SLR Photo Attachment for TSN-821. (1 Viewer)

[Tamir]

Hello,

I'm about to purchase my first scope ever, the TSN-821. Since I owe a Canon EOS 35mm SLR camera, I wonder, is it worth to buy the Kowa SLR Photo Attachment? Will I be able to take decent pictures with it?

I looked a little bit on other forums and it seems that most of them say the SLR attachments prevent much light and it demands at least 800ISO film (And this is on a good day light conditions, with super, heavy, stable Tripod),

Please advise,

Tamir.

 

[IanF]

Hi Tamir,

On behalf of Admin and the Moderators, welcome to Bird Forum :t:

To be honest I haven't tried using an SLR with a scope. The Kowa attachment is a bit pricey though. I suppose they must work though else Kowa wouldn't have gone to the trouble of producing them.

From my experience of digiscoping though, I'd say it's likely that light loss will be great. Whilst film emulsions have dramatically improved, 800 ASA is an awful lot to ask for a shot of a bird where you want as little graininess as possible.

Hopefully someone will be able to give you a more informed opinion than me.

 

[peter hayes]

Tamir

Great to have a new BF member from Israel! You are very welcome, and we hope you enjoy the various forums we have to offer.

I am sure that some of the technical people will answer your question soon.

Best of luck!

Peter

 

[Tamir]

Dear Ian and Peter,

Thanks a lot for the warm welcome. After surfing more in the different forums I decided not to buy the Photo Attachment. I somehow got a feeling I'll be disappointed from the results (if any), and the whole logistics of pulling out the eyepiece and insert the Adaptor with the camera will probably be annoying enough.

I guess I can always buy it later, but I must admit that after looking at the forums and surfing Andy Bright's Digiscoping web site, I really turned into that thing.

Many thanks,

Tamir.

 

[Colin]

Tamir,
Welcome to the forums.

I have to agree with what Ian says about the amount of light being available may be a problem. I don't use an SLR myself but 800 ASA and you will be getting serious graining. One idea which might help a little is to go for the 823 if you can afford it. This is the same spec, as I am sure you know, but it has fluorite glass which gives a brighter image. That said, it may not be enough so I am sure that you have made two wise decisions. One, to get some more information before buying and I am sure that you will get some more replies on your topic on this forum so hang on for those from the more technical and more expert in this field than me. Two, to think of alternate methods of digiscoping.

Colin

 

[Tamir]

Thanks Colin,

Yeah, I'm familiar with the 823/4 with the Fluorite glass. I'm afraid however it's beyond the budget for the moment. Even the 821 is beyond the Budget, but it's somehow tolerable. Not to mention I still need to buy a decent Tripod, but you probably all familiar with budget problems.

I find Digiscoping very interesting and intriguing, but for the moment the scope will be used mainly for its' origin purpose. I'm really looking forward to looking in it and have a decent view on birds.

Many thanks,

Tamir.

 

[Forcreeks]

Dear Tamir,

Sorry I'm so late coming to this forum.. I'll pm you too. I have the Kowa TSN-824 fluorite and the Kowa-Nikon adapter. At 850 mm fixed power, believe it or not, I was not satisfied with image size at the distance you will often find yourself away from the subject bird. You are right about super-fast film needed. I was trying 1600 when I could get it in color film. I rarely had a satisfying film photo and very soon began experimenting with digiscoping even though I only had a Mini-DVB camcorder. There was no one to talk to about yet to be announced "digiscoping" like these days, so it's really wonderful we all have this network of support.
Save the adapter money, and get a digital camera, any digital camera to start with. There are cameras as cheap as the adapter itself you can learn and hone your photo skills. I see nothing wrong with getting a 2 Megapixel camera if it's cheap.. even a 1 megapixel if you have to. The nice thing with digiscoping is that the small diameter lens cameras work the best, and in the low and moderate price lines as well as beauties like the Nikon CP-4500 there're many to choose from. Also, you might find a very cheap one from someone who's upgrading brands or megapixels. If you have any questions you're more than welcome to pm me too. Steve Berliner, Oregon, USA.

 

[Tamir]

Hi Steve,

Thanks for your reply. I already decided to give up the Photo Adaptor, as I understood very few people use it and the results are poor.

I wonder why the scope manufacturers keep selling them if no one uses them?

Anyhow, I doubt if I'll try the Digiscoping thing with the Kowa TSN-821. I understand that the glass quality is crucial, and for the moment the Fluorite Scopes are beyond the budget.

Many thanks,

Tamir.

 

[Andy Bright]

Go ahead and give digiscoping a try, Tamir .... if finances allow. Despite the lack of Fluorite, the 821 is still capable of results that will satisfy many (I've seen some great shots with the 821/822). Colour fringing can be removed fairly easily in-computer with the software that comes with most digital cameras.
Andy

 

[sparrowbirder]

hi tamir,ive only just found this posting thats why im a bit late posting this,, not sure if you have purchased the slr adaptor yet,but ive used one for years and must admit ive got some pretty decent shots from it, I first had a kowa tsn2,and then an 821 and ive had plenty of experience of both,ive recently purchased a coolpix 4500 so im going to try digiscoping for a change!!
the adaptor ive got is fixed aperture (f10) turning the scope into an 800 mm lens, in good light you can get some pretty results (i can post some examples if needed) which in israel is usually the norm!! I normally use 200 asa film which seems to be a pretty good allround film to use, obviously if the light is less than perfect the results suffer,but isnt this the same with digiscoping too!!
hope this helps
andy p

 

[Tamir]

Hi Andy,

Many thanks for your reply. However we've decided to drop the Photo Attachment. It seems too much money for uncertain results, especially when everyone is moving into Digiscoping.

I have the scope for one month now and although it's a slow month in Israel (The autumn migration starts only in September) we already manage to spot some water birds. I know you people have scope for many years, but it's really a mind blowing to be able to see the birds (which relatively stand still). Your ability to identify them increased incredibly.

Many thanks,

Tamir.