digiscoping with an digital slr camera

[dolores]

hi
i want to try digiscoping with my Nikon D50. someone said i need to buy a 50mm prime lens and adapter, another said no i need a photo adapter and mount. Has anyone been down this road and got any advice for me please ?

[postcardcv]

I've not used a D50, but did try digiscoping with my EOS 300D, with disapointing results. I tried both methods that have been recommended to you:

Classic digiscoping (using the camera with a lens and scope with an eyepeice), was not very effective - The set up was very back heavy and the results were worse than I was getting with a compact digital camera. A friend tried using a D70 with a Swarovski scope and had similar problems.

Photo adapter - this method does not deliver the same high mags as true digiscoping, so does not offer the same advantages. It takes time to set up, you have to remove the camera lens and scope eyepeice before you start, and it's not easy to switch between viewing and photography. I also found that the light gathering was very poor, so you needed a really nice day to get shutter speeds high enough for practical use.

[Nigel G]

I seem to recall Yossi on BF recommended the fairly new Nikkor 45mm f2.8 for Nikon users wanting to digiscope - but its over £200 for which you could get a decent digiscoping compact.

[miketoll]

I've got an Opticron 66ED to which I've attached a Canon 20D with Opticrons own Photo adapter and a canon T mount. This gives 1100mm x 1.6 sensor crop factor at f11.5 (I think). The camera has to be operated completely in manual i.e. aperture is fixed by the scope so exposure is by manually set shutter speed which is slow if the light is fluctuating. The focussing is also manual of course. As one is viewing through the optical viewfinder this does not drain batteries and the shutter release is of course instant. Do buy a remote release though as camera shake is a problem due to the f no. and focal length. High ISO numbers are best (400 or 800) but in the right conditions, i.e. bright, the results can be good.Best used in a hide.

[Christine]

Apart from Mike,who has good results using his 20d .I can only repeat the comments of others.Digiscoping with an SLR is not easy.As Mike has explained in his procedure it does seem a tad complicated.Whereas with a compact cam and the appropriate adaptor,you can zoom in as high as you wish,with an SLR this is limited,esp when using the scopes extras which are compatible with the SLR.Eg,Swarro scopes have a T mount.You attach the SLR to the T mount,view your image and focus using the scope,but you cannot magnify your image.Whereas using say a Nikon 4500,or Contax(both have ceased production but are still available),you can take your image to the neccessary magnification,thereby using your scope to its full potential.
the SLR cams are much heavier in weight compared to a small compact,so you do have probs keeping everything balanced,esp in windy conditions.When digiscoping with a compact cam one can obtain the quality and magnification of a 800mmlens using 2x extenders twice over.But not when using an SlR.
This is not meant to put you off trying to digiscope using an SLR,but for the price you can pay for the extras,you could buy a compact with an adaptor,and obtain excellent results at a higher magnification.

[miketoll]

I agree with what you say Christine, but I find digiscoping difficult whichever method one uses! When I tried with a compact and scope I found the following problems:
1) The compact I have is a Canon G5 which gives terrible vignetting with a scope so make sure you have the right compact. Good camera in general use.
2) The compacts in those days had terrible shutter delay and although modern ones are better the problem is still there. This means one often misses the "magic moment" when the bird turns its head to the right position or the wader brings its head up for a split second. With my G5 the bird had probably flown before the shutter finally trippped!
3) I never liked just holding the camera up to the scope for fear of damaging the lenses. This means that the camera is on the scope all the time and the scope has to be used via the screen. This then results in the battery dying pretty quickly so no more photos unless you buy lots more batteries or one of the expensive external batteries.
4) The compact gives huge magnification but limited shutter speeds as compacts mostly only go up to ISO 400 which is very "noisy" and unusable for enlargements. Things are improving but still limited compared to SLR. Camera shake therefore is much worse.
If I was buying now and with plenty of available funds I think I would buy a Swaro with its very neat adapter that swings down in a moment when needed with a new modern compact that does not vignette and reacts quicker plus (dream on) a Nikon ED scope with a Nikon DSLR with their adapter for the combination as that gives aperture priority automatic exposure. Oh, and someone to carry it all for me!
As I say I find it all difficult to get really good results and feel that both methods have their pros and cons. Regards, Mike.

[Christine]

I guess the basic rules of digiscoping are to find a cam and compatible adaptor ,practise on a largish object and you must make sure that the sope is steady,no cam shake.It is not easy,but good results can be obtained.