[mattpau]

Hello

I will shortly be purchasing a new spotting scope, almost certainly the Zeiss 65 mm with the 15-45x zoom eyepiece.

While bird photography and birding used to be two completely different activities, I'm hoping that I'm not being naive in thinking that I can casually do some semi-decent digiscoping while remaining primarily a birder. By all accounts, the Nikon Coolpix 4500 seems to be a great digiscoping camera, and it seems to be available at a great price at the moment, especially when compared to what I paid for my wife's Canon Powershot A60 (2 mp's) less than 2 years ago.

1) I haven't been able to find out how big the CP 4500 is. Can I slip it into a pocket and barely notice it's there, like the Canon? Or is it quite bulky?

2) I'm confused about adapters. I understand a typical set-up has the adapter screwed onto the camera semi-permanently. You then "just" attach it to the scope when you want a picture. I undertand this is with bolts to keep the adapter tight. Does one need to carry a screwdriver? How laborious is this? and finally which (inexpensive) adapter would be appropriate for the Zeiss and how much would it be approximately?

3) (on behalf of my wife) Does the CP 4500 have a video feature?

Thanks a lot for any info.

[TexasFlyway]

This should give you a lot of the basic information you are looking for. I'm in the market for one myself.

http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/nikoncp4500/

[billhelen]

Originally Posted by mattpau

Hello

I will shortly be purchasing a new spotting scope, almost certainly the Zeiss 65 mm with the 15-45x zoom eyepiece.

While bird photography and birding used to be two completely different activities, I'm hoping that I'm not being naive in thinking that I can casually do some semi-decent digiscoping while remaining primarily a birder. By all accounts, the Nikon Coolpix 4500 seems to be a great digiscoping camera, and it seems to be available at a great price at the moment, especially when compared to what I paid for my wife's Canon Powershot A60 (2 mp's) less than 2 years ago.

1) I haven't been able to find out how big the CP 4500 is. Can I slip it into a pocket and barely notice it's there, like the Canon? Or is it quite bulky?

2) I'm confused about adapters. I understand a typical set-up has the adapter screwed onto the camera semi-permanently. You then "just" attach it to the scope when you want a picture. I undertand this is with bolts to keep the adapter tight. Does one need to carry a screwdriver? How laborious is this? and finally which (inexpensive) adapter would be appropriate for the Zeiss and how much would it be approximately?

3) (on behalf of my wife) Does the CP 4500 have a video feature?

Thanks a lot for any info.

yes you can do video clips with sound

adaptor you have 2 choices here you can buy the adaptor for your scope from the scope makers or from the likes of eagleeye , or there is one avalible from ebay £14.99 but you will need a 52mm down to 28 mm step ring for the cp4500 this is the set up i use the adaptor is called a ( f ) adaptor

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.d...e=STRK:MEWA:IT

hope this will help

ps have a look at these photos see what you think

http://www.birdforum.net/pp_gallery/...cat/500/page/1

http://www.birdforum.net/pp_gallery/...cat/500/page/1

good luck

bill

[billhelen]

there is also another way of fitting the camera to the scope this is called a t-mount

http://www.astro-engineering.com/Cam...cameramou.html

you need to buy part ( a ) which fits the scope and part ( b ) which fits the camera
http://www.astro-engineering.com/Cam...daptorrin.html

i have this set up on my other scope / camera

works verry well

hope this will help

bill

[mattpau]

Thanks a lot Bill and Texas

The camera's a bit bigger than I was hoping for. On the other hand maybe that means it also has a bigger screen than the one on my wife's Canon. It's pretty hard on that one to tell if the picture was a success or not unless it's a total disaster.

The CP4500 has been discontinued for a while, according to a fellow at Adorama (NYC & online camera store). A few available on the web but it may be hard to actually see it before buying unless I can find someone around here who has one. I'm not sure how many people here in Ottawa are into digiscoping.

PS Bill - nice cormorant shots!

[TexasFlyway]

Originally Posted by mattpau

The CP4500 has been discontinued for a while, according to a fellow at Adorama (NYC & online camera store). A few available on the web......

