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ZEISS DTI thermal imaging cameras. For more discoveries at night, and during the day.

My First Digiscoped Picture (1 Viewer)

I said earlier that I was going to take my first outside picture to day. Well I did and here it is. The scene was in the shade, not backlit because there was a tall bank some 70 meters high behind the tree. It was also quite gusty so I used a bush for some shelter. I fully retracted the tripod legs to reduce vibration. I used macro mode and self timer with 10 s delay. The Tawny Owl was between 150 and 200 meters away.
 

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The Slik should be ok although most birders I've seen with tripods and scopes go for light weight over stability. I use wooden tripods , including a traditional surveyors tripod with ballheads. I have an Arca Swiss and a Benro balhead. I've found that a solid head it much more important than the tripod. I'm using the smallest Slik tripod at the moment with the Benro ballhead as I sit on the ground/low down most of the time. Do some tests with the tripod at it's lowest setting to see if that makes a difference. Most nature photographers are shooting at 300 - 1000mm (on DSLRs) while we are shooting at 1000 -4000 mm so rigidity is much more important for us.Neil.
 
Thank you Neil. Please see above where I used my tripod fully retracted. I have the Nova ball head but I can't use it with Slick Tripod because the latter has an integral pan and tilt head. With regard to the head being rigid I think it may be important to get the scope assembly balanced as well. Think of a slender piece of wood cantilevered from one end with a mass placed on the opposite end. If the mass was pushed down and then released it would vibrate for some time. However, if the mass was placed over the support it would not vibrate at all. This is analogous to an unbalanced scope assembly. I am tempted to buy a balance rail or even a Wimberley Head.

John.

I've seen with tripods and scopes go for light weight over stability. I use wooden tripods , including a traditional surveyors tripod with ballheads. I have an Arca Swiss and a Benro balhead. I've found that a solid head it much more important than the tripod. I'm using the smallest Slik tripod at the moment with the Benro ballhead as I sit on the ground/low down most of the time. Do some tests with the tripod at it's lowest setting to see if that makes a difference. Most nature photographers are shooting at 300 - 1000mm (on DSLRs) while we are shooting at 1000 -4000 mm so rigidity is much more important for us.Neil.[/QUOTE]
 
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John,
I should have mentioned the balance as you're right that it is very important. I'm using a Manfrotto Micro Focusing Balance Bar which I bought about 6 weeks ago. It does make a difference. The owl photo is not bad considering the distance. Rule of thumb is that digiscoping over about 25 meters is very affected by atmosperics , particularly over water, so we can't expect too much detail/sharpness with an 80mm scope. If you 20 photos you might find one or two that look slightly better. I'd be interested how the whimbley would work for digiscoping.
Neil.
 
John151 said:
I said earlier that I was going to take my first outside picture to day. Well I did and here it is. The scene was in the shade, not backlit because there was a tall bank some 70 meters high behind the tree. It was also quite gusty so I used a bush for some shelter. I fully retracted the tripod legs to reduce vibration. I used macro mode and self timer with 10 s delay. The Tawny Owl was between 150 and 200 meters away.
John don't care what anyone else says that was a fine shot and for the distance it is suburb. I believe now that I looked at the shot that started this thread, the blessed bird moved. Look at the feeder access clear as a bell.
 
Thanks Neil, By the way it's 65 mm scope.
John

Neil said:
John,
I should have mentioned the balance as you're right that it is very important. I'm using a Manfrotto Micro Focusing Balance Bar which I bought about 6 weeks ago. It does make a difference. The owl photo is not bad considering the distance. Rule of thumb is that digiscoping over about 25 meters is very affected by atmosperics , particularly over water, so we can't expect too much detail/sharpness with an 80mm scope. If you 20 photos you might find one or two that look slightly better. I'd be interested how the whimbley would work for digiscoping.
Neil.
 
Thank you.

John

johnruss said:
John don't care what anyone else says that was a fine shot and for the distance it is suburb. I believe now that I looked at the shot that started this thread, the blessed bird moved. Look at the feeder access clear as a bell.
 
I don't know how effective the Wimberley head would be. What attracts me is the fact that you can balance the setup perfectly so there should not be any inherent vibration. Also, the image displacement caused by tightening the pan and tilt head should not occur with the Wimberley head if you set to minimum drag. This displacement is caused by the balance force which you need to apply to the pan and tilt handle before tightening. Once tightend you let go and that is when the displacement occurs.
John.

Neil said:
John,
I should have mentioned the balance as you're right that it is very important. I'm using a Manfrotto Micro Focusing Balance Bar which I bought about 6 weeks ago. It does make a difference. The owl photo is not bad considering the distance. Rule of thumb is that digiscoping over about 25 meters is very affected by atmosperics , particularly over water, so we can't expect too much detail/sharpness with an 80mm scope. If you 20 photos you might find one or two that look slightly better. I'd be interested how the whimbley would work for digiscoping.
Neil.
 
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john,

Don't give up! The reason your image is noisy and blurred is because of the low light levels. In order to freeze all movement of this bird you would need at least 1/125sec. The only way you could have achieved this would be to increase the apparent film speed, which would mean more noise, (catch 22)
I also agree that you need a elctronic release to avoid camera shake when opperating at high magnification.

bryan
 
No,John do not give up with your digiscoping.The Owl and Siskin shots really are very good.You are never going to manage anything as clear as a shot taken with a 600mm prime lens,but you are going to manage a decent magnification and a decent shot.The weather will soon be improving,you need a good clear wind free day,bright,but not too much sun.
Keep with it John.
 
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