Nikon P5100 (1 Viewer)

[jason stannage]

Jason,
Most people have the DCA Zoom which is a bit loose on the fixed eyepieces. I use tennis racket grip tightly wound around the camera end of the eyepiece to make the DCA collar a tight fit. Problem solved. Neil.

hi neil deceied to keep with the zoom found it a lot better and easyer to use, i wasn't impressed with th 30x eyepiece really did stuggle


pics taken with a zoom eyepiece set a 20x camera setting auto set on macro, spot, and ctr weighed.

 

[jason stannage]

pics taken with a zoom eyepiece set a 20x camera setting auto set on macro, spot, and ctr weighed.

 

[birdsgalway]

Brendan/Birchall

Looking forward to seeing your photos with the 5100 over on the Galway tread
http://www.birdforum.net/showthread.php?t=105685&page=15

Tom

 

[Neil]

pics taken with a zoom eyepiece set a 20x camera setting auto set on macro, spot, and ctr weighed.

Some nice images. When you're feeling brave and you have good light, zoom the eyepiece out to 60x and see how you go. Don't go for too much distance though. Neil.

 

[ColinSev]

Peregine on Swarovski 80td and Nikon P5100

Went to see a local peregrine falcon however couldnt get closer than about 150 yards and on a dull day - luckily there was very little wind.
Had to zoom the scope in to 60x zoom - I wasnt very hopeful of the result as I normally keep the zoom at 20x. However I was quite please with the result, the camera I had the camera on A setting and the speed was at 1/4 second - so luckily the bird was fairly static
Let me know what you think please

 

[barontan2418]

Went to see a local peregrine falcon however couldnt get closer than about 150 yards and on a dull day - luckily there was very little wind.
Had to zoom the scope in to 60x zoom - I wasnt very hopeful of the result as I normally keep the zoom at 20x. However I was quite please with the result, the camera I had the camera on A setting and the speed was at 1/4 second - so luckily the bird was fairly static
Let me know what you think please

Hi Colin

At that distance and using such a slow shutter speed I think you got great results.

 

[BillB]

Hi Philip:

To work out where the focus problem is, you might try what I did. I made a target out of a stick of wood with nails stuck in at 5 cm intervals, then viewed it nearly end-on about 10 meters away (so that you can just still see all the nails). I focused on the middle nail, then took a lot of pictures with the P5100 using different settings. If movement is your problem, all the nails will be soft. If the focus point for the camera is different than the scope setting with your eye, that will be obvious.

In my case, the big problem was in fact poor depth of field at large apertures (anything wider than f4). Also, zooming in to eliminate the vignetting causes loss of DOF. My eyes just were not keen enough to find exactly the focus point on the scope that satisfied the
camera at large apertures. Some people focus the scope after the camera is fitted, but I just cannot see the focus point accurately in the camera screen.

My other result was that the focus point of the camera was identical no matter what focus mode I was in, so now I just leave it at Infinity (reduces shooting delay).

Regards, Bill

 

[Neil]

Went to see a local peregrine falcon however couldnt get closer than about 150 yards and on a dull day - luckily there was very little wind.
Had to zoom the scope in to 60x zoom - I wasnt very hopeful of the result as I normally keep the zoom at 20x. However I was quite please with the result, the camera I had the camera on A setting and the speed was at 1/4 second - so luckily the bird was fairly static
Let me know what you think please

Colin,
Excellent results from that distance. Did you use the Macro Mode?
Neil.

 

[ColinSev]

Neil,
Yes I used the macro setting, like BillB, when I first got the camera and scope I did some vigorous testing of the settings and had a piece of paper with black circles printed on it which i attached to the fence at the bottom of the garden, sat in my house with patio doors open and took shot on each setting recording which setting my camera was on all the while - I found the macro setting worked best, also the sport setting was very good too.
I am very pleased with the results that I am getting - pin sharp focusing is still a bit hit and miss though.

 

[rb_stern]

P5100/ Kowa 773 - First effort and 2 questions

Hi,

I received my P5100 and UR-E20 adapter today. I spent about an hour learning the settings etc. When I got home I tried it with the scope for the first time. I was trying to get some sharp pics of a tree, just for practice, when this Robin obligingly appeared - so here are my 1st 2 digiscoped images - with the camera + UR-E20 hand- held and sort of wedged into the 30X eyepiece of the Kowa (I have a 28mm. adapter ring on order, but it hasn't arrived yet, so I didn't use the DA-10). Aperture priority, ISO 200, auto-focus, then Re-sized, cropped a bit and sharpened, but no other post-processing. I'm pleased so far!

