New camera or eye piece (1 Viewer)

Hi All,
Just brokered a deal for a Kowa 774 spotter with the 20-60x zoom. (Thanks again Rick!) But for Christmas I got my fiance a new Canon G12 which, from what I'm reading, due to the lens design isn't very conducive to digiscoping with anything less than 30 or so mm of eye relief. For future reference I'd like some input as to which may be more productive. 1) A different camera that works with the zoom lens, or 2) The Kowa 25x long eye relief lense that can be used with the Canon G12?
My initial thought is the go with the eye piece but then again maybe the zoom will afford a wider range of photo opportunities...
What say you?
Thanks.

Paul, I think there are only a few good digiscoping choices today that I know will work with the Kowa zoom...the Canon SD100HS, Canon S95, and Nikon P300. Of these I would favor the P300 because of its superior lens, LCD rez and continuous shooting speed. Nikon will probably update it with a new model soon. The jury is still out on the new Canon S100 but it may work well too. BUT US$430 is alot of cabbage now though for a P&S!

BTW, I can also hook you up with the excellent Kowa DA4/DA10 swing out adapter kit for ~$250. I have a few cameras too.

Hi Rick,
So that's one in the new camera column.
I'll be looking into those three camera's for sure. There's definitely plenty of time. First the scope, then the digiscoping equipment. That won't be until the summer at the earliest.
Besides the ability to use more camera's with the swing out adapter, Is there any benefit over the direct attaching type?
Thanks!

The main benefit of a swing out adapter is the kit stays balanced on the mount and always at the ready allowing for easier/faster targeting and framing. Continuously adding/removing a camera throws the balance out forcing either a rebalance or having to lock down the head making precise tageting/framing very difficult due to backlash and wasting precious time. Plus you have to have the camera in hand and not stored away in a pack. If the bird is perching/still for long periods you might have time to get it all right, but with most wild animals you don't get that luxury. It becomes quite maddening to get a kit set up only see the bird is long gone or no longer in an ideal pose. Probably the #1 reason new digiscopers give up after a few outings.

The balance thing reminds me, there's a new tripod head in the near future.
Those thoughts (speed of getting on target) occurred to me after posting the question but it's always good to hear it from someone who knows what they're talking about. Just a bit leery of it being an awkward set-up. We get pretty far out in the field and gear needs to be streamlined. Just pondering...
So no one thinks a LER lens would be the way to go? The G12 proved itself the other day quite nicely. We were out in the field, sub freezing temps and it just kept chugging along... Very happy with the camera.

Rick, got my W-2 :t:. Any chance of seeing some of your pictures somewhere? Especially some through the 774 if you
you've got them?

Thanks!