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17 Mar Digiscope set up ["karen.forcum" ] 17 Mar Digiscoping with the Voigtlander 35/2.5 mm lens [neilfif11 ] 16 Mar Re: Re: lenses for the G1 [Roy Halpin ] 16 Mar Re: Question on where to find camera data ["Scott Walker" ] 15 Mar RE: Re: New digiscoping outfit ["Young" ] 15 Mar RE: Question on where to find camera data ["George Harvey" ] 15 Mar RE: Re: New digiscoping outfit [Steve Sosensky ] 15 Mar Re: Re: lenses for the G1 [Roy Halpin ] 15 Mar RE: Re: New digiscoping outfit [neilfif11 ] 14 Mar RE: Re: New digiscoping outfit ["Young" ] 14 Mar feedback [] 14 Mar Re: Re: lenses for the G1 [Frank Barkhofen ] 14 Mar Re:Zeiss Photoscope at the Winter Olympics [Dale Forbes ] 13 Mar Re: Re: New digiscoping outfit ["Scott Walker" ] 13 Mar Re: Re: New digiscoping outfit [Steve Sosensky ] 13 Mar Re: Digiscoping Survey - Final Results [Paul Berndt ] 13 Mar Zeiss Photoscope [Anand Arya - GMail ] 12 Mar Re: And they think it is for snipers! [Gerald F Van Oyen ] 13 Mar New file uploaded to digiscopingbirds [] 12 Mar Re: Digiscoping Survey - Final Results [Len Blumin ] 12 Mar Re: Digiscoping Survey - Final Results [David Graham ] 12 Mar Digiscoping Survey - Final Results [Len Blumin ] 12 Mar Re: And they think it is for snipers! [Stephen Ingraham ] 12 Mar Re: And they think it is for snipers! [Rick ] 12 Mar Re: Re: New digiscoping outfit ["Scott Walker" ] 12 Mar Re: Zeiss Photoscope at the Winter Olympics ["wturber" ] 12 Mar Zeiss Photoscope at the Winter Olympics [] 11 Mar Re: about Ricoh w kowa, in Japanese [John Top ] 12 Mar And they think it is for snipers! [Stephen Ingraham ] 12 Mar RE: Question on where to find camera data [Ken Earnshaw ] 12 Mar digiscoping set up for sale on ebay ["barry" ] 11 Mar RE: Re: New digiscoping outfit ["Young" ] 11 Mar Re: about Ricoh w kowa, in Japanese ["Scott Walker" ] 11 Mar Re: about Ricoh w kowa, in Japanese [Roger Isaacs ] 11 Mar about Ricoh w kowa, in Japanese ["bryan" ] 11 Mar Re: New digiscoping outfit ["dalston27" ] 11 Mar Re: New digiscoping outfit ["dalston27" ] 10 Mar Re: Re: New digiscoping outfit ["Scott Walker" ] 10 Mar RE: Re: New digiscoping outfit ["Young" ] 10 Mar Re: Re: New digiscoping outfit [Kevin Bolton ] 10 Mar Re: New digiscoping outfit [neilfif11 ] 10 Mar Re: New digiscoping outfit ["dalston27" ] 10 Mar Fw: New digiscoping outfit [Kevin Bolton ] 10 Mar Re: New digiscoping outfit [Kevin Bolton ] 10 Mar New digiscoping outfit ["dalston27" ] 9 Mar Re: Nikon digiscoping outfit [Len Blumin ] 10 Mar Nikon digiscoping outfit ["dalston27" ] 9 Mar Re: Digiscoping Survey - Results (Part 1) ["Scott Walker" ] 8 Mar RE: My Dilemma ["Claudia" ] 09 Mar Hey David - ["wturber" ] 8 Mar Re: My Dilemma ["Scott Walker" ] 8 Mar Re: Cable release for nikon p6000 [Frank Barkhofen ] 08 Mar RE: My Dilemma [Steve Sosensky ] 8 Mar Re: Cable release for nikon p6000 [Yew Hoo ] 8 Mar Re : Re : Canon S90 and Sw 20 -60 zoom eyepiece [Michel Gonthier ] 8 Mar Re : Canon S90 and Sw 20 -60 zoom eyepiece [Neil Fifer ] 8 Mar Re : Canon S90 and Sw 20 -60 zoom eyepiece [Michel Gonthier ] 7 Mar RE: Nikon ED82 or Kowa 773 Prominar ["Blake Murphy" ] 7 Mar visual comparison [Roy Halpin ] 08 Mar Re: Cable release for nikon p6000 ["dalston27" ] 8 Mar Re: Cable release for nikon p6000 [] 7 Mar RE: Re: [birds-pix] Digiscoping Survey - Eyepieces ["Claudia" ] 07 Mar Re: Cable release for nikon p6000 [Alec Earnshaw ] 7 Mar RE: Re: [birds-pix] Digiscoping Survey - Eyepieces ["Claudia" ] 7 Mar RE: Cable release for nikon p6000 ["Young" ] 7 Mar RE: Question on where to find camera data ["George Harvey" ] 07 Mar Camera for digiscoping ["Neil" ] 07 Mar Nikon ED82 or Kowa 773 Prominar ["fcorrada" ] 7 Mar Re: Re: BASIC EQUIPMENT SAMPLE [Paul Berndt ] 07 Mar Re: Cable release for nikon p6000 [Kevin Bolton ] 8 Mar Re: Cable release for nikon p6000 [neilfif11 ] 7 Mar Re: Question ["Willem Hartholt" ] 7 Mar Re: Re: BASIC