Best bang for buck, camera or scope ? (1 Viewer)

Firstly, let me say that my digiscoping results do not approach the very high quality of the still images being obtained by most of the contributors to this forum.

I use my digiscoping equipment to mostly take long range video footage and grab images for record purposes, with the occasional close range stills image.

My current modest equipment comprises ;
Celestron Ultima 80 scope (non ED).
Baader Hyperion Zoom Eyepiece.
Baader Microstage II camera support.
Sony DSC WX7 Compact camera.

The above equipment provides adequate MP4 video. The quality of the photo shots are however quite soft and undetailed.

I have gradually upgraded my system, my latest acquisition being the Hyperion Zoom Eyepiece.

My question is this :
Considering my limited budget and my requirement to take mainly long range video footage with the occasional close range stills image, would my next investment in the region of £500 be best spent on a scope upgrade or a compact camera upgrade.

The scope candidate is a Celestron Regal 80 F-ED 45º
The compact camera candidate is Sony Cyber-Shot DSC-RX100

I welcome your feedback to help me decide on my upgrade choice AND perhaps open a debate on what provides the best bang for buck, a good scope or a good compact camera, considering what is on the market today.

Many thanks in advance.

I personally would suggest a scope upgrade to one with ED glass :t: Perhaps both if you go down the second hand route

Good evening , I feel your pain. Let me make some suggestions concerning digiscoping, although I am not a a video person and will not comment on that. Some of my advice is in uncompleted projects, so I will habve to get bck to you on those.

I have an Orion OTA 80 ED scope that I like a lot, good quality but a bit heavy and not compact. Yes, the choice of the Celestron would be very good, have thought about getting one of those my self. Great because the astro mount Hyperions can be used with it. I have stuck to Pure Systems, in other words, no zooms, no spotting scopes with extra prisms and zoom lenses, etc. I am sure many of the zooms are fine. You do not really need a scope, just an objective lens and mounts.

In constructing a quite compact Digiscoping Machine I purchased a good 70mm by 420mm ED Teleskop lens from Germany. It is the lens now used in the Stellarview SV70ED scope. Got it and shipping for a bit less than $300. I am tri-folding it in a Z pattern with two precision mirrors to get everying into a small box 8 X 9 X 4.5 inches. Another source of a good but compact lens is the Lzos mirror lens made in Russia 30 some years ago. I have the 500mm and have a 1000mm coming. See the Astro scope section of BirdForum for a post by Street. Of course digiscoped images are upside down unless you can somehow shoe-horn in a diagonal. Back focus is short. My 500mm is not as sharp as my Orion, but sure is compact.

My pet camera for digiscoping is the little 120 gram Lumix FH-1, or FS-10. Yes, from a couple of years ago. Get used to buying used, there are not that many cameras available that are good for digiscoping. I also like my Lumix LX-3. I mount both by body threads, a MUST for digiscoping. Other adapters are always out of alignment. A threaded ring is easily epoxied to the FH-1 body. Gene

Well, I've gone ahead and purchased a new Celestron Ultima 80 ED (£300) so still budget for camera upgrade if necessary.

I tested it today at RSPB Loch of Strathbeg in Aberdeenshire, first time out with this camera and scope combination.

Very poor light conditions but I am pleased with the results.

All of the attached images are grabbed from AVCHD video footage taken with the Sony compact. The quality of the video footage is also more than adequate.

The photo of the juvenile Great Crested Grebe was taken from at least 150 metres.

The ED glass has certainly reduced purple fringing and the Sony compact was not the limiting factor as far as purple fringing is concerned.

Please remember that I will be using this scope and camera for identification and freezing images of quick movement from video footage. My results should not be compared to the ultra high quality images taken with more expensive/SLR hardware.

I will post additional stills photos and video as I use this combination further.

To conclude, Bigshent was right on the money (many thanks for the advice), the best bang for buck on low budget equipment is to go for ED glass.