blubird
Well-known member
FWIW, here is part 2 of the results from the first 100 responses to the Digiscoping Survey. The survey is still open, and a final analysis will be performed if there is sufficient interest.
(http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/Y9GBNP6). For Part 1 see Digiscoping Survey in the "Cameras" subforum on this site.
Adapter Types (respondents were allowed to list more than one type, so total greater than 100). There are too many adapter types to list by make and model.
Tubular adapter made by scope manufactuer: 40
Tubular adapter made by others, either third party, home-built or custom: 22
Total for tubular adapters: 62
Hand Held - no centering device: 8
Hand Held - centering device: 11
Total Hand Held: 19
Platform/Clamp adapter: 13
Swing Type Universal Adapter: 13
Other adapters: 12 (unable to characterize, but most probably custom solutions).
Comment: Nearly 1 in 5 digiscopers utilize hand held technique, many with great results.
Hand-holding likely works better with some camera/scope combinations than others.
Tripods Heads: Fluid type head dominated by 10:1. There were a variety of ball heads, anda few gimbal type. There were some confusing entries, as the question was not artfully framed.
Rough results:
Bogen/Manfrotto (75+ total) - Popular models include series 700/701/702 (22),
128RC (10), 3130 (10), 501/501-HDV (9), unspecified (11), various (14).
Velbon (5) - Various models
Gitzo (5) - Inclues (3) 2380 heads.
Slik (2)
Others - wide variety of singles, including a Giottos ball, Jobu Black Widow, Markins ball, etc.
Comment: Fluid mount heads, designed for video cameras, work well with spotting scopes and are used by the great majority of birders and digiscopers. Manfroto/Bogen dominates, and I think they make tripod heads for the mark of others such as Swarovski and Zeiss.
Tripods: Brand and Model - 93 Responses
Manfrotto/Bogen - (51), including (18) 055 models, (9) 190 models, (14) various and sundry, and (10) unspecified.
Swarovski (perhaps made by Manfrotto) - (3)
Zeiss - (1)
Gitzo - (8) - various models
Velbon - (10) - Various models
Felsol - (4)
Berlebach - (3)
Various others (11)
Comment - Manfottto/Bogen/Gitzo dominant, but many other brands and models are used.
Tripod Types - 85 responses
Carbon Fiber/Various Composites: (44)
Aluminum/other metal: (38)
Wood: (3)
Comment: Carbon fiber and composite tripods would probably be even more popular if they were more affordable. Prices have come down the past few years, but still not cheap.
Shutter Release Practices: 100 responses.
Favored method of triggering shutter: Cable/mechanical (35), Finger Press (30), Electronic Remote (19), Camera Self-timer (16).
Second choice used (73 responses): Finger Press 32, Self-timer 24, Remote 9, Cable 8.
Third choice used (31 responses): Self-timer 12, Finger press 7, Remote 6, Cable 6.
Comment - Cable release popular, and those who have one use it most of the time. Finger press is perhaps used more often than some would have predicted.
File Format Used: 86 responses
JPEG only: 62
JPEG and RAW/TIFF: 16
RAW/TIFF only: 8
Comment: Some P&S digicams cannot shoot RAW, and some owner of P&S indicated they are planning to shoot RAW in the future. In general it looks like DSLR users shoot in RAW most of the time, and P&S users prefer JPEG. Camera processing speed plays an important role. Most P&S cameras that have the capacity to shoot RAW (the CP 8400, for example), take quite a while to process each image.
That's it for now. Other responses and comments are too varied to present as a frequency of use measurement. An attempt will be made to capture some of the more cogent issues and responses in a future update.
Thanks again for all who have participated.
(http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/Y9GBNP6). For Part 1 see Digiscoping Survey in the "Cameras" subforum on this site.
Adapter Types (respondents were allowed to list more than one type, so total greater than 100). There are too many adapter types to list by make and model.
Tubular adapter made by scope manufactuer: 40
Tubular adapter made by others, either third party, home-built or custom: 22
Total for tubular adapters: 62
Hand Held - no centering device: 8
Hand Held - centering device: 11
Total Hand Held: 19
Platform/Clamp adapter: 13
Swing Type Universal Adapter: 13
Other adapters: 12 (unable to characterize, but most probably custom solutions).
Comment: Nearly 1 in 5 digiscopers utilize hand held technique, many with great results.
Hand-holding likely works better with some camera/scope combinations than others.
Tripods Heads: Fluid type head dominated by 10:1. There were a variety of ball heads, anda few gimbal type. There were some confusing entries, as the question was not artfully framed.
Rough results:
Bogen/Manfrotto (75+ total) - Popular models include series 700/701/702 (22),
128RC (10), 3130 (10), 501/501-HDV (9), unspecified (11), various (14).
Velbon (5) - Various models
Gitzo (5) - Inclues (3) 2380 heads.
Slik (2)
Others - wide variety of singles, including a Giottos ball, Jobu Black Widow, Markins ball, etc.
Comment: Fluid mount heads, designed for video cameras, work well with spotting scopes and are used by the great majority of birders and digiscopers. Manfroto/Bogen dominates, and I think they make tripod heads for the mark of others such as Swarovski and Zeiss.
Tripods: Brand and Model - 93 Responses
Manfrotto/Bogen - (51), including (18) 055 models, (9) 190 models, (14) various and sundry, and (10) unspecified.
Swarovski (perhaps made by Manfrotto) - (3)
Zeiss - (1)
Gitzo - (8) - various models
Velbon - (10) - Various models
Felsol - (4)
Berlebach - (3)
Various others (11)
Comment - Manfottto/Bogen/Gitzo dominant, but many other brands and models are used.
Tripod Types - 85 responses
Carbon Fiber/Various Composites: (44)
Aluminum/other metal: (38)
Wood: (3)
Comment: Carbon fiber and composite tripods would probably be even more popular if they were more affordable. Prices have come down the past few years, but still not cheap.
Shutter Release Practices: 100 responses.
Favored method of triggering shutter: Cable/mechanical (35), Finger Press (30), Electronic Remote (19), Camera Self-timer (16).
Second choice used (73 responses): Finger Press 32, Self-timer 24, Remote 9, Cable 8.
Third choice used (31 responses): Self-timer 12, Finger press 7, Remote 6, Cable 6.
Comment - Cable release popular, and those who have one use it most of the time. Finger press is perhaps used more often than some would have predicted.
File Format Used: 86 responses
JPEG only: 62
JPEG and RAW/TIFF: 16
RAW/TIFF only: 8
Comment: Some P&S digicams cannot shoot RAW, and some owner of P&S indicated they are planning to shoot RAW in the future. In general it looks like DSLR users shoot in RAW most of the time, and P&S users prefer JPEG. Camera processing speed plays an important role. Most P&S cameras that have the capacity to shoot RAW (the CP 8400, for example), take quite a while to process each image.
That's it for now. Other responses and comments are too varied to present as a frequency of use measurement. An attempt will be made to capture some of the more cogent issues and responses in a future update.
Thanks again for all who have participated.
