Olympus PL3 for Leica APO Televid 82mm (1 Viewer)

vdrtol · Mar 15, 2012

Recently, I have bought an OLympus PL3 with the Zuiko 14-42 RII kit lens, and a Zuiko 45 mm f/1.8 lens. I use the Swarovski DCA adapter to connect the camera with the telescope.
In the store I have also tried the Nikon V1, but the 10-30 mm kitlens showed, handheld, thus without a stepping ring on the adapter, still some vignetting at 30 mm.

So I bought the Olympus, without electronic viewfinder and an electronic cable release. The camera shows no vignetting from about 28 mm - till 42 mm. It has a real fast focus. The camera delivers decent pictures at least up to 640 ISO. In my opinion the high speed burst in RAW of 5.1 fps is more than enough. The LCD display can be tilted, which is always an advantage for digiscoping. With the Leica D-lux 4 it was due to vignetting impossible to zoom the telescope. With the PL3 it is possible to zoom the telescope in stead of the kit lens,

I have attached some first results. First picture is a Mute swan, with the telescope at about 40X. Second picture is a Black-headed Gull, telescope at 25X and third picture is a Island Gull with the telescope at about 35X

Sandpiper · Mar 15, 2012

Excellent work. It looks like the camera/scope combination works very well. Looking forward to seeing more of your pictures. Thanks for sharing.

Mike

opticoholic · Mar 19, 2012

Very nice photos. I'm glad to see that you are having success with the Olympus camera and the 14-42 RII lens with DCA. I have the new Olympus OM-D E-M5 camera on pre-order and I will initially be trying it with the same lens on my Swaro ATS 80HD. It is also interesting that you are making the Swaro DCA work on the Leica scope. Great job!
--Dave

vdrtol · Mar 21, 2012

Today it was really beautiful weather in the Netherlands. A great opportunity to test the Olympus PL3 on the Leica APO Televid 82 mm, with the Swaro DCA adapter.
The Black-tailed Godwits were very cooperative. I took also some pictures of an Eurasian Wigeon an a House Sparrow. All pictures with the telescope on about 25X. The PL3 was set on ISO200 and all pictures were made in RAW. The RAW images were very clean, without considerable noise.

Marcel

opticoholic · Mar 23, 2012

Great images! I really like the sharpness, color and bokeh.

cango · Mar 23, 2012

wow, stunning results, indeed.

wueku · Mar 24, 2012

Marcel, I am excited about these photos. Fine details, sharpness, colors excellent.

Kurt

Neil · Mar 25, 2012

vdrtol said:
Today it was really beautiful weather in the Netherlands. A great opportunity to test the Olympus PL3 on the Leica APO Televid 82 mm, with the Swaro DCA adapter.
The Black-tailed Godwits were very cooperative. I took also some pictures of an Eurasian Wigeon an a House Sparrow. All pictures with the telescope on about 25X. The PL3 was set on ISO200 and all pictures were made in RAW. The RAW images were very clean, without considerable noise.

Marcel

Lovely images Marcel.
Did you need to modify the DCA adapter for the Leica eyepiece?
Neil

vdrtol · Mar 25, 2012

@Neil

Neil,

There is a bit to much space left between the adapter and the eyepiece, comparable with the 30x eyepiece of Swarovski. But it can be fixed tight enough. The zoom of the eyepiece can still be used.

Marcel

JHorton · Mar 28, 2012

Gorgeous images vdrtol.

I am searching for an upgrade to my present camera and am now considering tho Olympus pen cameras.

I have tried the Nikon 1 V1 on my ATM80HD with DCA and have found the combination to be unsatisfactory due to the fact that the weight of the camera-lens combination causes the zoom to collapse. Have you encountered a similar problem in your experience with the Olympus 14-42 kit lens?

Also, hello Neil, and thanks again for your earlier comments on the V1.

vdrtol · Mar 28, 2012

The 14-42 mm zoom also tends to collapse a bit on my (angled view) telescope. But not more than to about 38 mm (if really necessary it is possible to fix the zoom manually on 42 mm without introducing much camera shake). That's why I also bought a 45 mm fixed lens. But I haven't used this 45 mm lens much because I prefer to be able to play with the zoom, especially with larger birds on close distances.

JHorton · Mar 28, 2012

Thanks...

I think I will hold back a while to see if any of the camera manufactures will come out with a camera that is fully suitable for digiscoping. I'm not counting on that, however, for reasons that you and I could probably easily guess.

Schulz-Benick · Sep 22, 2012

Marcel,
what about vignetting of the Zuiko 45 mm f/1.8 lens on your leica scope ? I know you prefer the olympus 14-42 IIR lens, but I digiscope over greater distances and am interested in the former lens. actually I use the canon s100 on the same leica scope as you.

best wishes,
andreas

vdrtol · Sep 23, 2012

Up to now I haven't seen any vignetting with the 45 mm lens. The picture of this woodpecker was made with the 45 mm lens.

Schulz-Benick · Sep 23, 2012

thanks marcel...

i am waiting for the E-PL5, which has a 16 mpixel sensor but unfortunately not a higher resolving screen, albeit improved swivel.

best wishes,
andreas

TN Tin Man · Sep 23, 2012

Excellent photo's !
Curious on P&S cameras for digiscope. Is there some list of current P&S with remote shutter other than IR shutter.

Olympus PL3 for Leica APO Televid 82mm (1 Viewer)

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