Nikon Coolpix 8700 -Wrong choice?? (1 Viewer)

[Jon Taverner]

A couple of weeks ago, I traded in my old SLR ,which I hardly ever used ,and bought a Coolpix 8700. Having had an only passing interest in birds for the past 20 years, I, nevertheless, decided to walk to Pennington Flash (Leigh, Lancs.) and experiment on the ducks and geese. There, in one of the hides, I met someone who introduced me to the world of digiscoping-something I'd never heard of before. Having regained my enthusiasm and seen the photographic results that are possible, I am sorely tempted to splash out on equipment. Looking at this and other sites, I get the feeling that the 8700 may pose problems. Is this right? Could I still buy a fieldscope and the necessary adaptors and potentially get good results? Would getting Nikon equipment be the easiest (and expensive!) option? I really would appreciate some advice including alternatives to Nikon but being technophobic, I need an outfit that is straightforward to assemble and operate. Many thanks.

 

[RoyH]

A couple of weeks ago, I traded in my old SLR ,which I hardly ever used ,and bought a Coolpix 8700. Having had an only passing interest in birds for the past 20 years, I, nevertheless, decided to walk to Pennington Flash (Leigh, Lancs.) and experiment on the ducks and geese. There, in one of the hides, I met someone who introduced me to the world of digiscoping-something I'd never heard of before. Having regained my enthusiasm and seen the photographic results that are possible, I am sorely tempted to splash out on equipment. Looking at this and other sites, I get the feeling that the 8700 may pose problems. Is this right? Could I still buy a fieldscope and the necessary adaptors and potentially get good results? Would getting Nikon equipment be the easiest (and expensive!) option? I really would appreciate some advice including alternatives to Nikon but being technophobic, I need an outfit that is straightforward to assemble and operate. Many thanks.

Hi Jon
Looks like your right, I don't think the 8700 will be suitalble for digiscoping the Nikon 900 series are best. I use the 995/Swarovski AT80HD, I also have an Olympus E20 which is similar design to the 8700 fix lens and I have just purchased the Canon 10D because of this. My friend is putting his digiscoping kit on BF for sale very shortly, its a complete system, Nikon 995, Opiticron 80 plus adaptors etc. He's just gone DSLR. Think he will be asking around £500 ono. I guess your lumbered the same as I, my Olympus is only 15 months old if I put it on the market I would have to give it away so I am keeping it.

Good luck, and I am sure you will receive more advice from BF members.

Roy.

 

[rogerscoth]

A couple of weeks ago, I traded in my old SLR ,which I hardly ever used ,and bought a Coolpix 8700.

Jon,
I believe that none of the current batch of 8 megapixel cameras are compatible for digiscoping use, although they are very good performance cameras. I checked out a C8080 Olympus camera recently, and that just did not work at all well with my 80mm 'scope; the camera lens physical features are just not right.

Roger

 

[Andy Bright]

Hi Jon, as has been pointed out, these large digicams are not suitable for digiscoping. In fact I would advise looking at just 2 cameras Nikon cp4500 (or used cp990/995) or the Contax SL300RT*/Kyocera variants.

It's an expensive method if you start from scratch, though a scope is never wasted outlay if you are a birder. Depending upon your needs and photographic ambitions, the dslr route could be a more sensible option (more creativity and auto focus)... though likewise, initially expensive.

Am i correct in thinking that a teleconverter is avaialbe for your cp8700? This may give you extra reach for birds.

regards,
Andy

 

[Jon Taverner]

Thanks very much for your comments. On reflection, I wish I had known about digiscoping, found this site and read all the excellent advice before buying the camera -hindsight and all that! I will certainly ask about a teleconverter for the camera but would this give me the quality and sharpness that is apparent on the pictures featured here and in magazines? Thank you again for taking the time to answer. I have only just joined and I am extremely impressed with the way so many people are willing to offer help.

 

[rogerscoth]

I will certainly ask about a teleconverter for the camera but would this give me the quality and sharpness that is apparent on the pictures featured here and in magazines? Thank you again for taking the time to answer. I have only just joined and I am extremely impressed with the way so many people are willing to offer help.

Hello Jon,
I am sure you will get quality and sharpness when using a teleconverter, it is just the distant shots you may miss by not utilising a 'scope.
With coming up to 14000 forum members worldwide, and many being "active", there is a broad spectrum of helpful people with lots of experience that they are willing to share. Those of us that need help or advice with many subjects are very grateful.

Roger

 

[Dipper]

The 8700 is certainly not the camera to use for digiscoping but as a long time owner of the 5700 I can tell you that it is a fantastic camera for macro work. The ED glass puts it way ahead of the opposition. You can cheaply add another camera to your collection if you want to get into digiscoping. Prices are tumbling!!

I'm thinking of getting a Coolpix 5200 shortly, small, aluminium, 5MP, ED glass element, cheap. But I'm still open to suggestions, not too keen on the plastic 4500.

 

[Andy Bright]

I'm thinking of getting a Coolpix 5200 shortly, small, aluminium, 5MP, ED glass element, cheap. But I'm still open to suggestions, not too keen on the plastic 4500.

The cp4500 is alloy construction... the previous cp995 was semi plastic, the good old cp990 was seriously metal.
Be interesting to hear about results from the cp5200, mixed news on that from a digiscoping perspective but maybe better with certain eyepieces (the new Nikon digiscoping ones).
regards,
Andy