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ZEISS DTI thermal imaging cameras. For more discoveries at night, and during the day.

Scope for Digiscoping (1 Viewer)

Roy C

Roy C

Occasional bird snapper
I am looking to buy a Scope but want one that would also be capable of good digiscoped images . I know top end stuff from the likes of Swarovski and Kowa are good and I am willing to spend up to £2k if that is required but are there any other cheaper scopes that are good for digiscoping ? How about scopes like the Vortex Razor HD is that any good for digiscoping.
Thanks in advance
 
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I don't have sufficient experience with scopes to comment (more of a binocular guy myself), but you might be interested in the Tonta Lens2Scope (also sold under the Kenko brand). It's a gizmo with an eyepiece that converts a SLR lens (Canon, Nikon, Sony/Minolta and Pentax K versions available) into a scope.

To my untrained eyes, the image using my Canon EF 70-300mm f/4-5.6L IS is bright and sharp. Make sure your lens is compatible, however - mine doesn't work with the Zeiss ZE 100mm f/2 Makro-Planar.
 
fazalmajid said:
I don't have sufficient experience with scopes to comment (more of a binocular guy myself), but you might be interested in the Tonta Lens2Scope (also sold under the Kenko brand). It's a gizmo with an eyepiece that converts a SLR lens (Canon, Nikon, Sony/Minolta and Pentax K versions available) into a scope.

To my untrained eyes, the image using my Canon EF 70-300mm f/4-5.6L IS is bright and sharp. Make sure your lens is compatible, however - mine doesn't work with the Zeiss ZE 100mm f/2 Makro-Planar.
Click to expand...

Thanks for that but I am primarily looking for a decent scope with the option of using it for digiscoping.
 
Roy,

My opinion.....

There are plenty of scopes out there that produce very good digiscoped images and that don't cost as much as the ones you mentioned. The question is what type of image quality are you shooting for? Many of the "second tier" scopes such as the Vortex Razor you mentioned can produce very satisfying images in my opinion. With the interest in digiscoping increasing in recent years the ability to utilize a wide variety of scopes with either brand specific adapters or aftermarket adapters has never been better.

Second tier scopes to consider (in addition to the Razor) would be the Meopta Meostar S2, Nikon Fieldscope (discontinued but still available), Opticron HR ED, Pentax PF ED series, Zen Ray Prime, etc....

I personally use a relatively inexpensive Opticron MM3 50 mm scope and, understanding its limitations, get some very acceptable images with just my Iphone.

Some examples from my Flickr page....

https://flic.kr/p/xm3pDJ

https://flic.kr/p/xGmTrs

https://flic.kr/p/wmVVMt

https://flic.kr/p/uUeE4N
 
FrankD said:
Roy,

My opinion.....

There are plenty of scopes out there that produce very good digiscoped images and that don't cost as much as the ones you mentioned. The question is what type of image quality are you shooting for? Many of the "second tier" scopes such as the Vortex Razor you mentioned can produce very satisfying images in my opinion. With the interest in digiscoping increasing in recent years the ability to utilize a wide variety of scopes with either brand specific adapters or aftermarket adapters has never been better.

Second tier scopes to consider (in addition to the Razor) would be the Meopta Meostar S2, Nikon Fieldscope (discontinued but still available), Opticron HR ED, Pentax PF ED series, Zen Ray Prime, etc....

I personally use a relatively inexpensive Opticron MM3 50 mm scope and, understanding its limitations, get some very acceptable images with just my Iphone.

Some examples from my Flickr page....

https://flic.kr/p/xm3pDJ

https://flic.kr/p/xGmTrs

https://flic.kr/p/wmVVMt

https://flic.kr/p/uUeE4N
Click to expand...
Thanks for that Frank, very useful :t: I will look at some of the scopes you mention. Some very good shots with your 50mm scope and iphone.

Having come from some top end DSLR kit I guess I would be looking for near top quality digiscoping and was wondering if their was a cheaper options than Swaro or Kowa kit
 
Glad I could help Roy. I do have vague recollections of a few articles that might interest you. One was a comparison between a high end DSLR setup and the Swaro ATX. The second was a comparison between one of the previous Swaro models (ATM maybe) and the Vortex Razor. There were many comparison pics in each article. I will see if i can dig up the links for you.
 
Heya Roy,

Have you thought about the used market. People on the main do tend to look after their scopes...they even put little jackets on them. You could find the older ATS/STS comfortably within 2k. The latest Swaro STS 80HD with a 25-60x eyepiece is just under £1900 new at SW Optics...

Just a thought

B Lucky

Gary
 
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