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Digiscoping with the Nikon V1 (1 Viewer)

Hi ,
I'm very interested in the V1 both for regular photography
and digiscoping. I have a Kowa 883 with 20-60 zoom and
currently handhold with a Coolpix 5100. If I were to get
just one lens with the V1 which would be the best for digi
shots ,and how what would I need to attach it to my scope?
Many thanks in advance,
Mark
 
Well it would have to be the kit 10-30mm lens. Not sure if the Kowa 20-60x zoom has enough eyerelief though. All the pics I have seen were done with the 30x wide eyepiece.

Keep in mind the V1 performance advantages over a modern compact like the Nikon P300 are mitigated when digiscoping. With the eyepiece at 30x the system aperture starts at a fairly slow F7 @1600mm and tops out F10 @2400mm effective. In contrast, a P300 starts out at F2.5 @1000mm and tops out at F6 @3000mm effective.

A digiscoping pro shop here in Japan is selling a custom adapter for the V1/J1 10-30 lens but it costs nearly as much as the V1 camera kit once you have all the parts to connect to the Kowa!

IMO, I think a more effective use of the V1 is with the FT1 adapter and a long lens like Sigma 150-500 than digiscoping.
 
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Jason, I guess you would need their BR-N1 adapter for JPY29,800 plus a TA3/4 coupler for JPY7,000 more. Best to email Digisco.com though. English is OK and I think they might sell overseas.

FYI, Nikon Japan only offers the V1 with the 10mm prime lens kit for JPY48,000 and or with a 10-30/30-110 double zoom lens kit for JPY85,000. However the J1 w/10-30 lens kit is priced very attactively at JPY33,000. It would be my choice now I think.
 
Swarovski DCA adapter

The Swarovski DCA adapter will do the trick. He will also need a 52/40.5 mm converter for the camera lens to match with the DCA.
Neil

Hello Neil I have been reading your post's on your Nikon V1 setup.
My friend has a Swarovski scope and DCA adapter I have a Nikon ED80 DCA with a special ring for the eyepieces 30x
We take mostly video using nikon and Samsung camera.s attached with 2 of the plates.
2 Questions
When using the 52/40.5 converter are you happy that the V1 is not under to much strain on it'd lens filter mount.
Have you used HD video and the slow motion option

Terry
 
Hello Neil I have been reading your post's on your Nikon V1 setup.
My friend has a Swarovski scope and DCA adapter I have a Nikon ED80 DCA with a special ring for the eyepieces 30x
We take mostly video using nikon and Samsung camera.s attached with 2 of the plates.
2 Questions
When using the 52/40.5 converter are you happy that the V1 is not under to much strain on it'd lens filter mount.
Have you used HD video and the slow motion option

Terry

Terry,
The V1 is the best camera for stills and video that I have. I'm also impressed with the kit lenses which are better than any I have from Micro Four Thirds.
I've posted some videos on Vimeo, including this one
http://vimeo.com/35992027
I take in full HD (1920 x 1080 ) but post in 720 x 1080. What I like is that you can have different settings for stills and video. I have used the slo-mo mode but the resolution is reduced so I prefer to slow down in iMovie.
I have the 52/40.5 adapter screwed permanently into the two kit lenses and the weight of the camera doesn't seem to be a problem.
Neil
 
Terry,
The V1 is the best camera for stills and video that I have. I'm also impressed with the kit lenses which are better than any I have from Micro Four Thirds.
I've posted some videos on Vimeo, including this one
http://vimeo.com/35992027
I take in full HD (1920 x 1080 ) but post in 720 x 1080. What I like is that you can have different settings for stills and video. I have used the slo-mo mode but the resolution is reduced so I prefer to slow down in iMovie.
I have the 52/40.5 adapter screwed permanently into the two kit lenses and the weight of the camera doesn't seem to be a problem.
Neil


Neil this is the reply that tips the scales for me. now to persuade the wife that need my sixth Nikon digital camera.

I liked your video very good and I joined vimeo at the same time
as I have the 80-400mm VR lens and ED80 it will open up all possibilities.

I mostly video Peregrines,Kestral and SE Owls will post some soon

Why did you go for the 52/40.5? I have been looking for a 43/40.5 as my UCA came with a 43mm plate

Terry
 
Neil this is the reply that tips the scales for me. now to persuade the wife that need my sixth Nikon digital camera.

I liked your video very good and I joined vimeo at the same time
as I have the 80-400mm VR lens and ED80 it will open up all possibilities.

