I think my last blog on this issue was a year and half ago...wow, time flies. Since that time I have experimented with digiscoping and learned how to take fairly good images using a scope plus camera.
My Zenfolio page has a link dedicated to Digiscoping only.
Sadly...in this past year I sold my Swaro 80HD....I wanted and needed to finance some other aspects of my overall birding.... and it was a sound investment.
Now...I am back to getting into digiscoping but the world is open to me. I still will be using my Canon S90 camera but what scope? I thought of even looking at Telescopes but declined that as I figured out they are not rain or fog proof...not a good thing....
So...what scope..another Swaro, or perhaps a Kowa.... those are two top choices. Well I looked and have it narrowed down to the Vortex Razor 85mm HD angled (all are angled), the Brunton 8omm, the Leupold Kanai or the Bushnell Elite.
These are the factors I want to take into account. First, I am not a novice so my skills have gone beyond the basics and the basic scope. I am up to Swaro or Kowa speed, in other wards. But not in terms of price~!
I am concerned about quality, light, rubber coating (Don't like to scratch my equipment), eye relief and length. I am not so concerned about weight (relatively speaking it doesn't matter a few ounces but length of scope does when I am looking at packing it on trips or planes).
FOV is not as important for I learned when searching, you search at 20mm and then hone in once you find. Most scopes are pretty much the same at this zoom.
Close focus....while nice...how many times will I take a shot of a bird at close focus and be able to fit it on the screen? ...few...
But eye relief is important as a day of digiscoping is hard on the eyes and the larger it is...even a mm or so, makes a difference.
Quality is obviously huge.... I believe that quality in terms of binoculars has reached a point where a relatively midpriced bino equals a higher priced ALPHA bino...to a degree... But in terms of scopes...a lower or mid price scope doesn't have the light or glass (even though they state ED)...
Quality takes research...asking others, reading reviews...and carefully coming up with quality based upon glass quality, light, ease of use and feel etc. I am beginning to think that mid priced scopes (<$1000) are not going to give me the quality I need overall.
So I am looking at the Vortex Razor...a quality scope ....not quite on the same level as the Swaro I had but not all that far behind. I am going to pick one up and compare the two. If the Vortex doesn't cut it....I can send it back~! .....I have a trip to the Oregon coast coming up and this will be the perfect opportunity to run it thru the works.... jim
My Zenfolio page has a link dedicated to Digiscoping only.
Sadly...in this past year I sold my Swaro 80HD....I wanted and needed to finance some other aspects of my overall birding.... and it was a sound investment.
Now...I am back to getting into digiscoping but the world is open to me. I still will be using my Canon S90 camera but what scope? I thought of even looking at Telescopes but declined that as I figured out they are not rain or fog proof...not a good thing....
So...what scope..another Swaro, or perhaps a Kowa.... those are two top choices. Well I looked and have it narrowed down to the Vortex Razor 85mm HD angled (all are angled), the Brunton 8omm, the Leupold Kanai or the Bushnell Elite.
These are the factors I want to take into account. First, I am not a novice so my skills have gone beyond the basics and the basic scope. I am up to Swaro or Kowa speed, in other wards. But not in terms of price~!
I am concerned about quality, light, rubber coating (Don't like to scratch my equipment), eye relief and length. I am not so concerned about weight (relatively speaking it doesn't matter a few ounces but length of scope does when I am looking at packing it on trips or planes).
FOV is not as important for I learned when searching, you search at 20mm and then hone in once you find. Most scopes are pretty much the same at this zoom.
Close focus....while nice...how many times will I take a shot of a bird at close focus and be able to fit it on the screen? ...few...
But eye relief is important as a day of digiscoping is hard on the eyes and the larger it is...even a mm or so, makes a difference.
Quality is obviously huge.... I believe that quality in terms of binoculars has reached a point where a relatively midpriced bino equals a higher priced ALPHA bino...to a degree... But in terms of scopes...a lower or mid price scope doesn't have the light or glass (even though they state ED)...
Quality takes research...asking others, reading reviews...and carefully coming up with quality based upon glass quality, light, ease of use and feel etc. I am beginning to think that mid priced scopes (<$1000) are not going to give me the quality I need overall.
So I am looking at the Vortex Razor...a quality scope ....not quite on the same level as the Swaro I had but not all that far behind. I am going to pick one up and compare the two. If the Vortex doesn't cut it....I can send it back~! .....I have a trip to the Oregon coast coming up and this will be the perfect opportunity to run it thru the works.... jim