Now 2 questions --

1). How do I tell when the battery in the P5100 is running low? (The manual isn't clear on that).

2). I couldn't transfer any images from the camera to the computer till I had loaded Nikon Image View software. I don't like that. I prefer to just stick the SD card in a card reader, connect it to the USB slot in the computer, and copy/ paste. At the moment I don't have a card reader with an SD card slot, but I can get one. Is there any reason I can't do that with the images from the SD card in the P5100, and not have to use the software?

Thanks,

Richard

 

[Neil]

Hi,

I received my P5100 and UR-E20 adapter today. I spent about an hour learning the settings etc. When I got home I tried it with the scope for the first time. I was trying to get some sharp pics of a tree, just for practice, when this Robin obligingly appeared - so here are my 1st 2 digiscoped images - with the camera + UR-E20 hand- held and sort of wedged into the 30X eyepiece of the Kowa (I have a 28mm. adapter ring on order, but it hasn't arrived yet, so I didn't use the DA-10). Aperture priority, ISO 200, auto-focus, then Re-sized, cropped a bit and sharpened, but no other post-processing. I'm pleased so far!

Now 2 questions --

1). How do I tell when the battery in the P5100 is running low? (The manual isn't clear on that).

2). I couldn't transfer any images from the camera to the computer till I had loaded Nikon Image View software. I don't like that. I prefer to just stick the SD card in a card reader, connect it to the USB slot in the computer, and copy/ paste. At the moment I don't have a card reader with an SD card slot, but I can get one. Is there any reason I can't do that with the images from the SD card in the P5100, and not have to use the software?

Thanks,

Richard

Very nice first images. You should be very pleased.
The battery of the P5100 never runs out so don't worry about that. You may never see the low battery indicator as you should get a full days shooting on one battery (at least 2 gigs).
I use an external card reader and copy and paste from the desktop with the SD card. No problem.
Neil.

 

[pinussen]

Excellent pics! I which I would get such good results, need a better scope with APO glass.

My batteries run out sometimes You get a battery symbol half filled when it starts running out.

I don't have to install the Nikon program to get the pics out. I just plug in the camera and get a window asking what I want to do. I always close that one and select "P5100" in Explorer which has popped up far down in the list, just above "network" I think.

Regards Björn

 

[walt-m]

Hi Neil
my olivan T90 scope with 22x-68 zoom eyepiece, i have the olivan swingout addapter which i am not verry happy with, if get the nilon UR-E20 what would i need to get to connect the two to my scope.
Thank you for your help.

 

[Derry]

Richard, any SD card reader will do the read for you without loading Nikons software,,

Derry

 

[Martin Standley]

I have had my P5100 for about 3 months now and it continues to deliver good results.
I tried digiscoping some insects at close range at the weekend (in comparison with my CP8400) the P5100 fared better with this dragonfly the pick of the crop.
It was on macro setting with a 32x lens and no camera zoom.

 

[sossages]

Lamb to slaughter

I am a complete novice / beginner who has just ordered a digiscoping "package" consisting of Nikon RAIII 65A scope / 20X wideangle digi eyepiece / stay on case / FSB-6 mount / coolpix P5100 camera / Velbon CX686 tripod. Any general advice? What are the limitations of this setup?

 

[Derry]

I believe you will find your limitations to be far greater than what the equipment offers in the beginning,, it will take many trips to the field or your back yard working with the gear to become comfortable in setting it up, locating an object, obtaining proper focus, correct camera setting and on and on,, not being negative but there is a learning curve we all have done,,

I have found on this subject, the ticket price was well worth the admission,,

enjoy,,

Derry

 

[Robert L Jarvis]

I am aware that the thread is with regard to the Coolpix 5100 however I noticed the Peregrine photos by Colin.

Out of interest I have attached a photo of a Peregrine also taken by about 150 yards in dull conditions. But this was taken using a Kowa TSN4 and a handheld Canon A95. I think it compares very well!!

 

[jourdaj]

Terrific pic of the Peregrin, Robert! Well done!

 

[Robert L Jarvis]

Thanks Jerry, have to say though that I would like to get a P5100 but there are higher priority items on my wish list at the moment all vying for my cash. this thread though has been very useful to learn of others experience and knowledge of this camera.