I mostly video Peregrines,Kestral and SE Owls will post some soon

Why did you go for the 52/40.5? I have been looking for a 43/40.5 as my UCA came with a 43mm plate

Terry

Terry ,
The 80-400 zoom won't Auto Focus with the V1 as it's only an AF lens.
The best zoom to use would be the 70-200/2.8 AFS with 1.4x tele and the best fixed would be 300/4. For video I use the 70-200/2.8.
I use 52 mm as most of my Nikon lenses have a 52 mm thread.
Neil
 
V1+FT1+70-200mm+TC14+TC20E3 = 1512mm

Several weeks ago I was at a natural reserve in Chile, chasing the royal penguins. I assumed that we can get to a close distance of them, but I could only get 30 meters away. At the beginning I used D700, 70-200, TC14 and TC20. Even combining both TCs one on the top of the other (with manual focus) the combined focal length was only 560mm.
It was not enough. So I used the V1 + the FT1 adapter with the lens and TCs combination.
I've obtained 1512mm, shot hand held in the strong wind, manual focus. VR was still there.
I got reasonable pictures.
A tripod would have helped. The Exif reports only the TC20 teleconverter.
 

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Several weeks ago I was at a natural reserve in Chile, chasing the royal penguins. I assumed that we can get to a close distance of them, but I could only get 30 meters away. At the beginning I used D700, 70-200, TC14 and TC20. Even combining both TCs one on the top of the other (with manual focus) the combined focal length was only 560mm.
It was not enough. So I used the V1 + the FT1 adapter with the lens and TCs combination.
I've obtained 1512mm, shot hand held in the strong wind, manual focus. VR was still there.
I got reasonable pictures.
A tripod would have helped. The Exif reports only the TC20 teleconverter.

Nice one Yossi. Did you have to modify the teleconverters to use both of them?
Neil
 
Hi Neil,

Yes, I had to modify the TCs, removing the little tab off them. I did it long time ago.
Just FYI - I've tried this morning another trick - I used the V1+FT1 on my small Leica (Apo 62) with the Leica DSLR adapter. It resulted in a 1620mm focal length with absolutely sharp images (from a tripod). The Swaro 65 HD with the DSLR adapter was a bit worse, but still very good (2970mm).
The Nikon EDG with the zoom DSLR adapter was a disaster! The EVF and the screen of the camera were dark and the images were not sharp to my taste.
 
Just FYI - I've tried this morning another trick - I used the V1+FT1 ....The Nikon EDG with the zoom DSLR adapter was a disaster! The EVF and the screen of the camera were dark and the images were not sharp to my taste.

Wonder why that was? Did you try Aperture or Program mode? I would have thought the FSA-L2 can report a "F13" aperture to the V1 as it does to a Nikon dslr.
 
Hi Neil,

Yes, I had to modify the TCs, removing the little tab off them. I did it long time ago.
Just FYI - I've tried this morning another trick - I used the V1+FT1 on my small Leica (Apo 62) with the Leica DSLR adapter. It resulted in a 1620mm focal length with absolutely sharp images (from a tripod). The Swaro 65 HD with the DSLR adapter was a bit worse, but still very good (2970mm).
The Nikon EDG with the zoom DSLR adapter was a disaster! The EVF and the screen of the camera were dark and the images were not sharp to my taste.

Yossi,
For anyone happy to manual focus for distance, then the Kowa Lens/Scope with the 500/5.6 (1350 mm at f5.6) and/or the 850/9.6 (2295 mm at f9.6) adapter on the V1 is the way to go. This is a light weight setup and the lens is faster than a digiscoping setup ( no Prism). They are particularly good for HD video as you are better off with a fixed focus.
The problem I have with the Kowa kit is deciding which to take out in the field and how many cameras.
If I want to simplify the decision then I will just take the V1 ( with P6000 for backup ) on the Swarovski with the Sw45x eyepiece.
Neil
 
I have been out 4 days last week with the V1, shooting with the Swarovski and Kowa scopes and various eyepieces ( not all at the same time as I'm still on "light duties" ). I even tested the 30 - 110 kit zoom. Boy, that was some magnification. I have read on DPReview in comments that the 30 - 110 zoom is sharper than the 10 - 30 zoom but I haven't done any direct comparisons yet.
Here are some with the Kowa Lens/Scope and the 30x eyepiece.
The third image of the male Magpie Robin with crab is straight from the camera (anyone can copy it and play with it ) and the fourth image shows some adjustment.
Neil

Nikon V1 plus 10-30 kit zoom lens and Kowa Lens/Scope Prominar and Kw 30x eyepiece and Swarovski UCA adapter

Hong Kong,
China.
Oct 2011
Neil, I'm not up on this stuff, but how does a Swarovski UCA adapter fit on to a Kowa scope. I'd like to try one out. Are there any pictures anywhere that I could see this setup?

