Announcing October 2007 photo competition - Digiscoped Birds (1 Viewer)

The theme for October 2007 is 'Digiscoped Birds'

Bird Forum has always had a strong connection with digiscoping and we still have quite a few members who practice digiscoping. However as to whether it's run next year will depend on how much support it receives. Last year we had 33 entries which may not warrant a competition dedicated soley to digiscoping in the future.

A reminder that digiscoping relates to taking photos through a birders telescope (spotting scope) and includes devices where camera and scope are built as all-in-one devices.

Apologies are made to those members who don't digiscope but normally enter the monthly competitions.

The rules must be adhered to in order to avoid disqualification.

The Moderators decision is final.

Rules -

1. Entries to have been taken in the last twelve months i.e. since 1st October 2006.
2. Date taken to be included in the entry - must at least include month and year.
3. Entry to be uploaded between now and October 21st midnight (GMT).
4. Your entry must contain a digiscoped bird or birds.
5. The bird must be wild and can be of any species.
6. Location taken to be included and must include county/state and country.
7. One entry per member.
8. Only minor image adjustment is permitted, such as cropping, sharpening, contrast, and levels. The photo must not be otherwise greatly manipulated ie. objects should not be added / removed in order to enhance the shot - no composite images.
9. Once uploaded a photo is classed as an entry and cannot be replaced by another shot. However you have until the closing date / time of this competition to ensure that your photo meets the criteria.
10. The entry must be your own work and not previously submitted in a competition on this site.
11. The bird's common name must be given - though please add the scientific too!

Entries to be uploaded directly by entrants to the Monthly Photo Competitions Gallery

A voting booth will be posted after the 21st.

Please note 30 entries will be selected for addition to the voting booth for members to vote upon.

The entries not selected for inclusion in the voting booth will be moved to their respective Gallery forum.
Any queries about this months competition, please post below.

Limits on photo size and kb are determined by the Gallery limits.

The proposed monthly themes are listed in the Competition forum -here however they are subject to amendment and designation as 'prize competition' themes which will appear periodically

Quote! A reminder that digiscoping relates to taking photos through a birders telescope (spotting scope) and includes devices where camera and scope are built as all-in-one devices. Quote!

Ian, does this mean that the refracter type scope I and a few others use is not allowed. Ernie

erniehatt said:

Quote! A reminder that digiscoping relates to taking photos through a birders telescope (spotting scope) and includes devices where camera and scope are built as all-in-one devices. Quote!

Ian, does this mean that the refracter type scope I and a few others use is not allowed. Ernie

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Yes they are alllowed. The descrption was added to clarify that photos taken with a camera or camera and lens are excluded.

Photos taken through any form of scope are permitted :t:

Thanks for the clarification Ian. Ernie

I am building a new setup that enables me to attach a P&S digicam through a 1.25" eyepiece adapter to an EF 400mm f/5.6L lens. Even though the lens in this setup is a DSLR telephoto lens, it is equivalent to a digiscope as there's no DSLR involved. A 1.25" eyepiece is directly attached to the camera end of the lens which is then attached to the P&S digicam.

Would this be allowed in this month's competition? (If I can build it and get it to work before the end of the month, and then manage to take at least one decent picture, of course.)

P.S. This may sound like a joke, but it is not. It is a real attempt, mainly for astrophotography purposes, but will also be used for birding.

macshark said:

I am building a new setup that enables me to attach a P&S digicam through a 1.25" eyepiece adapter to an EF 400mm f/5.6L lens. Even though the lens in this setup is a DSLR telephoto lens, it is equivalent to a digiscope as there's no DSLR involved. A 1.25" eyepiece is directly attached to the camera end of the lens which is then attached to the P&S digicam.

Would this be allowed in this month's competition? (If I can build it and get it to work before the end of the month, and then manage to take at least one decent picture, of course.)

P.S. This may sound like a joke, but it is not. It is a real attempt, mainly for astrophotography purposes, but will also be used for birding.

