Fieldscope attachment for Nikon D70 (1 Viewer)

I read this on a Nikon Photgraphers forum recently...

I noticed an article this week about an attachment for attaching a Nikon Digiscope to the D70. The article mentioned the FSA-L1. Anyone heard anything about this or using it?
I would be interested in anyones experience of using this with the D70.

I suspect it is probably a relatively new item which may not yet be available, but any info anyone has would be gratefuly received.

The article I saw was in a small booklet attached to "Birdwatching Magazine", called "Digiscoping Made Simple".


I have just found this link, which provides additional pictures;
http://www.quesabesde.com/camdig/noticias_detalle.asp?noticia=1266

Is anyone on this site aware of this or have any information about it? I can't read the link since I don't speak the language but there is a picture showing the D70 connected to what apprears to be a Nikon Fieldscope III.

Thanks in advance from a new member.

Davo

http://www.dcviews.co.uk/press/Nikon-digiscoping.htm

Looks pretty new. I find it a little amazing that they are coming out with this kind of system with special digiscoping eyepieces now that they have stopped making their best digiscoping cameras.

I'll just keep hoping that they will produce a Coolpix 8000.

Hi Davo,
I think this device is no more than a traditional 35mm photo adapter for a scope but it does communicate to the camera what is in front of it in terms of aperture... usually with a scope photo adapter your camera is totally in the dark as to what's in front of it and results in lack of specialised metering.

I think to purists, you're not really digiscoping with this, as the scope is just turned into a large manual focus prime lens... rather than using the magnification from the eyepiece.

I'll have a good look on the Nikon stand at the Birdfair later this week to see what they're up to ... Despite being the person who heaped praise on the Nikon coolpix cameras in that digiscoping booklet, I'll probably be ushered away by security after promoting the Contax in recent weeks
Regards,
Andy

Andy Bright said:

Hi Davo,
I think this device is no more than a traditional 35mm photo adapter for a scope but it does communicate to the camera what is in front of it in terms of aperture... usually with a scope photo adapter your camera is totally in the dark as to what's in front of it and results in lack of specialised metering.

Click to expand...

Close inspection of the picture on the Nikon.jp website leads me to think that Andy is correct. This translation further supports that notion with its 1500mm equivalency which is about right for a 1.5x crop factor and a scope acting like a 1000mm lens.

http://www.nikon.co.jp/main/jpn/whatsnew/2004/fscope_lens_04.htm

..................................................................
- Aim recently of sale, attendant upon the spread of the digital camera, focusing on バードウォッチャー the field scope and popularity to super telephoto photographing which is due to the combination of the digital camera have increased. With the Nikon vision, the attachment which connects the Nikon digital camera COOLPIX series to the Nikon field scope was sold from 2002 July, confidence was won. On the one hand, in the digital camera market which continues enlargement, also popularity of single-lens reflex type has increased quickly, from the field scope user "connecting the digital single-lens reflex camera, the demand that we would like to photograph", was moved aside. This time sells as for "field scope digital single-lens reflex camera attachment FSA-L1", being something which answers the voice such as that, in the Nikon digital single-lens reflex camera "D100" "D70" installing directly, you just connect with the field scope, focal length 1,500mm (in case of 35mm format conversion and the field scope ED82 series) super telephoto photographing becomes possible. In addition, the field scope and digital camera "COOLPIX 5200" connecting "COOLPIX 4200", "field scope compact digital camera bracket FSB-1", and, "COOLPIX 5200" it makes the installing to "of COOLPIX 4200" easy, as a private accessory in order to photograph it sells also the "field scope DS eyepiece". The accessories and the field scope for these field scope, it is due to the combination of the digital camera, the "Nikon digital camera field scope system" it is optimum to bird watching and easily to enjoy super telephoto photographing to the case of celestial observation.

