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ZEISS DTI thermal imaging cameras. For more discoveries at night, and during the day.

Nikon P5000 (2nd look) (1 Viewer)

As for me I do have an adapter so I get the subject in the scope focus then hold up the camera to the scope AF and shoot.
 
Also, a question for Ian, Skean or any other experts. Ive set up my camera as per alot of posts already made but when trying yesterday for the first time i couldnt work out best method of capture...... Id focus with scope then go to camera which would then focus itself and had some fair results. However i found better results if after i part pressed the focus/shot button and it locked on target i then re focused scope to get exact focus and then took the shot etc. Seemed to be sharper but am i getting this right or making hard work of it. Sorry for going all way back to basics but trying to improve and figure it all out.... Also what are your settings on Noise Reduction and Auto Focus Mode?
Thanks all.

I always locate the bird with the scope, set focus and then mount the camera - I've been using a swing away adapter so far. I always depress the shutter half way and pause before then releasing the shutter fully - if for no other reason than to let any vibrations settle. Mostly I've found the camera autofocus is spot on doing this, though sometimes I confirm focus using the LCD and adjusting the scope focus, but with the P5000 that's seldom needed. The autofocus on the P5000 blows the socks off the CP4500. With the CP4500 I always had to use a 2x magnifier over the LCD and manually focus with the scope whilst half depressing the shutter using a cable release - that's not needed with the P5000.

One thing though to consider is distance of the lens from the eyepeice - with the CP4500 getting it as close as possible was important, but with the P5000 c.1/2" seems to give the best results for exposure and autofocus.

As regards settings I haven't actually read the manual yet. I powered the battery, went through the menus to set Image quality - fine, Image size 10mp, Optimize image - normal, White balance - auto, Metering spot - though matrix works just as well so far, ISO100, Continuous shooting, AF mode - manual, AF - single shot, Built in flash - off, fixed aperture and noise reduction - off and switched to 'A' mode. I have the flower symbol selected as well - I presume it's for macro.

I'll have to have a look at the manual sometime ;)

The only other adjustment I've been doing is to adjust the EV compensation depending on lighting - dead easy to adjust and likewise sometimes increasing aperture.
 
Ian, thanks for great reply, seems alot of my settings were similar anyway Although i have used 'S' mode (shutter priority) mostly so far, but is 'A' mode the way to go...?
 
'A' has the advantage of the camera selecting the fastest shutter speed for whatever aperture you select. In digiscoping the depth of field is so narrow that mostly I leave the aperture wide open, so in practice you're also getting the highest shutter speed for the light conditions. It's really down to personal choice though.
 
Great shots there, Ian. In that first picture (is it a Yellow Wagtail?) even the cobwebs hanging off the branch are pretty clear despite the breeze.

I've just received my P5000 today and so far have only taken a couple of indoor shots as it was raining most of the day. So far I like the look and feel of the camera, and the functions/menus seem pretty intuitive.

What I do find strange though is the constant, very slight hissing/humming sound it makes when switched on (this was also mentioned in another thread, I think). I wonder what is causing that. It doesn't bother me, I just find it unusual.
 
The hissing sound is the auto focus. You put it in full time AF. You can change that to single AF - then it will focus only when the shutter is half depressed. IMO, full time AF is better but it uses more battery power.
 
The hissing sound is the auto focus. You put it in full time AF. You can change that to single AF - then it will focus only when the shutter is half depressed. IMO, full time AF is better but it uses more battery power.

The very slight constant humming/hissing sound I am hearing is not the same as the AF sounds the camera makes when you half-press the shutter release or if full-time AF is set.
 
Great shots there, Ian. In that first picture (is it a Yellow Wagtail?) even the cobwebs hanging off the branch are pretty clear despite the breeze.

...................

Yes, it's a Yellow Wagtail, seen from an unusual angle so it's the greenish back and head that are prominent especially in the harsh light.

I hadn't noticed any hissing noise from the camera, but sure enouh it's there. I can hear it when I hold it to my ear. Sounds a bit like a mini-cooling fan you'd find on a computer processor.
 
