getting into digiscoping

[russell01]

Hi all
Ive really been tempted by digiscoping and what it offers. Ive looked around this site and others and have fond some useful pointers but am trying to pul all that info together so i can decide and get saving! Ive got two cameras, a Nikon d40x and a hp photosmart R967 compact which is 10mp and has a 3x optical zoom. Apparently the 3x op zoom is a good thing in digiscoping? Which one do you thing is best and what scope should i get. The budget for the scope is probs about £400ish, with all the adaptors aswell. Im really only worried about the sharpness of the image, and the focal distance hopefully over 500mm as it will mostly be for deer photos. Has anyone got any pointers beacause the amount of diiferent things that are on offer is really confusing. Also a sturdy tripod is a must but do you need to get a special brand of tripod or are there adaptors for the scope to tripod bit. Thanks for your help.

[dunlin]

Hi russell
here are two pictures ive taken digiscoping, i really like the sparrowhawk picture. There are loads of digiscoping kits available and the subject can be a bit daunting especially buying the kit you need.

I would suggest spending as much as you can afford on the scope and go for one with a large objective lens as you need as much light as possible in order to keep the shutter speed as high as you can.

There are lots and lots of compact cameras on the market but saddly not all of them are suitable for digiscoping. You should look for one that has settings on that can be set by the user. ie one where you set the aperture/shutter and so on. I am currently using a nikon coolpix 4500 camera i dont think they are made anymore but try warehouse express. last time i heard they still had a few left. Another one to concider would be the ricoh caplio gx100 ive read good reviews on this camera and im thinking of getting one myself.
The beauty of the cp4500 is it is fully manual although i tend to use aperture priority the most. You can also set it to spot metering mode in conjunction with spot auto focus so that it will focus and meter at the same point on your image. there is a toggle on the back which allows you to move the point of focus around the image as well, which is very helpful.

Its good fun digiscoping but very frustrating to start with. The main problem is the lack of available light coupled with the extreme magnification. The gentlest of breezes at the magnification you will be using equals movement and out of focus or soft pictures.

You will need a sturdy tripod, plenty of light and if its windy your only real option is taking shots from inside a hide.

Have a look at nikon scopes coupled to nikon coolpix cameras, nikon make brackets that allow you to attach the camera to the scope.

Hope this helps and i hope i havent put you off, stick at it and you can get some surprising results. Have a look on www.digiscopediary.co.uk/ theres some good advice on it.

My set up is :-
swarovski ats 80hd scope with 20x60 zoom eyepiece (set at 20 for digiscoping)
swarovski dca adaptor
nikon coolpix 4500 compact camera
manfrotto tripod.

best regards mark.....

[Hobjob]

I am worried that you be very disapointed with only a £400.00 scope.
And have you budgeted for a good steady tripod which is essential.

Sadly there is no quick fix for distant photography - if you check most
of the bird photos you will find that few are taken with digiscoping.
Several of us have learnt the hard way

The other problems with digiscoping is the time lag on almost all
compacts and getting the object in the scope.

Best digiscopoing pictures I've seen came off a swaro with
dSLR attachment ....................

[russell01]

thanks to both of you for the help ill have a look and see what i can find