EQUIPMENT SAMPLE [Knud Christensen ] 07 Mar Cable release for nikon p6000 ["dalston27" ] 7 Mar Re: Re: BASIC EQUIPMENT SAMPLE [Paul Berndt ] 7 Mar Re: Question on where to find camera data [Ken Earnshaw ] Subject: Digiscope set up From: "karen.forcum" <karen.forcum AT yahoo.com> Date: Wed, 17 Mar 2010 22:21:30 -0000 I need advice before we make the purchase? We have a swarovski scope and have purchased the DCA Zoom and adapter we need, from Eagle Optics. Our next purchase is a camera to fit onto it. Eagle Optics recommends a Nikon Cool Pix 6000 with a filter thread lens adapter. We found those on line but need some reassurance that we are buying the right thing. We are far from professional photographers, but we love birds and are going to Alaska this summer and want to try to document our lifers, especially #700 if we are so lucky to reach that plateau. Karen and Ted Forcum Mode, Illinois karen.forcum AT yahoo.com tkforcum AT hughes.net (use this address to reply off line). Subject: Digiscoping with the Voigtlander 35/2.5 mm lens From: neilfif11 <neilfif11 AT yahoo.com.au> Date: Wed, 17 Mar 2010 22:07:21 +0800 I took the Voigtlander lens with me today to use on the G1. I have been using it as a carry around lens on the G1 for about a week and like it. It adds a bit of class to the G1 too. It seems very sharp. I haven't done any comparison tests as the light levels have been too low. Even today I was shooting at iso 500 - 800 . On the 25 - 50 zoom it gives me a range of 1750 - 3500. At these magnifications you want the subject to be very slow-moving to stationary to freeze the action. I used it on the UCA adapter. Neil Panasonic G1 plus Voigtlander 35/2.5 mm lens and Swarovski STS80HD scope and Swzoom and UCA adapter Hong Kong, China. March 2010 http://www.flickr.com/photos/7892550 AT N03/ Subject: Re: Re: lenses for the G1 From: Roy Halpin <royhalpin AT yahoo.com> Date: Tue, 16 Mar 2010 16:45:25 -0700 (PDT) Ola Frank, There are five photos posted in a set dated Marc 16, 2010 to test the TLS 800 Swarovski photo adapter in use with the Panasonic Luminx G1. No photo was altered other than resizing. The closer the photo subject the better quality and the derogation increases significantly the greater distance from the subject. This instrument, TLS 800 is quite long and I do believe the derogation is mostly caused from vibration due to this length between the mounting pivot of the scope and the camera. A support bracket would help the quality of the images. http://www.flickr.com/photos/royhalpin/sets/72157623635176222/ ________________________________ From: Roy Halpin To: digiscopingbirds AT yahoogroups.com Sent: Mon, March 15, 2010 11:27:24 AM Subject: Re: [digiscopingbirds] Re: lenses for the G1 Frank, I think I may be the only one with the combination you are interested in. Give me a few days and I will send a report. Roy Halpin ________________________________ From: Frank Barkhofen To: digiscopingbirds AT yahoogroups.com Sent: Sun, March 14, 2010 4:29:33 PM Subject: Re: [digiscopingbirds] Re: lenses for the G1 Hello, has anybody tried the Swaro TLS800 with a T2 adapter on the G1? May be the crop factor is still valid in this case and one would get a 1600mm focus length? A T2 adapter for mFT is available from Novoflex. Could be a interesting option. Regards Frank Subject: Re: Question on where to find camera data From: "Scott Walker" <sdwalker AT cox.net> Date: Tue, 16 Mar 2010 01:34:44 -0700 MessageFor my Canon S80 the optimum camera to eyepiece spacing is a function of zoom setting. At max and min zoom the distance is about the same. In between the extremes the optimum shifts to a closer setting. I normally set the distances so that there is little igniting from mid zoom to maximum. At maximum zone the igniting is less sensitive to distance than it is at a lesser zone setting. My camera has a total zone range of about 3.6x in about 7 steps. With my normal setup the