Not as easy as it looks! (1 Viewer)

So I set off to Farlington Marshes yesterday on a 3 fold mission: - a father's day treat for myself; to seek the glossy ibis and; to try out my digiscoping equipment.

The first was a great success; the second a dismal failiure; the third - well, judge for yourself!

I'm using a Nikon RAiii spotting scope with a 20-60x zoom ep, a Samsung ES15 compact camera and a Universal type bracket.

First thing's first. It's not easy getting it all in focus! With the sun behind me, I can't see anything on the camera's LCD screen (must be a simple fix for this?!?) even with the brightness turned full up. I've done some afocal lunar photography before, but in the dark, it's much easier to see the screen than in the sun!

The other way round meant the sun was behind the subject, which is not great either! Perserverence is the key!

I've not got the camera set entirely square to the ep either, as evidenced by some vignetting in the right hand corners of the shots. Again, practise will prevent that and so will cropping!

I've just been using the auto focus/exposure features at the moment, as it seems the easiest (and I have yet to find/download the camera's manual!) I have done a little post production processing with Windows to some of the shots to 'improve' them.

Thoughts and constructive criticism most welcome (focus is a given!) Would I be better getting a better compact/bridge camera? I do have access to my wife's Canon 1000d DSLR, but no idea how to connect to a spotting scope!

Thanks in advance.


BHG


Redshank


Carrion Crow


Greenfinch


Fishing




Lunch


Little Egret



Mute



http://i304.photobucket.com/albums/nn185/HughCollings/Birding/SDC14621.jpg
Cygnets


Shelducks (at distance)

Hugh

Well congrats on all...and father's day...I hope you had a happy one.

Yes, the images lack but part of that is practice and getting to know the settings that work best with your scope and camera. For instance, what was you ISO..the range you used too. Just because you have a 60x ability doesn't mean you should be anything over 25-30 tops. Keep that in mind. ...

Digiscoping is an art...much tougher than just a camera where you draw up and shoot a million shots.

For the light in the LCD viewer, that is a tough one. There is no easy way around that but I try to shade the viewer either by being in the shade itself or standing over it. The former cuts back on light quite a bit so you to have a pretty sunny day. Digiscoping needs plenty of light.

Distance...though a scope can get you closer, it will not take good shots (as cameras will not either) at a distance. Get close,...take your time....

Focus...is not easy. I like to use a camera with a 'magnifier' option so I can first focus in using the scope focus wheel and eye-piece. I then swing my camera down in place and with the camera in manual mode, I have the magnifier available to me via the LCD. That allows me to fine tune the focus more so.

ISO...as low as you can go....

My tips...now up to you to practice. The beauty of digiscoping is learning the craft and feeling like you are really birding. I often feel with my camera (a bridge would be included here too) that I just wander around, see a bird. ..take a ton of shots and come back with one I like. It is far easier than digiscoping and sometimes you tend to not bird and understand bird behavior, the environment, habitat etc....as much as you should. Digiscoping inherently forces you to be aware of environment, habitat, behavior etc.... jim

Thanks Jim, good advice. I've discovered how to change the ISO so I'll dial it down next time.

Any other comments/constructive criticism please?

I think the main one is what Jim said about keeping the zoom on the scope in the lower ranges. That should result in sharper images because you aren't putting too much strain on the optics. You will then get faster shutter speeds and the option to use a lower ISO. Make up for all this by getting closer to the subject which Jim also said. Jim pretty much covered it all really.

The scope exhibits a lot of chromatic aberrations resulting in the red/purble/blue fringing. Upgrading to a scope with ED glass will give you the best jump in terms of image quality and would also eliminate virtually all the colour fringing that you are getting now. I wouldn't invest any time or money connecting the Canon dslr to the scope you have now and it would likely be a step back compared to what you are getting now.

Paul.