- Main merit < Field scope single-lens reflex camera attachment FSA-L1 > * Installing directly in the Nikon digital single-lens reflex camera, super telephoto photographing installing directly in the mount of possible Nikon digital single-lens reflex camera, "D100" "D70" you just connect with the Nikon field scope, 1,200mm and 1,500mm (35mm format conversion) it can enjoy super telephoto photographing easily. * Used the function only of the single-lens reflex camera photographing which squeezes possible exposure mode as for the priority automatic manual and photometry mode central part importance photometry spot photometry enabled. Real photographing only of the single-lens reflex camera is possible. * Because multilayer membrane coating is administered to all lenses where you can obtain the sharp picture brightly, you can obtain the sharp picture brightly. In addition, if ED (uniqueness the dispersed glass) it combines with the field scope of type low, higher quality photographing is possible.

< Field scope compact digital camera bracket FSB-1 > * "COOLPIX 5200" "COOLPIX 4200" simplicity "COOLPIX 5200" "COOLPIX 4200" with the private bracket, you just install you can install in the tripod socket of COOLPIX exclusive use and installation easily. If "the DS eyepiece" of simultaneous sale is used, connecting field scope and COOLPIX to direct, the *1 whose super telephoto photographing is possible. "Digital camera attachment FSA-1 and FSA-2" are necessary in the eyepiece of *1 "DS eyepiece" other than. * With the cable release of attachment, camera blurring at the time of super telephoto photographing private cable release we have belonged to the prevention bracket, using this, at the time of super telephoto photographing it prevents the camera blurring which is easy to occur. In addition, electric battery exchange of the camera because while COOLPIX is installed in the bracket it is possible is convenient. < Field scope DS eyepiece > * If "COOLPIX 5200" the installing to "of COOLPIX 4200" as for the simple "field scope DS eyepiece", "field scope compact digital camera bracket FSB-1" (simultaneous sale) with adopts the design which considers connection and uses with this combination, "COOLPIX 5200" in "COOLPIX 4200" it is installed simply to direct. In addition, when "COOLPIX 4300" you connect with "COOLPIX 4500", it is installing possible with "digital camera attachment FSA-3" and using "attachment ring F-CP885 and F/S-CP9XX". * ケラレ on most wide angular side ケラレ on most wide angular side of the improvement digital camera the improvement *2 is done. Especially, "24× wide /30× wide DS" actualizes the long eye relief with the adoption of optical system of the new design, can obtain the image which does not have ケラレ even on most wide angular side. There are times when ケラレ is caused the *2 with COOLPIX which is combined.

Synthetic focal length when it combines with COOLPIX 5200/4200 (35mm format conversion) synthetic F value 24× wide /30× wide DS 40× wide /50× wide DS 60× wide /75× wide DS synthetic focal length synthetic F value synthetic focal length synthetic F value synthetic focal length synthetic F value field scope ED82/ED82-A most wide angular side 1,140mm 2.9 1,900mm 4.8 2,850mm 7.1 most telephoto side 3,420mm 8.6 5,700mm 14.3 8,550mm 21.4 field scope III/III-A/EDIII/EDIII-A most wide angular side 912mm 3.1 1,520mm 5.2 2,280mm 7.8 most telephoto side 2,736mm 9.4 4,560mm 15.6 6,840mm 23.4

BTW, I found this bit disconcerting. It was pulled from an information grid and seems to be suggesting focal equivalences of up to 8,550mm. No doubt this is numerically possible, but you'd hope Nikon would have the good sense not to publish numbers like that which are not practically usable.
............................................
Synthetic focal length when it combines with COOLPIX 5200/4200 (35mm format conversion) synthetic F value 24× wide /30× wide DS 40× wide /50× wide DS 60× wide /75× wide DS synthetic focal length synthetic F value synthetic focal length synthetic F value synthetic focal length synthetic F value field scope ED82/ED82-A most wide angular side 1,140mm 2.9 1,900mm 4.8 2,850mm 7.1 most telephoto side 3,420mm 8.6 5,700mm 14.3 8,550mm 21.4 field scope III/III-A/EDIII/EDIII-A most wide angular side 912mm 3.1 1,520mm 5.2 2,280mm 7.8 most telephoto side 2,736mm 9.4 4,560mm 15.6 6,840mm 23.4

Thanks for your replies gentlemen. I think I get it now.

the FSA-L1 gives you manual focus and small aperture with a scope...Im sure it is possible to take good pictures with this equipment...better than traditional digiscoping... but the chance seems pretty low in practice....but it would be very interesting to see photos taken with this equipment...sure..it could be a budget alternative to a 10000€ nikon lens..