Be real careful on those web purchases. I've gone to several sites and seen it as low as $219; but there may be all kinds of missing parts, like memory cards! And no manufacturers warranty without purchasing it,etc, etc.

I've been reading tons of feedback from some of these sites, and my confidence is not high. If you find a good reliable one with some decent pricing let me know.

[mattpau]

Originally Posted by TexasFlyway

Be real careful on those web purchases. I've gone to several sites and seen it as low as $219; but there may be all kinds of missing parts, like memory cards! And no manufacturers warranty without purchasing it,etc, etc.

I've been reading tons of feedback from some of these sites, and my confidence is not high. If you find a good reliable one with some decent pricing let me know.

Hi Texas

Thanks for the warning. Believe me I'm very leary of those sites. By googling for the CP 4500 I somehow came across a site called BizRate that rated online businesses for reliability, etc. They had Tri State Camera and digitalfotoclub at the top - both selling the 4500 at $290-300. Epinions rates digitalfotoclub highly (4½ stars of 5) but not Tri State (2½). The latter rating was based on only 17 reviews, though, whereas there were apparently almost 4000 for digitalfotoclub. The Bizrate ratings for both stores are apparently based on thousands of ratings. Presumably even the best online stores make mistakes and I imagine that people are more likely to give feedback when they've had a negative experience than when they've had a positive one. Still, caveat emptor. Anyway Good luck if you order. I'm still seeing if I can find one here at a reasonable price (no luck so far).

[billhelen]

Originally Posted by mattpau

Hi Texas

Thanks for the warning. Believe me I'm very leary of those sites. By googling for the CP 4500 I somehow came across a site called BizRate that rated online businesses for reliability, etc. They had Tri State Camera and digitalfotoclub at the top - both selling the 4500 at $290-300. Epinions rates digitalfotoclub highly (4½ stars of 5) but not Tri State (2½). The latter rating was based on only 17 reviews, though, whereas there were apparently almost 4000 for digitalfotoclub. The Bizrate ratings for both stores are apparently based on thousands of ratings. Presumably even the best online stores make mistakes and I imagine that people are more likely to give feedback when they've had a negative experience than when they've had a positive one. Still, caveat emptor. Anyway Good luck if you order. I'm still seeing if I can find one here at a reasonable price (no luck so far).

HI PAUL I BOUGHT MY CP4500 FROM LONDON CAMERAS £259 NEXT DAY DEIVERY NOT SHORE IF THY EXPORT OUT OF THE UK THOUGH

IF YOU ARE SILL LOOKING FOR A SMALLER CAMERA TRY THE CP4300 WHICH IS WHAT I USED TO USE NICE CAMERA JUST A BIT SLOW THIS ALSO WILL DO VIDEO BUT NO SOUND


ALL THE BEST

BILL

[snowyowl]

Hi Mattpau!
I recently bought a 4500 on ebay from Tri-State Cameras in NY. I had abslutely no problems with them. The camera was new, in the box, with full manufacturers warranty. I received it in about 4 days.
I bought an Eagleeye adapter from the UK. My scope is a Leica so I needed an L1 adapter. Their site lists most of the adapted/scope combinations but be careful with their on-line order form. My original order got screwed up, by me or by them, I don't know, and I received the wrong adapter, but they stood behind the adapter and replaced it with the right one. Delivery was very quick. The adapter is very easily removable, I wouldn't call it semi-perm. Mine is screws into the 4500 and is attached to the scope with 4 thunb screws. It quite quick to asemble everything and no extra step down adapters are needed.
I now find that Photosolve in the USA carries all of the Eagleeye products but for some reason (Canada Custums?) it seems to take a bit longer to get things.
I suggest that you also order the Wing bracket and Shutter Release bracket. You might also consider the Xtend-a-view Mini gadget that allows you to to view the LCD screen in even bright light conditions. Be aware though that the Xtend-a-view has built in 2x magnification which means that you see the pixels of the LCD screen which is annoying and distracting but much better than not being able to see the image at all.
the LCD screen on the 4500 is 1 1/2 ", so quite small.
I hope this helps a bit.

