Nikon D90 + Vixen ED81S ? (1 Viewer)

I did manage to take apart one that looked somewhat similar a few years ago by the application of brute force. IIRC, I supported the metal housing and used a padded wooden dowel and a hammer from the leg side to tap the lens free. However, I am sure this approach could just as easily have shattered the lens, so be careful if you try it!

Hi,

(sorry for late reply, did not notice your question)

I use my setup on a tripod.

You can find a description and photo on this page: http://www.birdforum.net/showthread.php?t=194800&page=4

The weight of the setup is something like this:

• 2.5 kg for the scope
• 100 g for adapters
• 500 g for the body

Total 3+ kg

A monopod will be a decent companion and do the job, but a tripod with gimbal head does an even better job since the setup is quite bulky and a tripod with gimbal head allows you to concentrate on the photography itself, i.e. pan and focus while not having to bother about balancing the setup.

• Gimbal head 1.25 kg
• Tripod: 5 kg

Total: 10 kg. I use to carry it in the same way as you carry a spotting scope, i.e. over the shoulder with extended legs to provide balance and with retracted and locked focuser to minimize stress. For longer walks I supppose a carrying system involving straps and retracted legs would be right.

/Tord

pinkster2008 said:

Hi Tord

Thank you for your replied.

Is your new set up on tripod or monopod ?

Is shutter release cable is a must ?

Thanks

Click to expand...

pinkster2008 said:

Hi Tord

Is shutter release cable is a must ?

Thanks

Click to expand...

Hi again,

Regarding the shutter release cable - nope.

The challenge is not so much shake blur (provided you use a tripod) as getting the focus right. Say that the subject is at 20 meters distance. For a scope with FL = 600mm and F/8 the depth of field is something like +/- 10 cm (assuming circle of confusion 0.010 mm)

/Tord

pinkster2008 said:

Alright, here is the pictures of my first test with my Skywatcher black diamond 80mm ED, FL 600mm. I don't have any TC yet, so just the my extension tubes; 36mm+20mm+12mm+27.5MM. What I found, there is a limit range of focus, within 6 meter to 30 meter anything closer or further is out of focus.

Thank you Paul for the great advices.

untouch

crop 100%

Click to expand...

Hi,

I started using my ED80 600mm with a 50 mm extension tube and immediately found out this was not enough to come within close range. After I added one extra 25 mm extension it became about right.

Great picture by the way!

/Tord

Tord said:

Hi again,

Regarding the shutter release cable - nope.

The challenge is not so much shake blur (provided you use a tripod) as getting the focus right. Say that the subject is at 20 meters distance. For a scope with FL = 600mm and F/8 the depth of field is something like +/- 10 cm (assuming circle of confusion 0.010 mm)

/Tord

Click to expand...

Depth of field also changes depending on camera sensor size. On a stadard dslr 1.6X crop sensor it's nearer 35cm depth of field for 20m distance while on a micro 4/3 it's about 25cm and on a full frame dlsr it's around 50cm. I tend not to focus so much on the bird but other stuff around the bird that is bigger, such as the branches, masses of leaves etc. I find that to be a very successful method at longer range. At close range it should be easy as the subject snaps in and out of focus quicker.

Paul.

Paul,

You are absolutely right regarding the sensor size impact on DOF. The figures I provided were estimate for 4/3 sensors, which I happen to use, forgetting when I typed that the thread was about a Nikon sensor.

Still +/- 17.5 cm is challenging, 15 cm offset and risk is high the shot suffers from quite pronounced OOF blur. Within 5 cm offset and change is high the entire bird is in focus. (It also depends on the shooting angle and size of the subject).

Also thanks for the focusing tips.

/Tord

Thank you very much for all the great respond,

I recent have a few TN, but all seem to be magnify more than my TC x2. I placed my TN very close to the camera body. (vivitar 75-205, soligor 75-200)

Camera body + TN + 75mm tubes + T mount + scope.

It would be great of someone could post some pictures of your TN in the tube ready to mount to the camera. How did you glue it to the tube ?


What is the best way for remove these oil staint on the TN (finger print by accident while I removed it from the zoom)?

Thanks

pinkster2008 said:

What is the best way for remove these oil staint on the TN (finger print by accident while I removed it from the zoom)?

Thanks

Click to expand...

Hi

Not sure what exactly a TN is but I suppose it is a piece of optics.

To remove stains, speckles and even grease such as fingerprints I can recommend the LensPen.

http://www.lenspen.com/?cPath=_1&products_id=NLP-1&tpid=323

/Tord

pinkster2008 said:

Thank you very much for all the great respond,

I recent have a few TN, but all seem to be magnify more than my TC x2. I placed my TN very close to the camera body. (vivitar 75-205, soligor 75-200)

Camera body + TN + 75mm tubes + T mount + scope.

It would be great of someone could post some pictures of your TN in the tube ready to mount to the camera. How did you glue it to the tube ?


What is the best way for remove these oil staint on the TN (finger print by accident while I removed it from the zoom)?

Thanks

Click to expand...

This is the reason for getting a 100-200mm TN if possible as the magnification is less from these. Generally my findings are that the smaller the first number in the zoom lens size then the more magnification they produce. The second larger number doesn't seem to have any effect on the magnification. A 80-210mm will give the same magnification as a TN from a 80-300mm for example. Lenses that start with 75 or 80mm will generally give around 2.2X to 2.5X magnification. Lenses that start with 100m give 1.5X mag. I'd like to try a 150-400mm or 150-500mm but finding a cheap wrecked one on ebay hasn't happened yet.

I have my TN's super glued into empty teleconverter tubes. I buy old cheap teleconverters off ebay, then strip them out of all the old glass and stuff just to leave an empty tube. I glue the TN to the bottom face which is closest to the camera. If you use a slower setting super glue then you get a few minutes to position the lens as perfectly in the middle as possible and then leave it to set. Be very careful not to get glue on the glass.

I get finger prints etc on mine all the time and just clean them with a cleaning cloth like the ones used for cleaning spectacles. With the amount of experimenting I do they get covered in prints from one day to the next and the cloths clean them up fine without scratching. The lens coatings are very tough.

Paul.

Still waiting for a new TN, I have another test with my Skywatcher + Kenko 1.4 as well as a set of Extension tube (12,20,36mm) for now the TC 1.4 is mount very close to the body. I will be moved it between these tube to increase the magnification a little higher.

This sparrow is around 10m away.

1st one is the orginal uncrop or edit.

2nd picture 100% crop.

Any suggest, how many tubes(mm) between the camera and the kenko so I could increase the magnification to 1.7 ?

And what is the best way to carry this set up around that you find the most convenience ?

Thanks

pinkster2008 said:

Any suggest, how many tubes(mm) between the camera and the kenko so I could increase the magnification to 1.7 ?

Thanks

Click to expand...

I think something around 30-40mm would get you to that amount of magnification.

For carrying you can get special handles that will fit to telescopes and there's also ones for tripods. The camera and stuff can be put in a backpack. I tend to carry my tripod and scope in each hand with all my other stuff in my backpack.

Paul.