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The Scope, how much should I look to spend.... (1 Viewer)

G

gazraa

Tall Finch
Probably been asked a million times but I can't find the answers I'm after...

I know it's usually "you get what you pay for" but I'm very keen on starting digiscoping. I have the camera, CP4500, I have the sturdy tripod set up, uniloc 1600 system, all I need now is a scope and the adaptors.

My problem is that I really don't know what sort of budget I should set myself. A mate of mine has said that I need to spend upwards of £500 on a scope, even second hand, to get a scope which would give me good results. Is that right, or can I achieve good results without having to spend that much? I'm quite happy going the second hand/ebay route to get the scope.

By good results, I'm talking about images which could be used in competitions (projected digitally so 4mp is fine) and maybe even sold as prints/cards/calendars etc.

edit: I should add that I'm perfectly happy using photoshop, it's my day job so digital darkroom work is fine.

I don't really want to start with something that'll get me reasonable results only to have to replace the scope after a short while to get good results. I come from a photography background (film though) so have reached a certain quality level that I want to match - http://www.ilikelife.co.uk

Can anyone give me a budget to aim for? And any recommendations for scopes to look for in that price range?

It's not only birds I want to take pictures of, but other wildlife too if that makes a difference.
 
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To get good result you need:

High density glass objectives ( ED, flurite, APO whatever ).
A good eyepiece
Objectives of 78mm or above ( lets more light in ).

At the cheaper end:
Opticron ES80GA ED with HDF eyepiece.
Nikon ED78 from Warehouse Express
Leica, Zeiss, etc
Up to Swarovski.
?

Look at them all. See which you prefer!.

HTH
 
It may sound a bit daft, but you could look at some of the photos in the gallery to see what equipment was used to get really good shots, and then price it up on, say, warehouse express.

Chris

PS. I have an Nikon ED78, which is a brilliant scope, but my photos are awful. However, that is down to me, not the scope!!!
 
well the Nikon ED78 looks like it could be a good place to start. I just need to keep my eye out for a good deal on a second hand one if I can.

Good idea about checking out the gallery, not thought of that :)

Are there any good suppliers of second hand scopes in the UK, other than ebay. Preferably near the Manchester area?
 
hmmmm very tempting....... but I mustn't blow my credit card yet. Hopefully I'll be in a position to get one after new year. I think I'm going to have to sell some of my SLR gear to help fund it though.

So, I'll need the scope, let's say a Nikon ED78. Which eyepiece would be best? Then the camera adaptor, which one is recommended for that?

What else is needed to be up and running for digiscoping?

I've got the CP4500 and two 512mb cards, plus a decent tripod and head.

I can see myself selling my SLR gear to go digiscoping. Is a scope + CP4500 a good alternative? I shoot macro (hence the CP4500) and wildlife. The CP4500 should handle all the other photo subjects I shoot occassionally.
 
Before you do - I'm selling a Kowa TSN 3 (angled) 77m - the Flourite version with a choice of eyepieces ( http://www.birdforum.net/showthread.php?t=25629)

I don't digiscope myself but understand that it is ideal for the purpose - and you'll get change out of your planned budget to buy an adaptor!

Perhaps an experienced Digiscoper could comment better on the suitability.

I'm open to realistic offers and could arrange a trial seeing as you are not far away? PM me if you are interested.
 
Hi Rob, it does look like a tempting offer but I'm not quite in a position financially to make you an offer at the moment. I'm hoping to get into digiscoping early next year.... but I also need to find a deposit for a house too :)

At the moment I'm just trying to work out what kind of money I need to spend to see if it's going to be possible.

Good luck with the sale though as it looks like a good offer.
 
Hi Gazraa,like you I am a new boy to digiscoping but have been into wildlife
photography for years,my finances were a little tight when I was looking for a
scope but I found a company on the Web called Deben they make scopes
under the Hawke name, I purchased their long range spotting scope and it
cost £270.00 plus eyepiece,I am getting quite good results with this scope
plus my Nikon cp 4500,the point I am trying to make is that you need not
always spend a fortune to get good results,as is the case in the camera
world sometimes you are just paying for the name.Check out Deben online 0n
the web.
 
thanks for that bowmart. at least theres another option. Have you got any examples of the results you get that you'd like to share?

I'm always checking out ebay to see if I can get a bargain, no luck yet though.

The long range hawke spotting scopes look pretty good, with an 80mm dia ... end... or whatever the technical term is... should let a decent amount of light in. optics are coated which will help a bit.

hmmm
 
I would also strongly recommend looking at a recent thread by Grundy, where he has provided examples of pictures he's taken through a Viking ED scope - they're superb.
 
wow! they are impressive.
looking at the scopes though, they are still in the mid-high £400 area... or am I looking in the wrong place.
 
But then you really didn't think you could go on the cheap did you? If you're really into photography you've priced low-f big lenses. Digiscoping is cheaper but a big lens will always cost alot if it's high quality.
 
that's true. I did have a reasonable SLR set up with some good amateur level lenses... but all that has just been ebay'd to help sort finances. The coolpix 4500 is all I use now so wanted to make it as versatile as possible with as little cost as possible. I know to get the quality, I will have to pay, but it's good to see people trying out the slightly cheaper equipment and still getting excellent results.

I'll keep looking out for a decent scope, second hand or new, but it's not high on the priority list at the moment so I can wait. I am hoping to give digiscoping a good go at some point. Right now I'm concentrating on the other end of the scale, macro. The coolpix 4500 is a real gem for macro photography which is my main interest.

Keep posting any good deals though. If I build enough web sites I may be able to pick up a scope sooner than I thought!!!
 
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