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Olympus OM-D M5 with Kowa 884 (1 Viewer)

Stephen Mark

Well-known member
I would use this with the TSN-PA7 adapter and want to know if anyone is using this set up and what are your reactions to it? I love the scope and not sure if I should stick with my Nikon D7100 or get the Oly for the five axis stabilization and no mirror slap. Any help welcome.
Steve
 
I would use this with the TSN-PA7 adapter and want to know if anyone is using this set up and what are your reactions to it? I love the scope and not sure if I should stick with my Nikon D7100 or get the Oly for the five axis stabilization and no mirror slap. Any help welcome.
Steve

Steve,
I've been using an Olympus E-M1 on a different scope, and I own the Nikon D7100 & D7200. I would definitely recommend the current Olympus mirrorless cameras for digiscoping. Although the Olympus image stabilization is fantastic, in my opinion it is not very important for digiscoping. When you are digiscoping the focal lengths are so long that you really must use a tripod and avoid all possible sources of vibration for best results. I usually use a remote shutter release. The real advantages of the Olympus EM-1 and EM-5II cameras for digiscoping are the following, in my opinion:

1. Electronic shutter eliminates all vibration. It can introduce some unwanted effects if the subject is moving, but the super high frame rate can often make up for small movements (i.e., the bird is often perfectly still for at least 1 frame out of a burst). Not every Olympus OM-D camera has an electronic shutter, but it is a big help. The original E-M5 doesn't have it. I'm not sure about the E-M10 models.

2. Focus peaking in combination with magnifying the bird on the LCD/EVF allows nailing the focus perfectly.

3. Tilting LCD screen. The D7100/D7200 don't have it; Olympus OM-D bodies do. Tilting the LCD really helps a lot when digiscoping. Often you have only moments to aim the scope and set-up your shot. When your targets are at all different angles of elevation, you will find the ability to quickly adjust the LCD screen angle for optimal viewing is a big plus.

These are the biggies for me, but others might also add the more compact size/weight of the OM-D cameras, and less chance of vignetting at high powers. Finally, regardless of what camera you use for digiscoping, I recommend some sort of red-dot sight. Olympus sells an excellent one, the EE-1, that mounts on any standard flash hot shoe. Some may say it is overpriced, but I can tell you it works marvelously to help speed target acquisition.

Good luck!
Dave

PS. Actually the much higher continuous frame rate on the Olympus is another advantage, especially in combination with the vibrationless electronic shutter. Also, by the way, most of the Olympus advantages would also hold true for other micro-4/3 mirrorless cameras, for example some Panasonic models, but others will have to help with those options.
 
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I would use this with the TSN-PA7 adapter and want to know if anyone is using this set up and what are your reactions to it? I love the scope and not sure if I should stick with my Nikon D7100 or get the Oly for the five axis stabilization and no mirror slap. Any help welcome.
Steve

I have the olympus em5 mark I, the TSN-PA7 and the Kowa tsn-883. I just got the camera and the adapter a week ago. I also got a remote shutter release for it. I have only used it a few times but so far I am happy with the results. It does not have electronic shutter but I don't think its such a big deal. Also the 5 axis image stabilization works very well. Ensure you have the drive mode set to continues low to ensure that the image stabilization is on. Here are a few images and a link to some videos I shot with it. https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCLqye2_aHXbHnonXeHM7_fQ

I use aperture priority mode when shooting and manually select my ISO to ensure a high enough shutter speed but I have gotten decent images with my ISO as low as 400. Feel free to ask any other questions you may have.
 

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How are you getting on?

Hello, I have a Kowa TSN 883 also and am looking to move up from phonescoping to something more proffessional - I wanted to ask you how you're getting on with your purchase and if you are still happy with it?

I have the olympus em5 mark I, the TSN-PA7 and the Kowa tsn-883. I just got the camera and the adapter a week ago. I also got a remote shutter release for it. I have only used it a few times but so far I am happy with the results. It does not have electronic shutter but I don't think its such a big deal. Also the 5 axis image stabilization works very well. Ensure you have the drive mode set to continues low to ensure that the image stabilization is on. Here are a few images and a link to some videos I shot with it. https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCLqye2_aHXbHnonXeHM7_fQ

I use aperture priority mode when shooting and manually select my ISO to ensure a high enough shutter speed but I have gotten decent images with my ISO as low as 400. Feel free to ask any other questions you may have.
 
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