total newb (1 Viewer)

Hey everyone I have been checking out the forums and trying to learn how this Video scoping is supposed to work. And I have to say I am very impressed with alot of the videos I have seen.
I have a Burris Scope. 20 - 80x zoom. And I have a Sony handycam. The problem I am having is when the scope is set to no zoom I have a little vig the more I zoom it out the worse it gets. At 80x its only showing about 1/10th of whats actually viewed through the scope. Same goes for when I zone the cam the more I zoom the worse it gets.
I do have an adapter mount for my scope that lets the cam hang from the scope and the picture is totally centered in it. I have seen alot of people mention eyepieces. Is this something I am lacking the reason why its not working for me? From what I can tell on my scope the eyepiece does not remove. Am I missing something here?

Any help would be much appreaciated.


Scott

Scottieg said:

Hey everyone I have been checking out the forums and trying to learn how this Video scoping is supposed to work. And I have to say I am very impressed with alot of the videos I have seen.
I have a Burris Scope. 20 - 80x zoom. And I have a Sony handycam. The problem I am having is when the scope is set to no zoom I have a little vig the more I zoom it out the worse it gets. At 80x its only showing about 1/10th of whats actually viewed through the scope. Same goes for when I zone the cam the more I zoom the worse it gets.
I do have an adapter mount for my scope that lets the cam hang from the scope and the picture is totally centered in it. I have seen alot of people mention eyepieces. Is this something I am lacking the reason why its not working for me? From what I can tell on my scope the eyepiece does not remove. Am I missing something here?

Any help would be much appreaciated.


Scott

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Hi Scott, I have not tried videoscoping on your scope, but what I have learnt is that the typical camcorder needs a good deal of eyerelief and FOV in order to get a vignetting-free image. 17mm is probably about at the absolute minimum for useful eyerelief. you might find that if you remove the eyecup, then you can get your camcorder just a little bit closer to the ocular lens of your scope. this wee fraction might just make all the difference for your vignetting problem.

the other option is to just take as vignetting-free an image as possible and then crop it in your video processing software (iMovie, Adobe Premier, etc...)

good luck and happy videoscoping!
Dale

Videocams require scopes with exceptionly long eyerelief, up to 100mm with some cameras, so usually a dedicated video adapter is required. Kowa makes these but they are only compatible with their scopes.

Cheapest video solution may be for you to buy one of the new compact digicams like the Panasonic FX150 that also takes HD video.

cheers,
Rick

Thanks for your advice Dale and RJM,
I have already removed the eye cup and have the cam as close to the scope as possible, they are touching. The size of the screen is about like this ( ) everything else is vigged out. Which is really depressing because I the scope cost me 400 and the cam cost me 450. I really hate to buy a new cam or new scope and spend even more cash. But it is something that I am really interested in so if I have to I guess I have to. I would love to keep the scope though because it is 60x zoom and crystal clear. It is 80 MM and has long eye relief. I guess the problem is with the cam? Looking at the lens it sits back kind of far from the front.

RJM what do you mean by a dedicated video adapter? Also do you think that the Panasonic would show a much better picture with less vig?
Also do you have a link to kowa that would show me a good set up for video scoping?

Thanks in Advance

Scott

Scott, let me say I have never used a dedicated videocam with a spotting scope. Any video I have shot has been with my digicam or dslr.

Here is the relavant videoscoping info from the English Kowa catalog, http://kowa-prominar.com/catalog/pdf/digiscoping.pdf. I think it is the very last page. Note there is now a newer VA3 adapter being sold but not shown in this catalog. Here is a Japanese report on using it with a Sony video camera. At least the pics and video are in "English", https://www1.kowa.co.jp/prominarclub/pub/monitor/tsnva3/03.htm.

Sorry I can't be more help.
good luck,
Rick

Scottieg said:

Thanks for your advice Dale and RJM,
I have already removed the eye cup and have the cam as close to the scope as possible, they are touching. The size of the screen is about like this ( ) everything else is vigged out. Which is really depressing because I the scope cost me 400 and the cam cost me 450. I really hate to buy a new cam or new scope and spend even more cash. But it is something that I am really interested in so if I have to I guess I have to. I would love to keep the scope though because it is 60x zoom and crystal clear. It is 80 MM and has long eye relief. I guess the problem is with the cam? Looking at the lens it sits back kind of far from the front.

RJM what do you mean by a dedicated video adapter? Also do you think that the Panasonic would show a much better picture with less vig?
Also do you have a link to kowa that would show me a good set up for video scoping?

Thanks in Advance

Scott

Click to expand...

Hi Scott,

to test if the vignetting is an adapter problem or - what I suspect - a general setup problem, simply hand hold your camcorder against the ocular of your telescope. Play with the various zooms and see if there is any way to completely remove the vignetting. If this is still possible then you have an optical equipment compatibility issue and nothing that an adapter will help you with (the adapter just hold the camera in place).

You might find that one of the Panasonics work better. When I was looking for a camcorder for videoscoping, I just took myself and my scope off to the local electronics dealers and tried out the various cameras. The Panasonic has the (great) advantage of having a removable little front bit which holds the objective lens cover. If you screw this bit off, you win about 7mm and get the camera's objective lens just that little bit closer to the scope's ocular. Try removing your scope's eyecup as well because every mm you can get your camcorder closer to the scope, will have an effect on the amount of vignetting you are getting. Here again, it would be well worthwhile just hand holding the camcorder against the ocular to see if you can get rid of the vignetting in any way.

If this works and you find a suitable camcorder and you want to buy it, then looking in to suitable adapters (or making your own) will give you with a great videoscoping setup.

Your other option would be - as Rick the shoebill suggested (great pic, btw :t - to try out a digital stills camera that also takes video. You might want to check out the Panasonic GH1 and FX150.

Videoscoping is such a new realm and the technology is changing so fast that it is usually best just to try out as many combinations and tweaks as possible until one finds a solution that works for one's own setup.

Good luck :t:

happy birding,
Dale

Hi Scott,

Which Sony camcorder do you use? If it is a model with a large zoom range then you may find that could be your problem.

I use a Sony PC330 which has a 10x zoom with an EagleEye Digiscoping Eyepiece (12x magnification) on my Swarovski ATS80HD scope. I have tried using the Swarovski 20-60x eyepiece but find that I have to use almost maximum zoom on the camcorder to eliminate vignetting. That means a total magnification of around 200x which is almost impossible to use due to camera shake and wind vibration.

By using the lower-powered eyepiece I am able to use around 75% of the camcorder zoom without vignetting problems. Results are very good provided I can keep everything steady. Perhaps you could fit a lower-powered eyepiece on your scope.

Mike

Thanks for the input everyone. I have tried the Digital Camera and it has a little less Vig than the camcorder. I also messed with the zoom on the camcorder and at about 50% zoom the Vig almost all but went away. The only problem is 50% zoom on the camcorder is around 50X zoom. And the min zoom on my scope is 20X zoom. So unless I am a half mile away the zoom is way to much. I am going to take my scope up and check out different camcorders tomorrow and see if I can find one better.
For shits and giggles I hooked my webcam up to it and had almost no vig at all on all zoom levels of the scope. So worst case is I take my laptop to the field with me and do it that way.


Thanks everyone.

Scott

Scottieg said:

For shits and giggles I hooked my webcam up to it and had almost no vig at all on all zoom levels of the scope. So worst case is I take my laptop to the field with me and do it that way.
Thanks everyone.
Scott

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oooh, that's going to need a whole new technical-sounding name for itself:
webscoping
YouScoping (TM)
laptopscoping

mmm, turns out that I am not that creative with names :-O