, but as a general rule, it is a formula for soft images.
Tip2 - Do use the scope at between 20x and 30x. Do use a camera focal length of no more than 3x (24mm).
Tip 3 - Shoot in Aperture Priority mode. If overcast, keep the aperture wide open. If you have a sunny day, try stopping down to f5.6 or so for somewhat sharper images.
Tip 4 - Set in camera sharpening to High. Not everyone will agree with me on this, but I think it helps to sharpen before the JPEG compression.
Tip 5 - Get close and use as low a magnification as you can. Its not always possible, but try to move in closer if you can. I try to be 50-75 feet away.
Tip 6 - Reconcile yourself to the idea that the sharpest images directly out of the camera when digiscoping will appear slightly soft. But moderate sharpening can make them as sharp as the camera can deliver without a scope. Best results come with a little bit of knowledge about how to use an image processing program like Photoshop.
This image shows full resolution crops from test images made with a Coolpix 5000 and three scopes. The image in the upper left is the camera by itself and the other three are digiscoped from 50 feet away and you can see that they are slightly soft.
http://www.jayandwanda.com/digicat/PhredHead.jpg
This next image shows the same crops, but now with Photoshop's "Unsharp Mask" applied. All of the images now compare quite favorably with the image taken with no scope.
http://www.jayandwanda.com/digicat/PhredHeadSharp.jpg
Tip 7 - Get a good tripod.
Tip 8 - Practice in your backyard on common birds, innanimate objects or whatever suits your fancy. Get familiar with your gear's capabilities.
Tip 9 - Be patient and be aware that in any one outing you may get zero good pictures. That's the way it can go. If you can't enjoy an outing if you come back empty handed, then this activity may not be for you. A good part of this activity is enjoying the process.
Tip 10 - Read other people's tips and find the combination of methods that suits your equipment and what you find to be a comfortable approach. Use Tip 8 to help you find out what works best for you.