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An interesting technique but I'm afraid it wouldn't comply with the rules for this months competition. This month a DSLR can be used, provided photos are takinken through a telescope/spotting scope. A lens used in this fashion wouldn't comly as no 'scope' normally used for bird watching is being used.

macshark said:

I am building a new setup that enables me to attach a P&S digicam through a 1.25" eyepiece adapter to an EF 400mm f/5.6L lens. Even though the lens in this setup is a DSLR telephoto lens, it is equivalent to a digiscope as there's no DSLR involved. A 1.25" eyepiece is directly attached to the camera end of the lens which is then attached to the P&S digicam.

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I'd be interested to hear more about this set up when you've got it all sorted out. I've considered adding an eyepeice to the back of a lens for view but am unsure how to do so, so would be interested to see how you've done it.

I am quite often interested in the facts behind a photo, and when it is not provided in the text I often look at the exif info. Why don't we all keep the exif info attached in our photos for others to look at? There is often much to learn from it and I think it is almost necessary at least in the competition photos.

Bad idea?

bengtfalke said:

I am quite often interested in the facts behind a photo, and when it is not provided in the text I often look at the exif info. Why don't we all keep the exif info attached in our photos for others to look at? There is often much to learn from it and I think it is almost necessary at least in the competition photos.

Bad idea?

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some photo editing software strips the exif from images, I doubt that many members deliberately remove it.

postcardcv said:

some photo editing software strips the exif from images, I doubt that many members deliberately remove it.

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Same with me. It's usually an opition with photo software to remove it or not. I tend to remove it simply to save a few more kb to enable faster upload and to get below the 200k limit. I agree though that it can be very useful info for comparing settings.

digiscoped photo

Hi all, I have a photo I would like to put in to the competition which i have resized to 800 x 595 pixels to meet your requirements, but the image is still 633kb. How do i get this down to 200kb without loosing resolution. I have had this problem in the past when i used to put the occassional photo on Surfbirds, by the time i had managed to reduce it to a size that they would accept it was`nt worth putting on as it then looked rubbish, yet other people manage to get fantastic pictures on there far bigger than mine ? Attached is an example. 800x600 but over 700kb.

There you go!

I just ran it through a noise filter which removes the noise and reduces file size.

An alterantive method of reducing file size is to use the 'save as' or 'save for web' function of your photo software but that does nothing to reduce the noise most digital images have. Free downloads like NeatImage or Picturecooler are very effective tools.

Hi Ian, thanks for that. If i am understanding correctly then, a lot of the file size is made up of noise ? I have the free download of Neatimage & will give it a go. Cheers

An awful lot of the file size can comprise noise. With noise filter though - it's easy to overdo them and make an image that's too smooth. Sometimes it's just down to trial an error. One advantage of NeatImage though is that you can download 'fliter profiles' from their website for many camera brands and models at different ISO settings.

IanF said:

An awful lot of the file size can comprise noise. With noise filter though - it's easy to overdo them and make an image that's too smooth. Sometimes it's just down to trial an error. One advantage of NeatImage though is that you can download 'fliter profiles' from their website for many camera brands and models at different ISO settings.

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Is this the same as noise reduction on Photoshop,Elements?

Baron Birder said:

Is this the same as noise reduction on Photoshop,Elements?

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It will be pretty similar. I've never really explored this feature if Elements as I'm so use to using to the stand alone programs now.

IanF said:

An alterantive method of reducing file size is to use the 'save as' or 'save for web' function of your photo software but....

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With regards to what Ian said here and the exif stuff, I've found that using the 'save for web' option will remove the exif data from an image whereas the 'save as' will retain it. Of course the save for web gives you a lot more control over the filesize and quality though. I think it really depends on the photo, photos I've had where there was a lot of detail throughout the whole image usually warrant the 'save for web' option.

Cheers all. B
Jaff

postcardcv said:

I'd be interested to hear more about this set up when you've got it all sorted out. I've considered adding an eyepeice to the back of a lens for view but am unsure how to do so, so would be interested to see how you've done it.

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I am still waiting for one part. I will post a description when I get it together.