autofocus DSLR through TLS APO (1 Viewer)

[fdokykcu]

I have read elsewhere that autofocus on some SLRS bodies (i.e. Olympus OMD-5) don't work through APO TLS adaptator, so you have to rely only on manually focusing the scope ¿are there any DSLR in which this doesn't happen?

I am thinking of upgrading to an swa ATX-85 + APO TLS combo and would like to have some info on this particular subject

Thanks,
Fernando
Greetings from Cuenca, Spain

 

[proudpapa56]

I use the Nikon V1 and V3, both of which need to be manually focused.

 

[Neil]

I have read elsewhere that autofocus on some SLRS bodies (i.e. Olympus OMD-5) don't work through APO TLS adaptator, so you have to rely only on manually focusing the scope ¿are there any DSLR in which this doesn't happen?

I am thinking of upgrading to an swa ATX-85 + APO TLS combo and would like to have some info on this particular subject

Thanks,
Fernando
Greetings from Cuenca, Spain

Fernando
With the TLS APO you attach the DSLR body directly without a lens so no way of Auto Focusing. I find Manual Focusing ok for distant subjects that are not moving very fast but if you have shorebirds and warblers feeding fast close to you it is a bit difficult, especially if you wear glasses.
For this close action I like fast focusing digicams , like the Nikon P340, Nikon V1/V2/V3, Sony RX100 series or Panasonic Micro Four Thirds cameras with the 20/1.7 P lens. Of these the Nikon P340 is the fastest and most accurate due to it's small sensor . Of course image quality gets better as the sensors get bigger.
Neil.

 

[mbobo]

It depends on your expectation. If you mostly want do do shots with birds that not moving quickly, the TLS is a good solution. I use it with the Olympus OM-D E-M10 (see my thread). Mostly you have also a little helper on system cameras - the electroic magnifier ( on display or viewfinder) with a 8 - 16x magnification. It helps by manual focus and with a little training the focussing time will be shorter and more accurate.

regards,
Mario

 

[sunlight]

Please forgive my ignorance but if you are digiscoping through a camera lens with autofocus capability and the spotting scope is slightly out of focus, will the camera/lenses autofocus correct for this and usually reachieve an accurate focus?

 

[mbobo]

Of course you have to prefocussing with the scope, before the autofocus of the lens/camera combination is able to find the object - but that is simple and quite fast to do.

regards,
Mario

 

[sunlight]

Mario,
Not sure if my question was clear. What I was trying to get at was if you have the scope pretty close to correct focus, but not exact, is the camera able to achieve a correct focus just by adjusting the camera's lenses elements or is it critical that the scope be 100% accurately focused for the camera/lens combination to also achieve an accurate focus? Hope that is clear.
Frank

 

[buzzard12]

Mario,
Not sure if my question was clear. What I was trying to get at was if you have the scope pretty close to correct focus, but not exact, is the camera able to achieve a correct focus just by adjusting the camera's lenses elements or is it critical that the scope be 100% accurately focused for the camera/lens combination to also achieve an accurate focus? Hope that is clear.
Frank

The scope focus must be accurate to achieve sharp photos.

Simple. There is no autofocus.

 

[sunlight]

Buzzard,
Thanks for the input. I certainly understand that the scopes have no autofocus. Just wanted to make sure that as the scope and camera lens each has a series of elements that if the scope was nearly in focus that the camera by changing its lenses elements positions was not able to finish (fine tune) the focus. I guess that the bottom line is that all the camera/lens combination can do is acurrately reproduce what it sees coming from the eyepiece.

 

[kwhart]

The CAMERA will NOT auto focus unless there is a camera lens attached. If you are digiscoping through an adapter of any kind with a DSLR you will not have autofocus at all. Use your camera to go to "live view" and manually focus your scope while at 5X or 10X on the live view. Go back to normal and take the shot.

 

[Pablosammy]

The CAMERA will NOT auto focus unless there is a camera lens attached. If you are digiscoping through an adapter of any kind with a DSLR you will not have autofocus at all. Use your camera to go to "live view" and manually focus your scope while at 5X or 10X on the live view. Go back to normal and take the shot.

I think you've missed the point of his question, as it's a bit off-topic for this thread... "Please forgive my ignorance but if you are digiscoping through a camera lens with autofocus capability..."

I'm interested in knowing the answer though - can an autofocus lens compensate completely for slight misfocus on the scope, or do both aspects of the setup need to be in perfect focus?

 

[SteveClifton]

I think you've missed the point of his question, as it's a bit off-topic for this thread... "Please forgive my ignorance but if you are digiscoping through a camera lens with autofocus capability..."

I'm interested in knowing the answer though - can an autofocus lens compensate completely for slight misfocus on the scope, or do both aspects of the setup need to be in perfect focus?

In short, yes, an AF camera can compensate for the scope being slightly in/out of perfect focus. When I digi-scoped with a compact camera, my typical focussing technique would involve half pressing the camera's shutter to see if it would lock on. If not, making a slight rotation of the scope's focusser and then trying again would usually do the trick. If the scope isn't close to being in focus to start with then the AF won't lock on.

In theory, if using a DSLR or compact system camera (with camera lens between the camera & scope's eyepiece/adapter), you should be able to use the same technique, but only if the lens has an internal focussing mechanism. However, most of the lenses I've tried don't have internal focus-instead they extend during focussing, and some also rotate at the end. Therefore you risk straining the focus motor and also causing the camera to rotate! neither of which is advisable/desirable.

In such cases it's best to activate MF on the lens (thus eliminating the risk that the AF motor will kick-in) and focus only with the scope.

When Swarovski introduced the TLS APO adapter, they were basically simplifying the complex issue of which lens to use for digi-scoping? It's basically a fixed focus 30mm pancake lens built into an adapter, that is optimised to work with Swarovski Scopes. It can be used with a wide variety of camera systems (via a T-adapter specific to each different bayonet fitting). Therefore you only have the option of focussing with the scope when using the TLS APO.

It's not unusual to find that having focussed the scope by eye, and put the camera/adapter on the back, that the image on the camera's screen is slightly out of focus. The degree to which it's out of focus will vary from person to person depending on your eyesight, but a quick re-focus usually corrects this before taking the picture.