I'm really interested in this new FSA-L1 attachment. Does someone know if its use is limited to Nikon fieldscopes? or it can be adapted to other scopes ??

pes said:

I'm really interested in this new FSA-L1 attachment. Does someone know if its use is limited to Nikon fieldscopes? or it can be adapted to other scopes ??

Click to expand...

I have successfully adapted it to my Zeiss 85mm diascope. Am quite pleased with the results. Here are a few example photos.

http://www.pbase.com/ccr1/image/35730974/original
http://www.pbase.com/ccr1/image/36127117/large
http://www.pbase.com/ccr1/image/35730980

The last photo is a 100% crop taken from approximately 100 yards away.

Craig

CCR said:

I have successfully adapted it to my Zeiss 85mm diascope. Am quite pleased with the results. Here are a few example photos.

http://www.pbase.com/ccr1/image/35730974/original
http://www.pbase.com/ccr1/image/36127117/large
http://www.pbase.com/ccr1/image/35730980

The last photo is a 100% crop taken from approximately 100 yards away.

Craig

Click to expand...

how did you manage to adapt it???

nice pics too!

gorank said:

how did you manage to adapt it???

nice pics too!

Click to expand...

Thanks for the compliment.

To make a short story long, I'll begin by saying that I first purchased the much more expensive Zeiss SLR adapter that was designed for use with my scope. Not only did the adapter seem to lack critical sharpness, the worst part was the 12 or so revolutions required to attach the Zeiss adapter to the scope. The scope's external threads are extremely fine, easily crossed, and time consuming to assemble, virtually assuring the avian subject would be long gone by the time the setup was completed. I was and still am amazed that Zeiss did not design their wonderful bayonet mount into this adapter, so back to the store it went.

Not one to give up easily, I decided to buy the non-metering predecessor to the FSA-L1 to see if it might work....search at bhphoto "7468". To my delight, it tuns out the focal plane of the Nikon adapter puts it about a half inch back from the scope's prism, and it's OD is smaller than the scope's eyepiece socket ID. Armed with this knowledge, I machined an aluminum "cup" complete with the quick attaching bayonet mount, using the scope's eyepiece as a pattern. The cup's ID bore was sized to create a close slip-fit with the body of the adapter, and is held in with a little silicon rtv.

I just bought the FSA-L1 this morning, now that it is finally available in the US. I am hoping that it is physically and optically identical to it's predecessor. I will be selling my original Nikon SLR adaptor in case anybody is interested.
Craig

CCR said:

Thanks for the compliment.

To make a short story long, I'll begin by saying that I first purchased the much more expensive Zeiss SLR adapter that was designed for use with my scope. Not only did the adapter seem to lack critical sharpness, the worst part was the 12 or so revolutions required to attach the Zeiss adapter to the scope. The scope's external threads are extremely fine, easily crossed, and time consuming to assemble, virtually assuring the avian subject would be long gone by the time the setup was completed. I was and still am amazed that Zeiss did not design their wonderful bayonet mount into this adapter, so back to the store it went.

Not one to give up easily, I decided to buy the non-metering predecessor to the FSA-L1 to see if it might work....search at bhphoto "7468". To my delight, it tuns out the focal plane of the Nikon adapter puts it about a half inch back from the scope's prism, and it's OD is smaller than the scope's eyepiece socket ID. Armed with this knowledge, I machined an aluminum "cup" complete with the quick attaching bayonet mount, using the scope's eyepiece as a pattern. The cup's ID bore was sized to create a close slip-fit with the body of the adapter, and is held in with a little silicon rtv.

