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Digiscoping with the Nikon Coolpix P340 (1 Viewer)

Neil

Well-known member
Keeping up with the tradition of using Coolpix cameras I picked up the new P340 on Saturday. I wasn't expecting much improvement over the previous P300/310/330 but was looking foreward to the Focus Peaking and the wifi.
http://www.dpreview.com/products/nikon/compacts/nikon_cpp340
Took it out to the wetlands today with thunderstorms threatening to use on the Swarovski STX 95 mm Scope. One of the advantages of using a small sensor camera is being able to get fast shutter speeds at low iso.
The camera performs in a similar manner to previous models so I won't go into the setup here and vignetting disappears around 45 mm in Macro Mode.
Here are a few photos from today. I haven't looked at the Raws yet.
Distances were from 30-80 meters for photos 2,3,4 and 5, but 1 was about 10 meters.
Neil.
Nikon Coolpix P340 and Swarovski STX 95 mm Scope and DCB 11 Adapter
Mai Po Nature Reserve,
Hong Kong,China
19th May 2014
 

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I upgraded my Nikon NX software to handle the new Raws from the P340. Here is a comparison of a jpeg ( straight from camera) and raw (adjusted).
Neil.
 

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What ist your opinion. Is the Nikon P340 better than 310/330 ?

Matthias

I haven't done a direct comparison Matthias but the jpegs and Raws look similar. What I like is the Focus Peaking and to a lesser extent the wifi. If these are not important then the fast frame rate and quick AF is similar with the P330 and that should make it a good buy at the moment.
Neil.
 
Found a P330 on sale and picked it up. Got it yesterday and fiddled about a bit with my Kowa 883 w. 25-60 eyepiece. Acceptable results even without an adapter so pleased so far. Now I have to figure out a way to construct a suitable adapter.
 
Nikon P340 bracket for Fieldscope II

Hello Neil,

I'm looking to get back into digiscoping, and enjoyed your review of the P340. Would you please suggest a suitable bracket that would work this camera and my old Nikon Fieldscope II. I have the Wide DS lens (16x/24x/30x).

I have a FSB-U1 universal bracket that I've been using with a Coolpix P7000. This is very tedious to setup and deal with the vignetting (the pigeon was shot about 20m out).

Thanks!
Jon
 

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Hello Neil,

I'm looking to get back into digiscoping, and enjoyed your review of the P340. Would you please suggest a suitable bracket that would work this camera and my old Nikon Fieldscope II. I have the Wide DS lens (16x/24x/30x).

I have a FSB-U1 universal bracket that I've been using with a Coolpix P7000. This is very tedious to setup and deal with the vignetting (the pigeon was shot about 20m out).

Thanks!
Jon

Jon
You shouldn't have much vignetting with the new camera so try your existing adapter first and let me know how you get on.
Neil
 
Neil,

I appreciate the help, thanks.

I've also ordered a Nikon 1 S1 (discounted $200, if you can get over the color red). Nikon's DSB-N1 bracket for the 1 series costs more than the camera! I'll try my universal bracket first, then consider.

Cheers,
Jon
 
Wondering if anyone can comment on differences between the Nikon P300 and the newer P340, would it be worth an upgrade? I use the P300 with a piece of plumbing attaching it to my Kowa 883 scope, in general very happy with the set up and results. Have been using this for a few years now and wondered if there was something better. This set up was recommended by WIM from California.

Thanks for comments, happy holidays

Cara
 
Wondering if anyone can comment on differences between the Nikon P300 and the newer P340, would it be worth an upgrade? I use the P300 with a piece of plumbing attaching it to my Kowa 883 scope, in general very happy with the set up and results. Have been using this for a few years now and wondered if there was something better. This set up was recommended by WIM from California.

Thanks for comments, happy holidays

Cara

Cara,
The main difference for me is the addition of Raw. It gives the camera more flexibility for saving images and for general photography. The lens is a little longer at 120 mm too. Also the video has more options.
Neil.
 
Thanks Neil. What's your opinion on the Sony RX 100 vs Nikon P340? I like the idea of a remote control shutter on the Sony. I should also admit I'm a birder, not a photographer, though I love capturing images of birds, particularly video. When I say not a photographer, I mean I'm ignorant about photography techniques and nuances.

It's also important for me to be able to attach and detach the camera quickly like I do with my current set up. Do you think it's possible to attach a piece of plumbing to the Sony camera to attach it to the scope?
 
Another one here considering getting back into digiscoping, I'm thinking about the digidapter and sony rx ii of the the Nikon p340
 
Thanks Neil. What's your opinion on the Sony RX 100 vs Nikon P340? I like the idea of a remote control shutter on the Sony. I should also admit I'm a birder, not a photographer, though I love capturing images of birds, particularly video. When I say not a photographer, I mean I'm ignorant about photography techniques and nuances.

It's also important for me to be able to attach and detach the camera quickly like I do with my current set up. Do you think it's possible to attach a piece of plumbing to the Sony camera to attach it to the scope?

It would be easier to use a simple piece of plumbing on the P340 due to it's smaller lens and lighter weight but it could work on the Sony too.
I do like the Digidapter as it's easy to remove quickly.
Neil.
 
Another one here considering getting back into digiscoping, I'm thinking about the digidapter and sony rx ii of the the Nikon p340

It would be good to have you back Paul. The Sony RX100M3 has the built in Electronic Viewfinder which helps a lot for digiscoping outside. Both cameras do a good job.
Neil.
 
Thanks Neil for getting back with your comments, I have a kowa 884 with zoom sat at home that rarely sees the light of day at the moment so I'm wanting to put it to some good use. I do really like the rx100 m3 but it's a bit too expensive for and friend called Mr P Hackett suggested the mk2 for the price difference. Regards.
 
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