If money was not an object... (1 Viewer)

Howdy...

If money was no object, what kind of digiscoping package would you put together? This is a serious question, not an academic debate!! The non-profit organization that I work for is wanting to put together a professional digital scoping package for various environmental projects under our umbrella.

Thanks,

Well, if money was no object, I'd slip our Andy a few quid and get him to do it for me.

On a less flippant note, I'd seek Andy's opinion, although I think there will be no one answer to this ine.

Steve

Woodpeckyr said:

Howdy...

If money was no object, what kind of digiscoping package would you put together? This is a serious question, not an academic debate!! The non-profit organization that I work for is wanting to put together a professional digital scoping package for various environmental projects under our umbrella.

Thanks,

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This is like asking politicians to give you their opinions on policies to run the country. Different groups will give you different answers and each will be absolutely convinced they are correct.
They are all experts in their field but their OPINIONS, and that is all they are, will differ significantly.
You will soon realise that despite being experts, they can't all be right.

Tony.

I have been thinking recently that the people who use camcorders with their scopes have a lot going for them. From all I have heard, I think the Sony PC350 is currently the top camcorder with ( I think ) 3Mp. But you have the advantage of moving pictures at a distance ( through the scope ) , + taking stills from the movies + plus output live to a monitor or TV ( as I saw with the Western Sand in the hide at Brownsea Island ) + with the Camcorder itself up to X10 or with an X2 or X5 adaptorgive you up to 20 or 50X respectively. Plus the stills as from the standard 3Mp digital camera. I bought a PC109e just after Christmas,( my eldest gets married this year, was the excuse ), it has 1 mp stills function to a card plus all the usual camcorder stuff. It has a 25mm filter ring, which, with a 25-37mm adaptor allows me to connect to my LCE adaptor and scope or my X2 lens.

As to the scope, well, its the usual list of suspects ( all ED type glass though ) Swar, Leica, Zeiss, etc. I think i'd go for the Zeiss as it has the largest lens of those 3 ( 85mm ). The adaptor depends on the eyepiece and tripod. probably one of the swing away jobs.
Just a thought!.

Woodpeckyr said:

If money was no object, what kind of digiscoping package would you put together? This is a serious question, not an academic debate!! The non-profit organization that I work for is wanting to put together a professional digital scoping package for various environmental projects under our umbrella.

Click to expand...

I had no idea there was such a thing as a "professional digital scoping package". This is an enthusias activity, not really something that is generally considered "professional".

I'd want to know who is going to use the gear and what kind of pictures do they intend to take? Digiscoping generally takes practice and patience, and if this is for an organization, then I'd assume that a number of different people would be using the gear. I'm not even sure a digiscoping rig makes sense in this type of situation.

While I haven't used one, this sounds like a situation where a Kowa TD-1 might excel. This is an integrated 55mm scope and 3Mp camera all in one. A Kowa TD-1 is a bit pricey, and isn't as good a scope as a 80mm and the combo doesn't have the reach of a good digiscoping rig. But its integrated as one unit and that could be a huge advantage. No muss, no fuss.