Camera settings: Help (1 Viewer)

Andy,and CJw,please could you tell me exactly which settings you recommend for the coolpix 4500,with the 850 scope.it was set up for me,and i got really good results,then it was altered ,to a different shutter speed and other things and the pics were very blurred,please could you advise on which you think are the best and simplest settings for general digiscoping use.i have fiddled with settings,and am not quite sure what is what,but as as can now find my way around the menus hope to be able to set it up myself.
Thankyou Christine.

sorry andy,did not mean to post websites in a "cryptic manner".it was just the way I typed it in,could not be bothered to go back and re-type it as a website as such,sorry,but if you could please give me any help re the settings as previously requested for the 4500 i would be really grateful.I saw the pics on the may competion site and realised just what i could actually achieve,but without the correct camera settings I am not really going to get very far.As for the swarovski adapter my finger joints are at times quite un-co-operative,and i found that when i needed to remove it to check the view in the scope it was a bit of a fiddle,but as the eagle eye adapter only has the one piece i just personally find it easier.But if you think it really is okay then I will give it another try.After all it is compatible with scope and camera,it could be that I had not fitted it correctly!!
Thankyou ,Christine.
I'll get the hang of this digi scoping if it kills me,as i just enjoy birdwatching and love to record the images i have seen,but alas do not turn out quite as expected.

Andy,I have just put two images on the gallery,a lily,and a squirrel.They were taken before the camera settings were changed.all the pics i took after these were blurred.All i remember was that thetele zoom was off,and the setting 3 was put on,and the remaining images I took were not as clear as these.
Can you advise,please.
thankyou,Christine

H Christine,
No problem on the website link.

My first suggestion to you is to get a nice glass of wine or cup of tea/coffee (I'd go for a nice Merlot) and sit down with the camera and the manual (o.k. it's not the best manual in the world, but it's all in there) and become familiar with the various functions/options and how to adjust them.
It's all very well to have the camera set up for digiscoping, but knowing the camera functions will allow you to adapt to different situations. Basically... get to know the camera.

There aren't any definitive settings for digiscoping, your previous settings may not be exactly the same as my own (or anyone elses)... there are several routes to getting good shots. I'd probably advise you to use aperture priority, rather than fully manual exposure control.

My own settings are laid out in the 'camera settings' forum on here http://www.birdforum.net/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=3302

Alternatively, my own website at http://www.digiscoped.com/DigiscopingTechnique.html

Don't worry about the adapter.. if you like the Digimount, great. You could probably sell the Swaro' adapter in the 'used euipment' forum on here.

If you want more info on the settings... post in the 'camera settings' forum.
Good luck,
Andy

Just looked at the photos... excellent shots. Could you send via e-mail [email protected] one of these images ... I should be able to extract the camera settings used, as the camera settings are embedded in the photo.... they seem to lose this (EXIF) info when put up on the gallery (Birdforum does things to them).
Regards,
Andy.
bit late now... so I'll have to do this tomorrow.

Andy,thankyou so much.Yes it is late ,but it is difficult to leave this infernal machine when helpful people like yourself are replying to my cries for help.I have just printed the info from your sites,but as I am rather a non technophobe,do find it difficult to understand.so i will now go back into my pics and send you a couple .Andy please make it simple for me to understand,and many ,many thanks,
christine.
ps scotch made a very good nightcap whilst trying to sort out this little lot.Incidentally thankyou for your positive comments re the pics.the only thing was I was not too far away from the object.Usually i can be at least 3/4 mile away as can be seen by the images on the "my patch" forum eg hodbarrow.The camera needs to be on its self adjusting setting for distance and light .Am i making sense.
Thankyou again,Christine.

Hi Christine,
I've had a look at all the photos and it seems as if both squirrel photos were taken at the same camera settings.... despite one being slightly blurred. The blurred shot could be due to some camera shake or that the auto-focus just didn't lock onto the subject.... that does happen every now and again.
Yes, you do want the 'A' in the bottom left-hand corner (denoting aperture priority). You get this by pressing the mode button (on top of the camera) and rotating the dial until you see the 'A'... it will cycle through various modes, but 'A' is what you want.

Not too sure what you mean by "someone else had a fiddle,and knocked off the tele zoom(I think, put something on a no 3 setting" .... they may have gone through the menus and adjusted the camera to tell it that the Nikon 3x teleconverter was attached. This wouldn't have made much difference, but it's best to have the camera think it doesn't have any additional lens attached (set on 'normal'). This is on

They may have moved the rotary dial.... and when in 'A' mode this will change the F number, possibly to a higher number and then the shutter-speeds will be lower than if the camera is set to the lowest F number. The F number should always be set on the lowest F number available (turn the dial clockwise to lower this number, anti-clockwise to raise it).... though the minimum F number is related to the camera's zoom position, so when you zoom right in to maximum, the lowest F number available will be f5.1 and at minimum zoom the lowest will be f2.6.

You have to remember that the camera looks at the scene and determines how much light is available.... so not every shot will have the same shutter-speed. Move your camera around and you'll see the shutter-speed change depending on the darkness of the scene. Obviously, when you zoom in with the camera, the shutter-speed will go down because there is less light coming in from the scope. You can get away with slow shutter-speeds if the subject is very still but any movement from the subject (or by your camera/scope/tripod) will result in blurred images.

One of your water lily shots (yellow one?) would always be difficult for the camera to get a good focus on.... the best shots will always be where the camera has a specific object large in it's view, hopefully against a contrasting background.
Pity the Squirrel had it's head down.... but you can give a gentle cough to get it to look up for a nice shot (works with some birds, but make sure you're alone, otherwise you could end up with your scope inserted where the sun don't shine

I'm not a fan of the Nikon remote, my experiences with it are totally negative.... it's often slow and unpredictable as well as the plug into the camera becoming lose so you'll get no operation at all. However, some love it (there's a chap in Hampshire and I think another in the states

The shutter button (and remote) is a two stage affair... a half-press will get the camera to lock onto the subject, then press further to take the shot instantly without having the camera to search for a focus lock (which takes time), though this is not relevant if you use the 'Infinity' focus setting (mountain symbol) as this effectively shuts down the camera auto focus. Infinity focus mode is best at longer distances where the camera would struggle to find a focus lock for various reasons.... If the subject is big in the scene, macro produces the sharpest results.
Hope this helps.

And read that manual!
Regards,
Andy