Your thoughts appreciated (1 Viewer)

[Ian B]

Fairly new to birding and digiscoping so please be gentle with me !

I would like to try and link up my Swarovski ATS 80 with my Olympus 5060. After extensive research a couple of adapters appear to offer possible solutions.

Firstly there is Swarovskis own adapter the DCB, looks tidy but how much stress does it place on the scope neck ?

and secondly the Avian Digimaster, looks somewhat cumbersome but appears to provide good support for the camera.

I would be very pleased to hear on anyones experiences with these pieces of equipment.


Thank you

Ian

Lots to learn

 

[pduxon]

welcome to bf Ian

 

[iporali]

I would be very pleased to hear on anyones experiences with these pieces of equipment.

Hi Ian,
Have you seen this http://www.birdforum.net/showthread.php?t=10771 discussion. Looks like the Oly 5060 & the Swaro ATS are a pretty good digiscoping combo. :t: You could also check the Zeiss Quick Adapter (reviewed by mickporter on the Equipment Reviews).

Ilkka

 

[Andy Bright]

Hi Ian, welcome to birdforum from all the staff here, we hope you enjoy the site.
The Oly 5060 has been used with good results by a few people. You seem to be looking at the bracket type adapter rather than the traditional (and often cheaper) tubular adapters.

Have you thought about the Swarovski DCA adapter? that's a pretty good one. Similarly, there's the offering from Spidertech. Both are top class and allow operation of the zoom eyepiece with camera fitted. Having said that, you will have to purchase the olympus accessory lens adapter and possibly a thread step-ring to fit a tubular digiscoping adapter.

regards,
Andy

 

[Ian B]

You seem to be looking at the bracket type adapter rather than the traditional (and often cheaper) tubular adapters.

Andy, thanks

Yes I am looking at a bracket type. The Oly 5060 is a fairly chunky piece of kit and I would really be concerned about the weight "hanging" on the scope eyepiece. Also from what I've read on here the tube type adapters are quite time consuming to fit whereas with the bracket type you "appear" to be able to just swing the camera out the way. I would really like to see the Swaro DCB in action.

Ian

 

[Andy Bright]

Andy, thanks

Yes I am looking at a bracket type. The Oly 5060 is a fairly chunky piece of kit and I would really be concerned about the weight "hanging" on the scope eyepiece. Also from what I've read on here the tube type adapters are quite time consuming to fit whereas with the bracket type you "appear" to be able to just swing the camera out the way. I would really like to see the Swaro DCB in action.

Ian

The weight aspect is not really a problem unless your camera is over 420g ... we've hung our 420g Nikon 990's on the end of eyepieces via the adapters for years without a problem... though I can understand the reluctance of some about this, especially if you've just purchased an expensive new camera.

A good tubular adapter with no more than one fixing screw (some don't even have one) can be attached in a couple of seconds... the adapter stays attached to the camera, so you are shooting very quickly.

Anyway, bracket types are very handy as well, once they are set-up correctly. I used a DCB a few weeks ago and it was a pain to set up but once it was done, it did it's job. A bit plasticky for the price, but at least that keeps the weight down.
cheers,
Andy

 

[Perry]

Using the DCB

I have recently changed over from the Eagleeye adaptor system to the Swarovski DCB as I was not happy with hanging my camera off of a few small threads at the front of its lens. The DCB makes me feel that my camera is far more secure.

I would like to think that Swarovski's designers knew what they were doing when they designed the DCB, so the stresses on the scope should be well within acceptable bounds.

The DCB makes it simple and fast to swing the camera out of the way when it is not needed, but still keeps it ready to use at a moments notice.

Yes, the DCB is expensive, but it is light and seems to be plenty strong enough for the job in hand.

Mine lives permanently on the scope now. I have no regrets in purchasing it because it suits my needs exactly.

Perry.

 

[Ian B]

Perry

Thanks, presumably you can't use the DCB with the stay on case ?

Ian

 

[Perry]

Hi Ian,

No, you can't use the stay on case with the DCB, but as the ATS80HD 'scope is green rubber(?) coated and waterproof, I don't use one anyway. I find it gets in the way when digiscoping (and at other times for that matter!) and I HATE velcro - it makes such an awful noise when you rip it apart!

I haven't tried the DCB with a digital video camera yet, but I suspect that the camera mount on the DCB may not wind down far enough to accomodate some models. It's fine with a still camera though.

Everything has it's limitations somewhere down the line, I guess.

Perry.