I just bought the FSA-L1 this morning, now that it is finally available in the US. I am hoping that it is physically and optically identical to it's predecessor. I will be selling my original Nikon SLR adaptor in case anybody is interested.
Craig

Click to expand...

do you get true light metering with the d70 and the new FSA-L1 ?? it has a switch to set the corresponding apperture I assume?? With the old version you had to measure the light all manual i guess?? How difficult is it to focus through the view finder?? and what ISO settings do you use??

gorank said:

do you get true light metering with the d70 and the new FSA-L1 ?? it has a switch to set the corresponding apperture I assume?? With the old version you had to measure the light all manual i guess?? How difficult is it to focus through the view finder?? and what ISO settings do you use??

Click to expand...

Sorry for the confusion. I only just ordered it yesterday, and got an e-mail today saying it is out of stock. After I get it, I will update this thread with metering performance info.

The switch, as I understand it, tells the camera which fieldscope model you have.... either 60mm, or 78/82 mm. My Zeiss is 85 mm, so I would select the latter position. I expect that some fixed amount of exposure compensation will need to be set on the D70 to account for the additional light gathering ability of the Zeiss. TBD.

The old version required a shoot/review/delete methodology. Not too difficult to get the exposure within the +/- 2 stop correction range of most RAW converters, but still time consuming and very subjective. This is why I want to upgrade to the FSA-L1.

I've found focussing to be no more or less difficult than using any other long lens. The under-sized viewfinder on the D70 doesn't help, but I can't imagine it is any trickier than trying to judge focus on a digicam's LCD in bright sunlight. I have the angled scope, so getting on the subject can be pretty tricky, especially if a large change in focus is necessary. Takes some practice for sure.

For the shots I linked to in the previous post, I think I had the D70 set to ISO 400, with shutter speeds in the 1/500 range under clear skies and bright late afternoon light.

A final note: I tried using the ML-L3 remote, but the D70's mirror slap precluded getting sharp images. You can even see the setup vibrate. A better technique I've found is to leave the tension settings on the tripod head stiff but movable, with one hand on the camera, the other resting on the scope, and a finger on the fine focus knob. This has the three-fold benefit of dampening the mirror slap, ability to tweak the focus as necessary, all while maintaining intended composition. BTW, I use the excellent 701RC2 fluid head that Andy Bright reviewed here.
http://digiscopingukbirds.homestead.com/manfrotto701RC2.html

Craig

CCR said:

Sorry for the confusion. I only just ordered it yesterday, and got an e-mail today saying it is out of stock. After I get it, I will update this thread with metering performance info.

The switch, as I understand it, tells the camera which fieldscope model you have.... either 60mm, or 78/82 mm. My Zeiss is 85 mm, so I would select the latter position. I expect that some fixed amount of exposure compensation will need to be set on the D70 to account for the additional light gathering ability of the Zeiss. TBD.

The old version required a shoot/review/delete methodology. Not too difficult to get the exposure within the +/- 2 stop correction range of most RAW converters, but still time consuming and very subjective. This is why I want to upgrade to the FSA-L1.

I've found focussing to be no more or less difficult than using any other long lens. The under-sized viewfinder on the D70 doesn't help, but I can't imagine it is any trickier than trying to judge focus on a digicam's LCD in bright sunlight. I have the angled scope, so getting on the subject can be pretty tricky, especially if a large change in focus is necessary. Takes some practice for sure.

For the shots I linked to in the previous post, I think I had the D70 set to ISO 400, with shutter speeds in the 1/500 range under clear skies and bright late afternoon light.

