Need help making first digiscoping purchase (1 Viewer)

[jlacasci]

I'm an experienced photographer going to visit Yellowstone. I know my Canon Mark iii with 400mm and 1.4 teleconverter won't have the reach I want. I will be purchasing a Kowa TSN 883 88mm with their 25-60 eye piece. Tripod will be Manfrotto MT190CXPRO4 carbon. Head is MVH500AH fluid head flat base. I'm also getting Kowa TSN-PA7 and T-mount ring for my EOS 1d Mark iii. Finally my questions, would you change the tripod or head? If so to what? My phone is a Samaung Galaxy S21 Ultra, no one has a holder to digiscope before I leave in July. What would you suggest for my phone, or should I just stick with the camera. I'm also getting the long plate for the head to help with balance 500plong video plate. What am I missing? Thanks, Joe

 

[JoeGBirder]

personally, i'd change it depending on what you want to photograph. if you want the better quality, headpiece. if you want more photos or many other things, tripod. it's all up to you!

 

[jlacasci]

Thank you for the reply. My specialty has been sports photography, so hand holding a Mark iii with a 24-70 or a 2nd Mark iii with 400 mm on a Gitzo monopod. I've never had to deal with the stability concerns of digiscoping. I've read that the head I selected is a good choice. What tripod would you suggest? Also, should I even worry about a universal adapter for my phone? Thanks.

 

[JoeGBirder]

I'd like to help with that first question... but the only tripod I use is one from Manfretto and it's pretty good, but it's the only one I've ever used, so I can't make a valid statement. I also don't know what a Universal Adapter is, can you explain?

 

[jlacasci]

I should add that the scope setup will be used for wildlife in the Yellowstone valleys. I will have plenty of lenses with my camera bodies for other photos. I intend to use the scope, tripod and head for birding for year's to come.

 

[JoeGBirder]

I would have the scope and head if you plan on taking wildlife photos, and if you can find one that fits your budget and is good quality, perhaps purchase it too. Of course, don't base everything on what I say... a teenage photographer is not the most reliable source.

 

[jlacasci]

Sure. Many sites have been suggesting attaching your phone to the scope. The company Phonescope is the predominant player in this space. They won't have a holder for my Samsung galaxy s21 ultra until August, this the universal adapter. Since I've never used a phone or camera on a scope I assume the camera is a better option even though the shutter and mirror may introduce some vibration over a phone.

 

[JoeGBirder]

well, there are more editing options if you used a phone, like cropping and stuff, which can fix problems... but a camera can make more professional photos and, personally, using a real camera feels cooler than a phone. so, i would do the camera, but it's all up to you.

 

[jlacasci]

I appreciate your honesty. Thanks. Although I'm an experienced photographer, I've never digiscoped before. And being much, much older my total budget for the setup is $5,000. I intend to make years of use of this investment once I retire in 5 years.

 

[JoeGBirder]

oh, well, i feel like since you're an adult, long-time photographer, and i'm just a birder who happened to start taking pictures of birds last week, it's a better idea not to rely on my opinion. i have appreciated talking with you about this! funnily enough, i think i learned more about photography than you did in this thread... have a great day, and i really hope you enjoy your trip to yellowstone

 

[jlacasci]

Thank you, I appreciate your time.

 

[Jason Bugay Reyes]

The tripod and head is a good one and with the ordered long plate, you shouldn't have any problem to balance your scope + camera on the scope. The universal phone adapter, can get it from Phoneskop.

Is your scope straight or angled? Happy birding and digiscoping!

P/s I'm a sport photographer too mostly for rugby

 

[jlacasci]

Thank you. I decided to go with the Manfrotto 057 3 section rapid instead of the 055. It may be overkill. But it will be more stable than the 055 no matter what I put on it. It should at nearly double the price.

 

[Jason Bugay Reyes]

Thank you. I decided to go with the Manfrotto 057 3 section rapid instead of the 055. It may be overkill. But it will be more stable than the 055 no matter what I put on it. It should at nearly double the price.

Heavier is better to stabilised the scope and when you do digiscoping, the main killer of sharp images is if the support is not good.

 

[buck mulligan]

Thank you. I decided to go with the Manfrotto 057 3 section rapid instead of the 055. It may be overkill. But it will be more stable than the 055 no matter what I put on it. It should at nearly double the price.

Hi Joe
a little late but...
I was just writing up a post about my expérience with the Kowa set-up

First the good news
the better tripod is a good idea as Horukuro says stability is your friend !

Then...

Did you buy the TSN-PA7 already ?

I have been using one for about three months now and and coming to regret the purchase


I'm a birder who takes photographs for ID purposes and basically I can't produce consistently 'correct identification images '
By that I mean that if the bird is at more than 50m or so I have great difficultly with fine focus

My wife with her Canon 90d / EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS II USM can beat my quality 70% of the time

She doesn't like her photos but we can identify the bird...


My Kowa dealer, who is an honest guy, sums it up by saying that as I am not a "photographer" I am asking too much of the kit

Did you see this video by Simon Brumby

as I am not a photographer I didn't understand the difference between the TSN-PA7 (body only) and the TSN-DA10
Now I do

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here is a photo I took with my Pixel 4a of the screen of the pc that Michèle uses to process her photos

This photo of the black-winged kite (Elanus caeruleus) is fine for my id purposes but is not good enough as a "photograph"

It was an overcast day with little wind and the bird, which is about the size of a Cooper's Hawk, was about 1200m ( 4000 ft ?) away.
Of course we loose detail ; the red eye that show it to be an adult ...

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But the photos I took with my Kowa set up are useless


HTH

BM

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