990 vs P500- (1 Viewer)

Derry

Well-known member

• Jun 15, 2007

• #1

still had some sun this afternoon so figured I would try the old 990 against the new P5000,,

same scope a TV85,, same 12mm eyepiece, best focus and then mounted each camera,, could read all the fine print with the naked eye through the scope very good,,

both on full auto with just enough zoom to fill the frame,,

ISO on 64 for the P5000 and on fine 10mp, 990 on fine,,

battery pack is 40 feet from front of the scope,,

no touch up or anything done to either photo,,

was surprised to see the old 990 is as good if not a tad sharper than the new P5000,,

 

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Last edited: Jun 15, 2007

g8ina

He's pining for the Fjords !

• Jun 15, 2007

• #2

Hmmmmm, sort of bears out my problem doesn't it Derry ?

Wonder if you'll keep the 5000 ??

 

Derry

Well-known member

• Jun 15, 2007

• #3

yea David I'll be keeping it,, overall I really like the camera,, guess I was expecting 3 Xs in pixels to really gather more info and be considerably sharper,, when ya can read really fine print from 40 feet, I can accept that,, took the old 990 several shots before I started obtaining really detail images,,

I will continue to work with it to find the best settings for super sharpness,, I like all the features the camera offers as I take a lot of non birding photos,, I also do astronomy which will be its next test,,

since it appears we will have another sunny muggy day I want to run my Oly E500 in prime focus on the TV85 against the 990 and P5000,, should be interesting,, then I'll break out the Questar and see what it can offer,,

wife also likes the cameras features and small size,,

 

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Neil

Well-known member

• Jun 17, 2007

• #4

Looking at the two tests I suspect that they could have been sharper. You probably would have needed to use Manual Focus. Another way is to use digital zoom to go in, re-focus the scope and then zoom out again.
I just bought myself the P5000 yesterday and will test it out against the Canon A640, Nikon 4500,F31fd and Nikon 8400 in the next few days. Neil.

 

Derry

Well-known member

• Jun 17, 2007

• #5

do agree Neil,, I'm always on manual (sometimes macro) when shooting through the scopes but wanted to see what they both would do in a normal mode of operation without a lot of additional set up for each camera,, more of a point and shoot out of the box,,

I have continue to work with the 5000 and seeing somewhat increase in detail,, read once that to double the detail you need to have four times the pixels,, certainly not seeing anywhere close to double the detail of the old 990though,,

will be interested to see what your findings are,,

 

Feathered one

Well-known member

• Jun 17, 2007

• #6

New P5000 photos on my website (at the bottom of the page)
The biggest plus I find with the P5000 is the auto focus works much better than the F30 which is the only other camera I have for digiscoping.

Webpage here http://lynandmholidays.mysite.wanadoo-members.co.uk/p5000pics2.htm

Malc

 

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Yorkiebird

Well-known member

• Jun 17, 2007

• #7

I had just made up my mind to buy the F30 that was until I saw your photos. They are very nice indeed well done. I'd be pleased if I could just take one that's some where near sharp!

 

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Neil

Well-known member

• Jun 18, 2007

• #8

P5000 v CP4500 v Fuji F31

Well I got out in the heat this morning to test out the P5000 (hand held). No birds were cooperating so I used the trusty old cans at a distance of about 22 metres. I took a lot of shots using the Nikon P5000 (hand held with image stabilising on and off ), the Fuji F31fd and the old workhorse , the Nikon CP4500.
I used the self-timer for all shots and took multiples and selected the best one. These were all at about 15 mm on the zoom on all cameras. I also shot some with the Canon A640 but I was having focus trouble and didn't take enough to get one worth including here. It should be comparable with the P5000.
As you can see there is not much difference and the 4500 hangs in there with the best. The P5000 gets it by a nose and of course it is a much bigger file.
I did the same test at wide and full zoom if anyone is interested.
Neil

 

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Yorkiebird

Well-known member

• Jun 18, 2007

• #9

Thanks Neil, my setup is Swar 80 HD 20x60 with DCB which I am finding a fiddle to say the least in setting up. Still trying to use my old coolpix 4300 until I take the plunge and replace. I've been wondering in hindsight if a DCA would have been the better choice but being new to digiscoping and birding took the advice of the retailer! Grateful for any advice.

 

Last edited: Jun 18, 2007

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Neil

Well-known member

• Jun 18, 2007

• #10

The DCB takes some setting up but should ok from then on. The retailer probably made a better margin on the DCB or maybe it had been in stock for some time.
The DCA is the way to go for cameras that have a thread for an adapter. Neil.

 

jourdaj

Well-known member

• Jun 18, 2007

• #11

Neil,

I like your choice of subject. Having just bought a P5000 to replace my F30 (dirt issues) I like how it handles color balance much more than my F30. I have to make almost no adjustment in color using Photoshop, whereas I routinely had to increase red balance and decrease blue in order to see more natural colors. It is a bit slow to focus, but I think it does focus spot on. I wish it had the F30's noise properties, though.... Here's a Killdeer from the past weekend. I'll post a more thorough review once I have a chance to do some side-by-side testing w/ my F30 and Canon A620.

Cheers,

 

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Yorkiebird

Well-known member

• Jun 18, 2007

• #12

Thanks Neil for the advice. I shall persevere on as I hate being beaten. When/if I take anything like decent I will post it on BF.

Cheers

 

NoSpringChicken

Well-known member

• Jun 18, 2007

• #13

Neil

Interesting results. As you say there is not a lot to choose between the image quality of those three cameras. The ability to save your chosen settings with the P5000 is a huge plus point but I don't think I will be getting rid of my F30 just yet.

Ron

 

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Neil

Well-known member

• Jun 18, 2007

• #14

The P5000 is not fast, in fact it's about the same frame rate as the 4500 which is too slow for serious digiscoping action. That's where the F30/31 comes into it's own. If you want to capture an egret/heron striking for prey or be out after sunset for waders feeding ,the F30/31 is the way to go. Neil.