A final note: I tried using the ML-L3 remote, but the D70's mirror slap precluded getting sharp images. You can even see the setup vibrate. A better technique I've found is to leave the tension settings on the tripod head stiff but movable, with one hand on the camera, the other resting on the scope, and a finger on the fine focus knob. This has the three-fold benefit of dampening the mirror slap, ability to tweak the focus as necessary, all while maintaining intended composition. BTW, I use the excellent 701RC2 fluid head that Andy Bright reviewed here.
http://digiscopingukbirds.homestead.com/manfrotto701RC2.html

Craig

Click to expand...

very interesting to hear about your experiences,
its very hard to find example photos from scope-DSLR combinations on the internet,
i think the biggest difference from ordinary digiscoped photos is that the colors are much more realistic/better contrast. It seems that you need a bit more ISO but noise reduction is possible to do in PS elements 3 if you want to, but the noise from D70 is not that disturbing I think.

I have a nikon scope, (60mm EDIIIA) but considering a upgrade to 82ED,
then the FSA-L1 would be of real interest for me, perhaps with the new low-budget nikons upcoming D50 DSLR.

Lack of Mirror lock up on the d70 is a pity, I guess you have to wait for the replacement for the D100, I think it will be out this spring...

Anyway, first I will evaluate the new Nikon FSB-1 adapter with the coolpix 7900.
Seems like it could be an interesting combination, but you never know until you have tried...=)

|:$| Just did a search for FSB-1 and came across this thread. I would also be really interested in the link up with the 7900. I recently bought a Fieldscope edIII as a lighter, smaller alternatve for when travelling and was intrigued by the possibility of using the FSB-1. Do I need to go down the Nikon Coolpix road or will the bracket adapt for other cameras. As I am in Japan at present, I'm sure I could get expert advice. Ah if only I could speak Japanese!

I purchased a Nikon D70 a few monthes ago and recently my wife asked for a birding scope so we decided to get the Nikon Fieldscope III (60MM) and the FSA-L1. The combined unit seems to bear fairly good potential with bright imaging and pleasing colour results. The set-up is quite long and is difficult to steady on a Manfrotto tripod which boasts the capacity of near ten pounds. My earliest shots were very blurred due to camera shake, flex on the tripod mount and apparently "mirror slap" plays a part in the complete scenario. I have ordered a remote control in the hopes that it would reduce camera movement from shutter pressure.
I have experimented with mounting the lens to the tripod and with mounting the camera to the tripod. So far I prefer to mount the camera body to the tripod and extend my left arm under the lens, operating the focusing ring with my hand palm upwards. I leave the tripod screws loose and with the unit cradled into my arm and the camera held by my right hand my test shots are dialing in much sharper than when the tripod is tightly clamped. This set-up seems to allow rapid panning, spotting and focusing.
Any suggestions/tips are warmly welcomed...

Using the FSA-L1 adapts the Fieldscope III as a long focal length f13 lens whereas the Digicam-held up to-eyepiece option produces a higher magnification image. It looks as though I will be utilizing both techniques as I walk the digiscoping pathway.

david docherty said:

I purchased a Nikon D70 a few monthes ago and recently my wife asked for a birding scope so we decided to get the Nikon Fieldscope III (60MM) and the FSA-L1. The combined unit seems to bear fairly good potential with bright imaging and pleasing colour results. The set-up is quite long and is difficult to steady on a Manfrotto tripod which boasts the capacity of near ten pounds. My earliest shots were very blurred due to camera shake, flex on the tripod mount and apparently "mirror slap" plays a part in the complete scenario. I have ordered a remote control in the hopes that it would reduce camera movement from shutter pressure.
I have experimented with mounting the lens to the tripod and with mounting the camera to the tripod. So far I prefer to mount the camera body to the tripod and extend my left arm under the lens, operating the focusing ring with my hand palm upwards. I leave the tripod screws loose and with the unit cradled into my arm and the camera held by my right hand my test shots are dialing in much sharper than when the tripod is tightly clamped. This set-up seems to allow rapid panning, spotting and focusing.
Any suggestions/tips are warmly welcomed...

Using the FSA-L1 adapts the Fieldscope III as a long focal length f13 lens whereas the Digicam-held up to-eyepiece option produces a higher magnification image. It looks as though I will be utilizing both techniques as I walk the digiscoping pathway.