setup works pretty well over about 4 of the 7 steps. Scott Walker ----- Original Message ----- From: George Harvey To: digiscopingbirds AT yahoogroups.com Sent: Monday, March 15, 2010 7:42 PM Subject: RE: [digiscopingbirds] Question on where to find camera data Ken, Thanks for the reply. The size of the entrance pupil can be calculated if you konw the f number of the lens and the focal length. The location will be a focal length away from the sensor assuming that you are a good distance away from the object. What I am curious about is how far the end of the lens housing is from the entrance pupil because that will cause vignetting if it keeps you from getting close to the exit pupil of the scope. You can easily see the entrace pupil by looking into the lens and seeing the aperture stop. Looking at my canon SD1200 (3X zoom), I find that for the wide angle setting, the entrance pupil is about 10 mm inside the end of the housing. Since the focal length is short, the entrance pupil is also small and if the eye relief of the scope is not large, you might get considerable vignetting. As I zoom the camera, the lens first starts to retract and then starts to move further from the camera until at maximum zoom it is about the same place as it was for wide angle shots. The entrance pupil continuously gets larger and moves closer to the end of the housing as I zoom out. Recently I had an SD300 which came to an unfortunate end when it's underwater housing sprung a leak. I took it apart and it appears to have the same optics as the SD1200. The front element is a negative lens, the second element is positive and moves with the first to keep the focal plane near the sensing element. The last element is a positive element that seems to be for focusing the camera. What I am not sure about is whether other cameras with 3-4X zooms use the same arrangement. A question to all experienced digiscopers. How do you position your camera relative to the scope and do you always have vigneting problems with the wide angle setting of the zoom. Can you use the full zoom range of the camera effectively for one setting of the camera position or do you have to move the camera in or out for different zoom positions? I have a Kowa scope with the 82mm objective and a 32x wide angle eye piece. I am leaning toward getting the S90 because it is small and with the arangement Claudia has, it looks like a nice rig. Only remaining question is the optics and whether another camera would be a better match. Thanks, George -----Original Message----- From: digiscopingbirds AT yahoogroups.com [mailto:digiscopingbirds AT yahoogroups.com] On Behalf Of Ken Earnshaw Sent: Friday, March 12, 2010 4:32 AM To: digiscopingbirds AT yahoogroups.com Subject: RE: [digiscopingbirds] Question on where to find camera data Hi George I'm using the older Kowa TSN DA1A adaptor but I doubt if there is much difference with the current DA1 adaptor. On the DA1A the inner sleeve attaches to the scope body, the outer sleeve to the camera and there is some 15mm of useful travel between the inner and outer sleeves to allow for positioning. One screw for locking them together. This allows for quite rapid fitting of the camera to the scope. Using this set-up with a Nikon 4500 on the x21 eyepiece there is severe vignetting up to about half zoom. The front lens element is about 4 mm from the eyepiece. There is still severe vignetting when camera is pressed right up against the eyepiece without the adaptor. With the Nikon P5100, UR E20 adaptor and DA1A adaptor on the x21 eyepice there is virtually no vignetting apart from a very small area in the bottom left hand at minimum zoom. At min or max zoom the front lens needs to be about 8 to 10 mm from the eyepiece which the UR E20 provides. At mid range the camera lens is some 15mm from the eyepiece. Possibly the Nikon P6000 may function in a similar manner. It uses the UR E21 adaptor with a 43 mm thread