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Nikon P5100 (1 Viewer)

Jules,
Thanks. Set the macro and zoom the lens to the end of the green macro zone for most efficient focusing. Too much camera zoom slows down the AF and will make it difficult to lock on to moving subjects. As you've got 12 megs to play with there's plenty of cropping room.
Have fun, Neil.
 
Thanks for your advice Neil. I'm looking forward to trying it on birds.

You write: "Set the macro and zoom the lens to the end of the green macro zone for most efficient focusing." Is there a way to focus at that zoom point and then move the zoom further without refocusing ? What is your procedure to take a SHARP picture at maximum zoom ? In my set-up, maximum zoom is 61.5X - 25X on the scope and 2.46X on the P5100.

From what I understood the procedure is:
Focus the scope
Move the camera zoom to the end of the digital zoom and focus
Very carefully focus the scope
Move the camera zoom to the end of the optical zoom (123mm)
Focus, then shoot
Hope for the best...

Do you use BSS ?

Thanks for your help !
Jules
 
Jules,
I very rarely digiscope at max zoom as the air quality here in Hong Kong is not clear enough for long distance photos. I have used the digital zoom for focusing and it can work if the camera screen is bright enough. I tried with the Canon G6 in sunlight today and couldn't see anything on the screen so put it back in the bag. I normally put the 45x eyepiece on the scope if I need more reach. I don't like using the camera lens
at full zoom as it's not usually at it's best there - about 4/5ths is about max I've found.

Neil.
 
A recent review at http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/Nikonp5100/ reports that "...the P5100's performance is still severely lacking in several key areas, most noticeably in the two most important: focus and shutter lag" and concludes that it is "...certainly not a camera for snapping ... anything that moves."

So, I am wondering why Neil and others in this thread find the P5100 so suitable for digiscoping - after all, birds rarely keep still.

Of course, the P5100 has a lot going for it and I had more or less decided to buy one. But first I'd appreciate comments on the slow focus and shutter lag.
 
Anthony

I have the Fuji F30, Nikon P5000 and the P5100.

When I bought the P5000 the success rate of my digiscoping pictures increased by at least 3 times, much better auto focus, but there was more noise than the F30, but quite acceptable up to and including Iso 200.
I didn't find the shutter lag a problem, and certainly didn't find a problem with focus speed.
I then made up my mind to purchase another P5000 when the price went down, as I didn't want to be without a P5000 should the original ever be unrepairable.
After 6 months of course the P5100 came on the scene, and the P5000 was not much cheaper, so I bought the P5100, have only had it for about a week now,so haven't taken too many pictures with it. The focus may be a little better and slightly faster, but very little between the two cameras.

I have some large digiscoped pictures taken with all three cameras on a website.
See them here http://lynandmholidays.mysite.wanadoo-members.co.uk/p5000pictures.htm

Malc
 
It's an interesting thread this one.

I think when you read these reviews you have to bear in mind that the person doing the review is probably biased one way or another. So I guess it could be that the person dong the review on the P5100 may be comparing it with his or hers DSLR. It's not a criticism it's just human nature.

I always had Olympus camera in the past and anything else was rubbish now I don't own an Olympus but have a Canon 350d & a Fuji s9600 both completely different (the canon being a DSLR for a start) but they are great for what I use them for.

Also I guess that digiscoping is such a specialised pastime what suits this could well be less than perfect for other branches of the photography hobby.

There the thoughts of a incomplete novice3:):smoke:
 
nick the grief said:
It's an interesting thread this one.

I think when you read these reviews you have to bear in mind that the person doing the review is probably biased one way or another. So I guess it could be that the person dong the review on the P5100 may be comparing it with his or hers DSLR. It's not a criticism it's just human nature.

I always had Olympus camera in the past and anything else was rubbish now I don't own an Olympus but have a Canon 350d & a Fuji s9600 both completely different (the canon being a DSLR for a start) but they are great for what I use them for.

Also I guess that digiscoping is such a specialised pastime what suits this could well be less than perfect for other branches of the photography hobby.

There the thoughts of a incomplete novice3:):smoke:
Click to expand...