According to the Nikon site (thanks normjackson for link) there are little gyro motors actually twisting and turning stuff inside to to keep things still relative to the focused point. Very cool. But it does beg the question as to why you would turn it off at all. Save battery life?

I have used a camera with more or less similar "optical image stabilization" (Panasonic FX01) since last summer and I can't say it helps if the camera is attached to the scope with an adapter - I haven't seen it doing harm either, which is why I keep it usually on. On the other hand it has proved extremely beneficial in handheld digiscoping.

My hypothesis is that when the camera and scope move together, VR/IS is not able to compensate large image shifts caused by small movements. It may help a little, but VR/IS systems usually have to "know" the focal length to apply correct amount of compensation. However, when the camera "shakes" independently of the scope, all handshake is magnified 20-30x by the scope. Now if the camera can reduce this vibration, in theory it will produce up to 20-30x less blurred images - and in practice even 2x improvement is good. :t:

Best regards,

Ilkka
 
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To All,
I have had a chance to put the P 5000 to the test in the field some more and some good, some bad to report.
What I like:
1. Takes a lot of "good" shots. Meaning it focuses fast and accurately. Of course this is where "the wheel meets the road" as they say so compared to Canon I get way more keepers.
2. Pretty quick start-up.
3. Feels good in hand/easy to hold.

What I do not like:
1. Shutter speed control does not have enough choice. The Canon I use has multiple steps between the standard 125th -250th-500th of second the Nikon does not. This makes getting the proper exposure harder. As a matter of fact I found that zooming in and out slighty controlled exposure better than adjusting shutter speed.
2. The Nikon LCD display for some reason is a bit hard to see in daylight which is not all that big a deal but what I miss on the Nikon when compared to the Canon is that the display on the Canon gets lighter or darker based on adjustment made to shutter speed and f-stop so you have an idea if your exposure will be correct before you take the shot this does not happen on the Nikon.
3. Vignetting on the Nikon is more troublesome for me than the Canon but I want you all to know I have never used an adapter so if you use an adapter you may be better off. Point is I had to zoom in tighter therefore light is less available to take the picture. Low light shots may be a real issue for me!

Other points:
1. I did not use the vibration reduction opition. Why? Well I just have a hunch that it may mess with the picture in ways I am not sure of so I need to do more testing on that.
2. All pics taken were in maual mode with image optimization custom setting image sharpening +2. That is the only setting I changed.

So overall I like the camera and will have more input as I get better using it. My biggest grip is the lack of availble shutter speeds, tougher to control vignetting (for me handholding) and the LCD which does not show current exposure levels. But I can tell you for certain it focuses way better on tough subject than the Canon which is huge! The attached pics have what I consider two very tough subjects (the grackle and the tree swallow). I am not sure but they may appear overly sharpened as a result of the camera setting I used. Lots more to mess around with on the camera but I think it is absolutly a solid addition to the digiscoping line-up and most users would be very happy with its performance.

Out of the Three picture's the last One is the best ... The first Two would
be in the recycle bin but the Yellow bird is very nice ... This One is at F5 and 1/500 ... The other Two were wider but worse ... Maybe the lighting changed somewhat ... Hope fully SomeOne will crack this camera like the
old 4500 ... For now i think i'm going to stay with what i have and wait and find out more if
this camera can produce picture's worthy of spending a few Hundred
pound's on ... something that other camera's can so far ... produce or produce better,
Good luck,
John,
 
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i took it out birding this morning and when threaded onto a FSB-6 bracket it worked wonderfully.
the picture quality is better than my old P4 (i would say if it was capable of shooting raw the quality would be right up there with DSLR) and with the improved cable release mechanism and overall design of FSB-6 bracket, shooting was actually a joy.
battery life was good.
since i am 100% tripod mounted and camera ready at all times using VR didn't seem to make much sense so i continue not to use it.
even so, i found far less blurry shots than i am used to getting so that tells you something about this camera.
for those expecting this camera to be a god-send it's probably not but when coupled with the FSB-6 bracket it comes pretty close.
 
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