to connect with the scope adaptor In using Jay's digiscoping calculator I have taken the view rightly or wrongly that the calculated camera Aperture Diameter equates to the camera entrance pupil size. The SRB Griturn sleeve adaptor that I use is the 45.3 mm diameter for use with the x32 eyepiece. It attaches via three thumb screws to the eyepiece barrel and is reasonably quick to attach. SRB have a 46.3mm diameter sleeve which fits over the x21 eyepiece but as manufactured is too long. They cut one back to the length of the eyepiece for me and it now works very well. Conveniently they are only some 35 miles away from me. Cost is about £40 each including a screw thread insert to connect to the camera or camera adaptor. Theye also had a digiscoping bracket mount comprising of two clamping rings, a support bar and a mount to connect into the camera tripod bush. I found it to be too slow and fiddly to set up. Cost around £60. My apologies if this is a duplicate posting as I thought I had sent it earlier in the week but no trace of it in my 'sent' box and the 'drafts' box had only an incomplete copy. Regards Ken Earnshaw --- On Sun, 7/3/10, George Harvey wrote: From: George Harvey Subject: RE: [digiscopingbirds] Question on where to find camera data To: "'George Harvey'" , digiscopingbirds AT yahoogroups.com Date: Sunday, 7 March, 2010, 18:38 From: George Harvey [mailto:gtbharvey AT comcast.net] Sent: Sunday, March 07, 2010 11:17 AM To: 'George Harvey'; 'digiscopingbirds AT yahoogroups. com' Subject: RE: [digiscopingbirds] Question on where to find camera data Ken, I am trying to understand Claudia's problem because I am interested in using the S90 but would like a quick way to attach it to the scope when I see something worth photographing. The glue on filter ring with threads looked very interesting. I am a little wary that I may not be able to get the S90 close enough to my eyepiece to prevent vignetting. Jay's calculator is a great help but only has the exit pupil sizes of the scope and nothing on its location or the entrance pupil of the camera. To do a vignetting calculation, I think I need more info. I belive I am probably OK after reading Neil's posting on his use of the S90. With the Kowa TSN DA1, can you adjust the distance between the camera and the scope or is it always fixed? Thanks for the suggestion of using SRB GRITURN. I looked at their web site. Has anyone tried their custom adaptors or have any idea of how much they cost? When you use the the type that clamp on the the eyepiece, can you convienently get the camera on and off the scope? When scanning for birds, I want to be able to use my eye then put the camera on quickly when I spot something. Thanks, George -----Original Message----- From: digiscopingbirds AT yahoogroups. com [mailto:digiscoping birds AT yahoogroup s.com] On Behalf Of Ken Earnshaw Sent: Sunday, March 07, 2010 5:40 AM To: digiscopingbirds AT yahoogroups. com Subject: Re: [digiscopingbirds] Question on where to find camera data Regarding the Kowa 823 there is the Kowa TSN DA1 sleeve which screws onto the scope body over the x21 or x32 eyepeices and connects onto the camera via various adaptor ring sizes. I have used a Nikon P5100 connected to a 28mm adaptor ring via a UR E20 adaptor. This arrangement works well with both eyepeices on my 823. The Kowa sleeve and adaptor rings are quite expensive but are convenient to use. If using the 20-60 zoom there is an extension unit to fit on top of the DA1. I have never attempted to digiscope with this zoom lens, prefering the fixed eyepieces. Various retailers web-sites will have illustrations of these adaptors, acecameras.co. uk is one I use. I also use a 45.3mm sleeve from SRB GRITURN which clamps onto the x32 eyepeice via 3 screws. Various sized adaptor rings can then be used to attach to lens filter threads or to, eg, the UR E20. You may have noted Claudia Mayfield's problems using the DA1 