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

Should I buy new equipment for better results? (1 Viewer)

kafke

Member
Hi fellow digiscopers and birders,

I read a lot about digiscoping on this forum, this is really a great resource!
Digiscoping is my new challange of the past months. I use a Kowa TSN-3 with the 20x wide (TSE-21WD) and the 30x wide (TSE-14wd) oculairs, a DA-1 adapter with a D7000/50 mm ffl Nikon lens, sometimes a 35 mm ffl lens.
Results are pretty nice, but what I'm wondering is if the quality will improve a lot if I would buy a newer scope (or perhaps a compact camera instead of the DSLR). The oculairs I use are both new and much better than the ones provided with the scope.

Pretty often I'm forced to use higher ISO to keep the shutterspeed low, focussing can be pretty hard when the aperture is at 1.4.

Any advice?

Best regards,

Aris
 
Some photos I made

Any advice to improve my skills or equipment is more than welcome.
These shots were made approx. 10-15 meters from the house.
 

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I dont know anything about digiscoping - however these images look fine to me.

I would save your money and carry on as you are doing

Enjoy
Dave
 
Maybe try using the lens at around f4 to f7 range which will be the sweet spot for sharpness on a 50mm. On a dslr lens you can go to around f8 or more without seeing any darkening of the photo and this is to do with the exit pupil of the eyepiece. The scope is controlling the aperture rather than the lens on the camera so there's no need to keep it at f1.4. I don't know if it affects digiscoping sharpness or not but at f1.4 the lens can be quite soft.

You are probably getting near the limit of what the scope can do though. The first couple of images look ok, third was a bit soft. Were thay taken outside or indoors through glass?

Paul.
 
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Hi Paul,

Thanks for your reply. I try lots of different aperture settings. Especially when there is a lot of sun the higher F numbers work out. I'll certainly try yours.

The pictures were taken from my balcony, not through glass. The fuzzy effect of the pictures is the sun coming over the buildings that are 50 meters away.

The TSN-3 scope is usually considered pretty good since it has a fluorite lens, the eyepieces are super. Since these devices really can't really wear down i just wondered if the newer kowa or swarovski would really be that much better.
 
I do not think you will get that much of an improvement over a new scope...it appears that that scope has the Fluorite lens so you have a quality scope to begin with.

I would also try going to a point and shoot although your shots are not all that bad with the 50 mm but as Paul suggested, try F4 or etc...that might help with that lens setup.

I have found that I can take a shot and have it turn out super and then the next shot a second later is not. It just all depends on the angle of the bird to the sun etc..how the sun and light catch the feathers, the detail etc...The keep ratio in digiscoping is not nearly as good as it is with just a solid camera plus lens.

Just keep experimenting...it seems that you are . You will find the spot that your equipment needs to be. Play with Exposure a bit, ....if you are using a camera with a timer, play with that so you do not have the slight vibration as you take the shot. Put it on a 3 second delay with 3-4 bursts. jim
 
Jim

Thanx for the reply and the advice. Good to learn the scope is still good, I was hoping so. It's true, especially the angle of the sun, the light is very important I found out.
Also, (strange enough) my 30xwide behaves much better when there is little light than when there's a lot of sun. The 20x wide sofar is the best EP to use is my conclusion.

I'll keep going. I'm hoping to do some shots by the sea this weekend, I'm curious how these conditions will work out.

Aris
 
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