FURTHER UPDATE - Having received my compact DAT Digital Optics (2x) teleconverter (Super Compact Titanium Series) from the States recently, I've made an attempt to start digiscoping. I’m using the EagleEye OpticZoom lens (5x) in combination with the teleconverter (2x) and so far without using any onboard camera (max 3x) optic zoom capability. This configuration starts me off with a 10x optic zoom range.
The teleconverter is very compact and light and has a rear-end diameter of 52mm and a 58mm front-end offering plenty of light to pass through. The teleconverter is attached to the EagleEye OpticZoom lens using a 37/52mm step-up ring. For those interested….. the teleconverter is infrared compatible.
What strikes me is that focussing is quite an issue but I’m sure that with some practice that will improve. As you cannot only rely on the camera auto-focus capability but also having to adjust the manual focussing ring on the EagleEye OpticZoom lens as well, it becomes quite a tricky business. In my instance its very important to put the camera in macro mode as this improves focus vastly. I have not used a tripod till now and have therefore only taken photos in shutter priority mode (setting 1/500) and the exposure setting to -0,03 to further aid the aperture value. Though I have always been perfectly satisfied with taking photos in 1,3 megapixel mode (1280x960 pixels), I am now using the maximum 4,1 megapixel mode for digiscoping purposes to assist in countering the ever present vignette effect.
After taking a photo, I then do some post-processing with the camera itself. Using the LCD screen, I zoom into the photo until I am satisfied that the vignette effect is mostly disappeared and then activate the trimming mode so as to make a photo at a lower resolution of the original photo. So far, I have saved the “photo-of-a-photo” at a resolution of 1280x960 pixels.
The resulting photo is then, if required further adjusted using a photographic software package.
Please note that I am relatively in-experienced in photography and that providing this information is purely for the enjoyment of others who are also interested in a similar combination.
Any comments or tips would be sincerely appreciated!
Herman