Mark
Toronto
 
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Hi Neil,

Yes, I had to modify the TCs, removing the little tab off them. I did it long time ago.
Just FYI - I've tried this morning another trick - I used the V1+FT1 on my small Leica (Apo 62) with the Leica DSLR adapter. It resulted in a 1620mm focal length with absolutely sharp images (from a tripod). The Swaro 65 HD with the DSLR adapter was a bit worse, but still very good (2970mm).
The Nikon EDG with the zoom DSLR adapter was a disaster! The EVF and the screen of the camera were dark and the images were not sharp to my taste.

Yossi,
One problem I've noticed with the V1 is the Auto iso is not reliable. If you set a range eg Auto 100-3200 it doesn't seem adjust down to iso above 800 if the light drops. If I see the screen go dark then I set iso manually to iso 1600. I haven't done any research on this yet to see what's up here.
Neil.
 
One of my best short lenses is the Nikon 20/2.8D. I hardly ever get to use it as I don't do much landscape work and it's been a little short for digiscoping (vignetting).
http://www.kenrockwell.com/nikon/20af.htm
With the Nikon V1 I can now use this lens for digiscoping with my Swarovski 30x and 45x eyepieces. At 30x it's 1620 mm and at 45x it's 2430 mm . This should be enough for most people.
Although it's Manual Focus only the V1 Range Finder Focus makes it easy.
If the weather ever clears here I'll take it out for a spin.
Neil

Nikon V1 + FT1 adapter + Nikon 20/2.8D lens+ SW DCA Adapter (52/62 Filter Adapter) + Sw 45x Eyepiece + Swarovski STS80HD Spotting Scope + Swarovski Balance Plate.

Hong Kong,
China.
Feb 2012
 

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Neil, I'm not up on this stuff, but how does a Swarovski UCA adapter fit on to a Kowa scope. I'd like to try one out. Are there any pictures anywhere that I could see this setup?

Mark
Toronto

The Eyepieces thickness of the Swarovski 25-50x zoom is almost identical with the new Kowa eyepieces and length is no problem either. I slip a piece of card in before tightening just to firm up the connection. It's then as solid as a rock and I have 3 plates ( curtesy of Swarovski) so that I can switch cameras in and out quickly.
Neil

Hong Kong,
China.
Feb 2012
 

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Something is very wrong with the metering/report system of my EDG with Nikon DSLRs in general, and it doesn't matter if it's the D300, 700, 3X or the V1.
My V1 works fine in auto iso mode selecting weird numbers of iso levels between 100-3200.
Maybe you should upgrade the F/W.
Using the V1 with any of my Nikon lenses always results in good images. the 300/4 AFS +TC-17 creates a 1350mm lens with autofocus. The greatest fun is the 600/4 VR + TC-20EIII + the V1. I hardly can hold it by hand for 4 seconds, but the VR+AFS functions great. It's a 3240mm fast gun. On a tripod with a gimbal head you can shoot down anything that fly.
As a compromise I used recently the 200-400 (older model) with a TC-14 and the FT1+V1. That resulted in a fast 280-550mm (don't know why not 560) translated by the V1 to a 756-1512mm which is more than enough for my all needs.
 
Something is very wrong with the metering/report system of my EDG with Nikon DSLRs in general, and it doesn't matter if it's the D300, 700, 3X or the V1.
My V1 works fine in auto iso mode selecting weird numbers of iso levels between 100-3200.
Maybe you should upgrade the F/W.
Using the V1 with any of my Nikon lenses always results in good images. the 300/4 AFS +TC-17 creates a 1350mm lens with autofocus. The greatest fun is the 600/4 VR + TC-20EIII + the V1. I hardly can hold it by hand for 4 seconds, but the VR+AFS functions great. It's a 3240mm fast gun. On a tripod with a gimbal head you can shoot down anything that fly.
As a compromise I used recently the 200-400 (older model) with a TC-14 and the FT1+V1. That resulted in a fast 280-550mm (don't know why not 560) translated by the V1 to a 756-1512mm which is more than enough for my all needs.

Yossi,
I'll have to get out the 500/4 and give it a good test with the V1.
I think that Sigma should sell a lot of their zooms with this camera. I wish Nikon would upgrade the 80 - 400.
Neil
 
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