Nick,

Regarding digiscoping, a DSLR and a P&S are behaving very differently and their features cannot be compared. IMO, the main differences are the optics, the viewfinder, and the controls.

The lens of a DSLR has a large diameter while the lens of a P&S is very small. Also, the sensor of a P&S is much smaller. This makes a big difference in the amount of light gathered and needed. Also, the light path characteristics are very different and have a strong effect on vignetting and on camera-scope interfacing.

The DSLR has through-the-lens viewing that can be seen by the photographer without interference. It is diopter corrected and not affected by ambiant light level. The viewfinder of the P&S however is useless for digiscoping and the photographer must rely on the LCD screen, which is often of lesser quality than the viewfinder on a DLSR and is often difficult to see because of the sun.

The DSLR has much more sophisticated controls than the P&S. The photographer has more flexibility and the camera focuses better. The DSLR is also much faster.

For these reasons, I don't think that an experienced digiscoper's opinion on a P&S will be biased by his experiences with a DSLR. However, many will have a one brand love affair and often the less experienced photographers will swear by the camera they own.

Also, bear in mind that Neil is a P&S guy in terms of digiscoping. He has a lot of experience and he owns quite a few P&S cameras of different makes. His opinions are highly regarded.

I suggest you read the opinions of other digiscopers about this camera on this forum as well as the many interesting threads discussing the benefits of P&S and DSLRs for digiscoping.

Welcome to our group. I wish you fun and success with digiscoping.
 
Sorry Jules I think I misled you a tad ...I'd only had 1 cuppa so wasn't fully awake :-O

When I said about the reviews I didn't mean the ones on here ( perish the thought - you guys are far more experienced than me ) I meant the general reviews that you see on other photography sites like Dpreview etc ( although I have to admit thats usually my first port of call:t:)

Yep, I fully understand and agree with everything you said and sorry for the confusion .... lesson there, don't post till I've had two cuppa's :-O B :)B :)B :)
 
nick the grief said:
Sorry Jules I think I misled you a tad ...I'd only had 1 cuppa so wasn't fully awake :-O

When I said about the reviews I didn't mean the ones on here ( perish the thought - you guys are far more experienced than me ) I meant the general reviews that you see on other photography sites like Dpreview etc ( although I have to admit thats usually my first port of call:t:)

Yep, I fully understand and agree with everything you said and sorry for the confusion .... lesson there, don't post till I've had two cuppa's :-O B :)B :)B :)
Click to expand...

Nick,

My comments also apply to general camera reviews. A review of a P&S camera for general use will be different from a review for digiscoping use.

2 quick examples:

Speed: a camera for general use has to be fast: fast to compose, fast to focus and fast to save. This is much less important for digiscoping.

Lens zoom range: for a P&S general use camera, it is nice to start from wide angle (28mm eq.) to decent zoom (6X or more). For a digiscoping camera, you don't really care for wide angle and anything more than 4X becomes difficult because of vignetting.
 
Anthony,
The P5100 is not going to be one of the great digiscoping cameras (no rotatable screen, no remote,no RAW,slow frame rate ) but you will be able to get great images with it and it is a lot easier to use than the CP4500/990 due to it's big, bright screen and much faster AF . It's AF is also faster than the P5000. The Canon G6 has faster focusing and RAW and a remote but the screen is useless in bright light (it has to be in shade to be of use ). Everything's a compromise with digiscoping. You'll find the P5100 works well with most eyepieces and comes into it's own on an angled scope. I used it on feeding Little Ringed Plovers and Stilts and the AF was fast enough to lock on . The 4500 is too slow for Little Ringed Plovers when feeding.
You won't be disappointed, Neil.
 
