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Digiscoping please help (1 Viewer)

Josef said:
Marcus,

Couple years here and still learning. Seems it goes in stages - I find something that works then stick with it until something better works, etc. I went through the aperture/shutter priorty and even tried Andy's macro suggestion and have ended up using Scene Setting. I use an Oly C-60 with Scene set so max DOF is achieved.

One piece of equipment we have in common is the Kowa (sort of - I use the 821). If you care to look - these are my better results http://www.birdforum.net/pp_gallery/showgallery.php/cat/500/ppuser/9499

My mentor is Forcreeks who uses the same scope as yours - a real pro, you may want to look up his gallery also. The scope's focus is one of the best, I've found it's only my limitations that screw it up. My tri-focals have caused problems too. Reason I'm talking focus is the reed bunting pics which I love. Tough to analyse but your focus of the right one seems to be a fraction in front of subject. I focus using the monitor and use an extend a view (see products reviews).

After you have gone through the confusion stage try to simplify. I like to look at it as a simple 3 or 4 stage process.
1 Aim
2 Focus
3 Shoot
4 Maybe develope

Number 1
My adapter is easily removable and when in woods camera is generally off but when subjects are close it goes on. I use a sight to get onto the bird and have a smooth tripod head to keep on the subject. Sometimes I use my nose to nudge the contraption to center the subject since my right hand is on the focus and left on the release.

Number 2
To test focus get on a good viewer program and study the pixels close up. You can tell if movement has caused a blurred image or focus. Movement causes a directional
arrangement to the pixels and focus a uniform arrangement. The equipment can do incredible things which I found out when I got the Ruby throated hummer.

Number 3
Easy part as long as the equipment dosn't move. For faster subjects I'm just learning to use burst. Just tried it this morning and found I can take 4 pics in just over a second. Forcreeks is experimenting with a new camera and has implied catching a moving bird with a digiscope - I bet he will.

Number 4
Andy B has discussed using programs to remove abberation, etc. I think most people opt for expensive equipment rather than developing the negative. You can't fix a bad image but just about every good image can be improved. I've had a couple pics where one end of the bird was just out of focus so I fixed it. Or a bright spot off the subject ruins the composition - just fix it. After all the work Ansel Adams did to get a good negative he still used burning and dodging to improve it.

Anyway thats my 2 bits worth -good luck

Joe

Thanks Joe, your pics are great not quite there yet...
 
Got down to Rodley yesterday AM and managed to get some more shots that I am really pleased with.

Compared to the common sand pic at the start of the thread these are in my opinion in a different league. I know I have a long way to go, but I have a new lease of energy!! Gonna have to buy some more memory cards now that's my next limitation.

Still think I could get more improvements from a better tripod and the lens discussed earlier that would mean I don't have to zoom in as much - see bullfinch pic - would have been easier without the comera shake and with a wider field of view

Went out last nught and had loads of B :) he he
 

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Progress report

Well all the advice you gave me paid off - please find a couple of pics attached taken yesterday in poor light, but in my opinion thay are sharp and that'w what I had hoped for....

Thanks!!!
 

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jimmy2faces said:
This is my pleasing picture to date - didn't even realise this sort of quality was possible :t:

Hi Markus,
You look has if you have got the digiscoping spot on now nice image thanks for sharing.
Stan. :clap: :clap:
 
Great Pochard Marcus.
Been following this long thread - a few thoughts -

In my opinion, major factors for high quality images are -

1. glass quality. ED, fluorite, APO give far superior images (sadly, I don't have one of these myself!).

2. distance of subject. near focus = better quality, especially with lesser quality optics. Better optics allow greater distance due to more convergent focussing across the spectrum.

Other thoughts -

3. for Nikon's, try using "continuous" setting. For moving birds, this gives greater chance of capturing the best poses. Downside is the that extra time is needed to write the images to the memory card, so limit the number of shots to 2-3 for each shutter release.

4. earlier talk in this thread about making shutter release mechanisms - Eagle-eye Optics sell a superb bracket for relatively little, which fits most cameras.

5. regarding camera settings, I'm occasionally surprised by the relative lack of understanding of basic photo principles that some folks have (mentioning no names!) - f-stops, shutter speed, ISO settings and the like. For anyone in this category, I strongly recommend reading up to get your head around these basics. This will often help find some solutions to better images.

6. I personally prefer to slightly under-expose shots. This helps keep shutter speeds fast and allows more control of image adjustment in Photoshop or similar. An awful lot can be done with a very under-exposed pic, whereas a burnt-out over-exposed image is often useless.

7. as many others have said - takes lots of pics. I regularly take several hundred shots to get 1 or 2 good ones.

8. for what it's worth, in my experience, I've never found any one camera set-up to be hugely better than another - auto, macro, infinity etc. etc. - all give equally good (or bad!) images.

Hope this is of interest to others like me who are struggling to improve!

AstroKev
 
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