[mattpau]

Originally Posted by billhelen

HI PAUL I BOUGHT MY CP4500 FROM LONDON CAMERAS £259 NEXT DAY DEIVERY NOT SHORE IF THY EXPORT OUT OF THE UK THOUGH

IF YOU ARE SILL LOOKING FOR A SMALLER CAMERA TRY THE CP4300 WHICH IS WHAT I USED TO USE NICE CAMERA JUST A BIT SLOW THIS ALSO WILL DO VIDEO BUT NO SOUND


ALL THE BEST

BILL

Thanks for the tips Bill. Dan (Snowy Owl) has had a positive experience with Tri-State in NYC so maybe that's what I should go with. Prices in the UK are very high for us North Americans given the strong pound.

[mattpau]

Originally Posted by snowyowl

Hi Mattpau!
I recently bought a 4500 on ebay from Tri-State Cameras in NY. I had abslutely no problems with them. The camera was new, in the box, with full manufacturers warranty. I received it in about 4 days.
I bought an Eagleeye adapter from the UK. My scope is a Leica so I needed an L1 adapter. Their site lists most of the adapted/scope combinations but be careful with their on-line order form. My original order got screwed up, by me or by them, I don't know, and I received the wrong adapter, but they stood behind the adapter and replaced it with the right one. Delivery was very quick. The adapter is very easily removable, I wouldn't call it semi-perm. Mine is screws into the 4500 and is attached to the scope with 4 thunb screws. It quite quick to asemble everything and no extra step down adapters are needed.
I now find that Photosolve in the USA carries all of the Eagleeye products but for some reason (Canada Custums?) it seems to take a bit longer to get things.
I suggest that you also order the Wing bracket and Shutter Release bracket. You might also consider the Xtend-a-view Mini gadget that allows you to to view the LCD screen in even bright light conditions. Be aware though that the Xtend-a-view has built in 2x magnification which means that you see the pixels of the LCD screen which is annoying and distracting but much better than not being able to see the image at all.
the LCD screen on the 4500 is 1 1/2 ", so quite small.
I hope this helps a bit.

Hi Dan

Thanks a lot for those very useful tips and for the positive feedback on Tri-State. They seem to be a real bricks and mortar store too, which lends them credibility for me. I think Digital Foto Club is strictly Internet.

PS I remember that during the scope/online store discussion we had in another thread you mentioned that you'd been charged quite a lot extra on your CP 4500 when it came across the border. I couldn't figure out why, since I believe cameras are duty-free, but a friend has instructed me on "brokerage fees". Couriers charge for paying the Canadian taxes for the customer. These fees can be very high. Canada Post only charges $5 but I don't think this type of equipment tends to get sent through the post office so it's kind of moot anyway - you're stuck with the brokerage fees.

[craig whitmore]

Originally Posted by mattpau

Hi Dan

Thanks a lot for those very useful tips and for the positive feedback on Tri-State. They seem to be a real bricks and mortar store too, which lends them credibility for me. I think Digital Foto Club is strictly Internet.

PS I remember that during the scope/online store discussion we had in another thread you mentioned that you'd been charged quite a lot extra on your CP 4500 when it came across the border. I couldn't figure out why, since I believe cameras are duty-free, but a friend has instructed me on "brokerage fees". Couriers charge for paying the Canadian taxes for the customer. These fees can be very high. Canada Post only charges $5 but I don't think this type of equipment tends to get sent through the post office so it's kind of moot anyway - you're stuck with the brokerage fees.

HI Mattpau

Also bought one from Tri State. They were up front telling me that discontinued items DID NOT carry manufactures warrant. They did, however, have access to an after market insurance warrant whic I purchased for ca $35. Also purchased the MC-EUI remote, case, and spare battery. The owners manual was illegible (poor testimonial for a company in photo reproduction business). Tri State promptly sent me a good copy.

Craig