Neil said:
Anthony,
The P5100 is not going to be one of the great digiscoping cameras (no rotatable screen, no remote,no RAW,slow frame rate ) but you will be able to get great images with it and it is a lot easier to use than the CP4500/990 due to it's big, bright screen and much faster AF . It's AF is also faster than the P5000. The Canon G6 has faster focusing and RAW and a remote but the screen is useless in bright light (it has to be in shade to be of use ). Everything's a compromise with digiscoping. You'll find the P5100 works well with most eyepieces and comes into it's own on an angled scope. I used it on feeding Little Ringed Plovers and Stilts and the AF was fast enough to lock on . The 4500 is too slow for Little Ringed Plovers when feeding.
You won't be disappointed, Neil.
Click to expand...

Neil,

Have you tried it against the F31d? I was sure there was a comparison somewhere but I'm damned if I can find it. (trying to narrow choices down:smoke:)
 
nick the grief said:
Neil,

Have you tried it against the F31d? I was sure there was a comparison somewhere but I'm damned if I can find it. (trying to narrow choices down:smoke:)
Click to expand...

Nick,
Unfortunately my F31fd met with an accident and is no longer with us. In terms of a comparison the P5100 has some advantages over the Fuji. It remembers your settings which is the biggest problem I had with the F31. The Fuji was much faster up to 3 frames and had higher iso capability. It didn't have a filter thread for an adapter and it's screen is not as big and bright as the P5100s. The Fuji works extremely well with short eye relief eyepieces and was fun to use with the 20-60x zoom at all zoom levels. The iso 64 of the P5100 gives better quality than the iso100 of the F31fd and it's 12 megs v 6 megs, so more cropping room.
Here are a couple taken today with the P5100 on the Swaro 45x eyepiece.
Neil.
 

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Thanks for than Neil, They are absolutely pin sharp !!

The Nikon is looking like a favorite at the moment. Sorry to hear about the Fuji but look on the bright side ... at least you can buy something else to replace it:t:
 
Neil said:
It didn't have a filter thread for an adapter and it's screen is not as big and bright as the P5100s.
Click to expand...
Neil. Without being too picky, is this correct? According to DP Review the F30/F31 and P5100 all have 2.5 inch wide lcd screens with 230,000 pixels. Perhaps the Nikon one just works better.

Cracking photos by the way, as usual.

Ron
 
NoSpringChicken said:
Neil. Without being too picky, is this correct? According to DP Review the F30/F31 and P5100 all have 2.5 inch wide lcd screens with 230,000 pixels. Perhaps the Nikon one just works better.
Click to expand...

Ron,
Unfortunately I can't compare at the moment as I don't have the F31fd but my feeling is the P5100 screen is easier to use in daylight as it looks brighter, but you're right about the size. Maybe the Nikon Anti-reflective coating is better. Neil.
 
Neil said:
NoSpringChicken said:
Neil. Without being too picky, is this correct? According to DP Review the F30/F31 and P5100 all have 2.5 inch wide lcd screens with 230,000 pixels. Perhaps the Nikon one just works better.

Ron,
Unfortunately I can't compare at the moment as I don't have the F31fd but my feeling is the P5100 screen is easier to use in daylight as it looks brighter, but you're right about the size. Maybe the Nikon Anti-reflective coating is better. Neil.
Click to expand...

Neil
It could be, as I find the F30 more or less unusable in daylight, even as a point and shoot camera. I just take a guess as to whether the composition is vaguely right. That's another thing in favour of the P5100 as it has an optical viewfinder too.

Ron
Click to expand...
 
Well... the optical viewfinder can't be used for digiscoping.

I solved the problem by using a loupe. It works fine and behaves just like a viewfinder. I attach it to the camera with velcro.

Be careful when buying a loupe. Some have quite high magnification which makes them useless because of pixelisation. I have a 1X and a 4X. The 4X works fine with the P5100 and is probably the maximum that can be used with its 230K px LCD - it is too much for the 118K px LCD of the Canon A95. The Hoodman 1X fits the P5100 LCD while the Peak 4X is a little bit too small but still works OK.

http://www.hoodmanusa.com/products.asp?dept=1017
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/40719-REG/Peak_PK2038_4x_Loupe.html
 

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That is one feature my Fuji S9600 has that is really good. It has a function the magnify the centre of the view which I find really good for focusing when I use it in Macro mode - shame this isn't available on other camera's (well the ones I've looked at)
 
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