Am I expecting to much? (1 Viewer)

Hi,
I'm new at Digiscoping,just bought my first scope last week a (S/H Swaro ST80 HD)
I was hoping for sharper pics than this. 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?

Thanks, Alan.

Tockman said:

Hi,
I'm new at Digiscoping,just bought my first scope last week a (S/H Swaro ST80 HD)
I was hoping for sharper pics than this. 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?

Thanks, Alan.

Click to expand...

It's certainly not an easy hobby, is it, Alan? In fact it's more than a little frustrating. I have great respect for those successful digiscopers who show their work here, but I have been with a couple of them and can say that their rejection rate is pretty high!

I attach your shot which I have taken the liberty of sharpening slightly using a very useful and easy-to-use piece of software called 'FocalBlade'. You can buy this and the equally useful 'ColorWasher' quite cheaply.

A close look at the bird in your photograph seems to suggest to me that your focus is not quite on the bird itself, rather on the feeding container. This is a problem, especially if you rely on auto-focus, when there is more in the subject area of the shot than the bird itself as the depth of focus (the amount of the shot that is sharp) is truly tiny at such high magnification. I would keep the zoom at 20x and try to zoom the camera the minimum amount to remove vignetting plus... if you don't have one, buy a magnifying shade for your camera. It also looks as if you might need a steadier tripod as I think I can detect slight camera shake?

A couple of links you might not have seen Tockman :

http://www.eagleeyeuk.com/erol2eu/erol.html
Select "Digiscoping and Birding" then "Digibirding Guide" and scroll down to the tips.

And if need a bit of inspiration after that, some digiscoped piccies by a Pentax Optio user :
http://hem.passagen.se/gorbatul/

Good health, fortune, patience and some extra density glass B

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?

Click to expand...

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.

Thanks,Scampo/Norm&Jay, some good tips there!
Will experiment with min zoom on camera,unfortunately I haven't got aperture priority on this camera, only macro and infinity etc, have tried both with no noticeable difference.
Your right Scampo, I did focus on the feeder,didn't think the small distance involved would make any difference, those little Coalies are so quick,I don't get chance to focus on them!
Did notice that even with a cable release, shake can still be a problem, will have to lay off the beer!!
Thanks again,
Alan. B

Nah - keep on the beer, Alan, this is only a hobby after all!

Cheers Steve,
Tried again today,Min zoom on camera,approx 1,5x. just enough to lose vignetting,different settings on camera (self portrait) and easy on the cable release.
This problem has forced me to re-read the camera instructions, lots of different settings to play with, I didn't know I had!
Attached Chaff a slight improvement, I think, even after a few pints last night!!

Cheers Alan. B

Can't complain at that - it's better than any I've managed yet. Well done!

Thanks Steve,
Now there's "Hope"
Was a bit worried I'd bought the wrong scope, or that it wasn't compatible with my camera.lots of practise needed now!

Cheers, Alan. B

Hi Alan,
Chaffinch looks good to me... yeah, don't tug at the cable-release, make sure it has plenty of slack. I've seen some woefully short cable-releases supplied by one company who should know better and you can end up being no better off than using your finger.

What camera are you using?
Regards,
ANDY

You've got one of the best scopes on the market, Alan and camera, so it's just a matter of time and practice before you're as good as some others here. That's what I keep telling myself, anyway. Click here to look at Graham's (Ragna's) gallery shots. He's not been digiscoping for all that long and whenever I feel frustrated I look at his lovely pics and feel inspiration - well, envy mostly!

Andy Bright said:

Hi Alan,
Chaffinch looks good to me... yeah, don't tug at the cable-release, make sure it has plenty of slack. I've seen some woefully short cable-releases supplied by one company who should know better and you can end up being no better off than using your finger.

What camera are you using?
Regards,
ANDY

Click to expand...

Thanks Andy,
Feeling more reassured now, was beginning to think I'd made a big mistake buying scope!
I'm using a Pentax Optio 330GS camera, had never heard of Digiscoping when I bought it.
Really enjoying B/F, Great site.
Regards, Alan.

scampo said:

You've got one of the best scopes on the market, Alan and camera, so it's just a matter of time and practice before you're as good as some others here. That's what I keep telling myself, anyway. Click here to look at Graham's (Ragna's) gallery shots. He's not been digiscoping for all that long and whenever I feel frustrated I look at his lovely pics and feel inspiration - well, envy mostly!

Click to expand...

Hi Steve,
Thanks for the link, unfortunately I'm having problems viewing them!
Each time I click a pic, a box opens with a message (You must be registered to view images) I tried logging in again,same result! any thoughts?

Cheers, Alan. B

Hi again,

No - I'm lost. Have you logged in? I find that without logging in the BF, some parts work, some don't. If you use any software to remove cookies from your Windows system, you'll find this also wipes out the cookie for BF. Doing this means you have to log in each time. Drop a message to admin. and they will sort it out for you.

Hi Tockman, Belmont is not far from me... which is your local patch, perhaps we have met.........

scampo said:

Hi again,

No - I'm lost. Have you logged in? I find that without logging in the BF, some parts work, some don't. If you use any software to remove cookies from your Windows system, you'll find this also wipes out the cookie for BF. Doing this means you have to log in each time. Drop a message to admin. and they will sort it out for you.

Click to expand...

Hi Steve,
"Success" My privacy settings were set to high, dropped them down a notch,and Hey Presto, now able to view, no probs!
Your quite right about Ragna's Gallery, it's excellent. some superb shots! see what you mean about inspiration!

Cheers, Alan. B

mickporter said:

Hi Tockman, Belmont is not far from me... which is your local patch, perhaps we have met.........

Click to expand...

Hi,
Not far from The Wilton Arms, Black Dog, Black Bull etc, I don't drink off course!
Oh, I forgot The Wrights,
Cheers, Alan. B

LOL Tockman I know it well I live at Astley Bridge maybe you could give me a lesson or two on digiscoping !

psilo said:

LOL Tockman I know it well I live at Astley Bridge maybe you could give me a lesson or two on digiscoping !

Click to expand...

Hi psilo,
We're practically neighbours! Lived and worked on Blackburn Rd,Astley Bridge,for years. Re; Digi Lesson, I could do with a few of those!!

Cheers, B