Click to expand...

have you had any luck with the FSA-L1 and the Fieldscope??
would be interesting to see some photos taken with the d70xfieldscope combination.
=)

Digiscoping hand held

Here in SF California there is a lot of digiscoping going on with hand held point & shoot cameras

examples by a prominent ornithology instructor who does class field trips w/photos -

galleries link
http://community.webshots.com/photo/516462443/516462443vXHUMM
http://community.webshots.com/photo/95025754/477330340QbXYrk

most were taken with a pocket digital Olympus hand held to an angled Nikon 60mm ED - a matter of a few seconds
This avoids the connection problems including shake, time, etc. and allows some time (for a group) to
just look at the bird. The trick is to have a lens which centers in the eyepiece.

You folks have superb pictures.

Great site, best information on the web.

My Pentax 65mm scope just arrived by express mail, replacing the stolen 80 mm. The Pentax eyepieces work well for us.

david docherty said:

I purchased a Nikon D70 a few monthes ago and recently my wife asked for a birding scope so we decided to get the Nikon Fieldscope III (60MM) and the FSA-L1. The combined unit seems to bear fairly good potential with bright imaging and pleasing colour results. The set-up is quite long and is difficult to steady on a Manfrotto tripod which boasts the capacity of near ten pounds. My earliest shots were very blurred due to camera shake, flex on the tripod mount and apparently "mirror slap" plays a part in the complete scenario. I have ordered a remote control in the hopes that it would reduce camera movement from shutter pressure.
I have experimented with mounting the lens to the tripod and with mounting the camera to the tripod. So far I prefer to mount the camera body to the tripod and extend my left arm under the lens, operating the focusing ring with my hand palm upwards. I leave the tripod screws loose and with the unit cradled into my arm and the camera held by my right hand my test shots are dialing in much sharper than when the tripod is tightly clamped. This set-up seems to allow rapid panning, spotting and focusing.
Any suggestions/tips are warmly welcomed...

Using the FSA-L1 adapts the Fieldscope III as a long focal length f13 lens whereas the Digicam-held up to-eyepiece option produces a higher magnification image. It looks as though I will be utilizing both techniques as I walk the digiscoping pathway.

Click to expand...

Nikon D70 to an old Fieldscope 1 ED

I have seen posts regarding the use of nikon's new adapter to attach a D70 to Fieldscope II's and III's. I have an older fieldscope I ED 60mm. Will this adapter work with this older fieldscope? Thanks. tc

Hey Butane,

I believe your scope is excluded from the snippet below:

http://nikon.topica.ne.jp/bi_e/products/nature_c.htm
"Photographic Attachment for Fieldscope
This optional 35mm (135) format photographic attachment lets you transform the Fieldscope III / EDIII / III A / EDIII A into an 800mm (1,000mm with the ED82 / ED82 A) super-telephoto lens for some models of Nikon film SLR cameras. "

Of course that just indicates it can be used with the III's and doesn't specifically state it can't be used by the I's, but I suspect they may be different enough mechanically to cause some issue.


Seems to me if Nikon came up with an internally image stabilised DSLR body (like the Konica-Minolta offering), epecially if it had mirror lockup, then this setup would be a lot easier to handle, especially with the high f-ratio's. I wont hold my breath for a Nikon IS body as I supsect Nikon will continue to sell VR lenses rather than bodies.

I am, though, still intrigued by the idea of getting 1200mm from a fieldscope III as oppsed to 1000mm with a 500mm lens and a 2x teleconverter. The other plus with the scope is of course for scoping (duh! ) and traditional digiscoping.

I too would love to see some more samples and experiences of folks running this setup.

Cheers,

Sean

butane said:

I have seen posts regarding the use of nikon's new adapter to attach a D70 to Fieldscope II's and III's. I have an older fieldscope I ED 60mm. Will this adapter work with this older fieldscope? Thanks. tc

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