Help with picking my first camera...Please! (1 Viewer)

Hi all
New to the site and equally new to digiscoping! Have a basic scope, an Acuter Pro ST22- 67 x 100mm with a 22x to 67x zoom eyepiece which I've been advised to change to a fixed wide eyepiece.
Have been reading your reports in search of a good compact camera. The choice is incredible but have a few things that seem to be a must: Raw, continuous shoot mode, manual over rides, remote control, big screen etc.
Would seem all that glitters isn’t gold after reading the spec for the Lumix DMC-FX700. I thought I’d cracked it but then after read some of your reports it seems to disappoint in picture quality.
So thought I’d just ask for some opinions from the experts and hoped you could help me decide between the short list I’ve come up with, unless you’d like to throw something new into the pot? Canon S95, Samsung TL350, Sony NEX-5, Olympus XZ-1, Canon G11, or one of the older Nikon 8400,P5100,P600?
I’m getting square eyed and think perhaps each has it merits in the eyes of its user but any tips would be appreciated
Many Thanks
David

The camera OEM's release dozens of new models every few months now so it is an impossible task to keep up with what is available and has good digisco potential. Best to take your scope to a camera shop and test.

RAW is not a requirement. In fact, it is usually a hinderance with compact digicams since it slows down the camera's shot-to-shot performance and can disable many other useful functions. The most important feature has and continues to be a lens zoom range of 3x-5x or ~35mm to ~105mm effective focal length. Camera exposure programs are getting smarter so full manual control is not needed but some control over shutter speed is desirable. A camera can let you set a base shutter speed of say 1/125sec while varying ISO up to set limit would be nice.

That said, I think the Canon S95 and Nikon P300 might be the best options now. The hard part will be finding adapters to connect them to your scope if the OEM does not make dedicated adapters.

Thanks RJM
I'll have a look at the Nikon as not really looked at that. As you say....so many to chose from. Thanks again!

RJM i'll have to respectfully disagree with your RAW comment. For digiscoping I've been setting the s95 to RAW only and speed seems fine. One of the things I like about raw is it minimizes the in field decisions. Best WB setting and others are done at the computer. When you get a moving target and varying conditions I think it is well worth it.

Josef said:

RJM i'll have to respectfully disagree with your RAW comment. For digiscoping I've been setting the s95 to RAW only and speed seems fine. One of the things I like about raw is it minimizes the in field decisions. Best WB setting and others are done at the computer. When you get a moving target and varying conditions I think it is well worth it.

Click to expand...

Joseph,
The newer CMOS sensors are enabling serious speed increases. The S95 is only 0.9 fps , whereas the Nikon P300 is 7 fps. The newer Canon Elphs are 3.4 fps and the Nikon S9100 is 9.5 fps with a 60 fps burst speed.
Digiscoping shorebirds feeding on the beach at 0.9 fps is tough.
I wish these cameras did have Raw though as I like it too.
Neil.

Neil,

You are about the last person on the forum that I care to dispute with since I've always considered you the authority (and still do) but.....

My sony w300 was fast and when I moved to the s95 I was relieved it was slower. With the w300 it seems I was spending considerable time narrowing down the multiple pics, still get plenty with the s95, depreview specs it at 1.9fps. I'd never get any sleep at 60fps.

Joe

Josef said:

Neil,

You are about the last person on the forum that I care to dispute with since I've always considered you the authority (and still do) but.....

My sony w300 was fast and when I moved to the s95 I was relieved it was slower. With the w300 it seems I was spending considerable time narrowing down the multiple pics, still get plenty with the s95, depreview specs it at 1.9fps. I'd never get any sleep at 60fps.

Joe

Click to expand...

Joe,
I know what you mean. I have to switch of the 9.5 fps off on the S9100 most times as I end up with too many frames the same. About 2 - 3 fps is where I want to be digiscoping.
My DP Review showed 0.9 fps http://www.dpreview.com/products/canon/compacts/canon_s95 which is similar to the Nikon P6000 which is too slow for moving birds. I digiscope waders on mudflats a lot so by the time the P6000 AFs on the bird it is moving out of the frame. To compensate I prefocus on the ground in front of the bird and hope it walks into focus. Unfortunately a Marsh Sandpiper or wagtail are not that predictable.
I am on the computer way too much ( like now when it's sunny outside ) .
We are still waiting for that perfect digiscoping camera which replaces the Nikon 8400 which had all the features I needed at the time.
Neil.

Neil, Josef is correct about the S95 spec'd @ 1.9fps (JPEG, single focus) making it digiscoping worthy over the older S90's 0.9fps. But if continuous focus mode is turned on, then frame rate drops to 0.7fps. RAW is single shot only mode I think, thus an unsuitable option for digiscoping IMO.

RJM said:

Neil, Josef is correct about the S95 spec'd @ 1.9fps (JPEG, single focus) making it digiscoping worthy over the older S90's 0.9fps. But if continuous focus mode is turned on, then frame rate drops to 0.7fps. RAW is single shot only mode I think, thus an unsuitable option for digiscoping IMO.

Click to expand...

Rick,
Thanks Rick. That's a reasonable frame rate. Does it do continuous Raw?
Neil

Hi,

I use the Powershot S95 when digiscoping. I can confirm it supports sequence shooting in RAW.

The performance (fps) figures discussed in earlier posts are about right according to my experience.

/Tord