and zoom extension with the Canon S90 reported 4 Mar 10. Not knowing anything relevant about the S90 I have not reponded to her with any thoughts. Jay Turberville' s digiscoping calculator offers data on various camera lens entrance pupil sizes to match to scope exit pupil sizes. I have used it extensively to gain comparative figures for a range of scope, eyepiece and camera combinations. My thank's to Jay for this facility. Regards Ken Earnshaw --- On Sat, 6/3/10, gtharvey2000 wrote: From: gtharvey2000 Subject: [digiscopingbirds] Question on where to find camera data To: digiscopingbirds AT yahoogroups. com Date: Saturday, 6 March, 2010, 20:51 From what I gather looking at the collection of files on the optics of digiscoping, it looks like you want to get to avoid vignetting you need to get the entrance pupil of the camera on the same plane as the exit pupil of the eyepiece. The entrance pupil of the camera varies in position and size depending on the zoom setting of the camera. To match up equipment, it would be nice to know the location and size of the camera entrance pupil, not a common spec on a point and shoot. Is there any way of getting this information? If not are the optics of a typical 3 to 4X zoom fairly standard? It also seems like you should always open up your camera aperture to the max when digiscoping using aperture priority to make sure you minimize vignetting if you can not get the pupils to match up. I am still trying to find a camera and adapter rings for my Kowa TSN-823. Hopefully something small that I can quickly attach and detach. Thanks for any comments. Subject: RE: Re: New digiscoping outfit From: "Young" <jeffandlaurettayoung AT comcast.net> Date: Mon, 15 Mar 2010 20:04:15 -0700 HI Steve, I'm sorry, I'm sure you are correct I didn't get the Bird Watcher's Digest article reference from you. I made a mistake. I now recall I found a reference to this article on a website review of scopes. In any event, I called my local library and they obtained it for me through an inter-library loan. Regarding ergonomics, the criteria were focus mechanisms, focus speed and sighting mechanism. They viewed the Leica as having the best design with its recessed knobs, but felt the Swarovski was "equally comfortable." Focus speed was defined in terms of how many "swipes" the focusing knob required to change from close focus to infinity. Sighting mechanisms (peep sight) on the Swarovski and Vortex Razor were viewed favorably. Thanks for your additional points regarding advantages of the Kowa, a remarkable scope. Jeff _____ From: digiscopingbirds AT yahoogroups.com [mailto:digiscopingbirds AT yahoogroups.com] On Behalf Of Steve Sosensky Sent: Monday, March 15, 2010 12:51 PM To: digiscopingbirds AT yahoogroups.com Subject: RE: [digiscopingbirds] Re: New digiscoping outfit Jeff, I think you got that link from someone else. This review is only available to paid subscribers, and I'm not one of them. I also disagree with the ranking below. In our extensive tests that included observations after dusk, the Kowa TSN-883 was unmatched in brightness and resolution when compared with the Swarovski ATM-80 HD, Leica APO Televid 82, Nikon EDG 85, and the 2009 Zeiss Diascope 85 (the redesigned 2010 Diascope is not yet available for review). I don't know what criteria BWD used for ergonomics other than weight, but my preference is for focus by small dual knobs, not collars, and the Leica is 4 ounces heavier than the Kowa. At 09:49 PM 3/14/2010, Young wrote: >Regarding scopes. > > > >Thanks to Steve Sosensky of Optics4birding.com for directing me to >this reference. > > > >The November/December 2009 edition of Bird Watcher's Digest has a >nice review of 12 scopes called, "High-end Scopes, the Best of the Best." > > > >If you add the scores for "resolution," "image quality" and >"ergonomics", the over all scores for the top three are as follows: > > > * Swarovski ATM 80 HD: 14.7 > * Leica 82 APO Televid: 14.6 > * Kowa TSN 883 Prominar: 14.4 > > > >Jeff Young Good Viewing, Steve Sosensky g.com> Vice President www.Optics4Birding.com 19 Hammond Suite 506 N 33.65926 Irvine CA 92618 W 117.70305 877.OP4.BIRD (877.674.2473) Toll Free 818.522.5261 Cell 949.360.OPTX (949.360.6789) Local Subject: RE: Question on where to find camera data From: "George Harvey" <gtbharvey AT comcast.net> Date: Mon, 15 Mar 2010 22:42:28 -0400 Ken, Thanks for the reply. The size of the entrance pupil can be calculated if you konw the f number of the lens and the focal length. The location will be a focal length away from the sensor assuming that you are a good distance away from the object. What I am curious about is how far the end of the lens housing is from the entrance pupil because that will cause vignetting if it keeps you from getting close to the exit pupil of the scope. You can easily see the entrace pupil by looking into the lens and seeing the aperture stop. Looking at my canon SD1200 (3X zoom), I find that for the wide angle setting, the entrance pupil is about 10 mm inside the end of the housing. Since the focal length is short, the entrance pupil is also small and if the eye relief of the scope is not large, you might get considerable vignetting. As I zoom the camera, the lens first starts to retract and then starts to move further from the camera until at maximum zoom it is about the same place as it was for wide angle shots. The entrance pupil continuously gets larger and moves closer to the end of the housing as I zoom out. Recently I had an SD300 which came to an unfortunate end when it's underwater housing sprung a leak. I took it apart and it appears to have the same optics as the SD1200. The front element is a negative lens, the second element is positive and moves with the first to keep the focal plane near the sensing element. The last element is a positive element that seems to be for focusing the camera. What I am not sure about is whether other cameras with 3-4X zooms use the same arrangement. A question to all experienced digiscopers. How do you position your camera relative to the scope and do you always have vigneting problems with the wide angle setting of the zoom. Can you use the full zoom range of the camera effectively for one setting of the camera position or do you have to move the camera in or out for different zoom positions? I have a Kowa scope with the 82mm objective and a 32x wide angle eye piece. I am leaning toward getting the S90 because it is small and with the arangement Claudia has, it looks like a nice rig. Only remaining question is the optics and whether another camera would be a better match. Thanks, George -----Original Message----- From: digiscopingbirds AT yahoogroups.com [mailto:digiscopingbirds AT yahoogroups.com] On Behalf Of Ken Earnshaw Sent: Friday, March 12, 2010 4:32 AM To: digiscopingbirds AT yahoogroups.com Subject: RE: [digiscopingbirds] Question on where to find camera data Hi George I'm using the older Kowa TSN DA1A adaptor but I doubt if there is much difference with the current DA1 adaptor. On the DA1A the inner sleeve attaches to the scope body, the outer sleeve to the camera and there is some 15mm of useful travel between the inner and outer sleeves to allow for positioning. One screw for locking them together. This allows for quite rapid fitting of the camera to the scope. Using this set-up with a Nikon 4500 on the x21 eyepiece there is severe vignetting up to about half zoom. The front lens element is about 4 mm from the eyepiece. There is still severe vignetting when camera is pressed right up against the eyepiece without the adaptor. With the Nikon P5100, UR E20 adaptor and DA1A adaptor on the x21 eyepice there is virtually no vignetting apart from a very small area in the bottom left hand at minimum zoom. At min or max zoom the front lens needs to be about 8 to 10 mm from the eyepiece which the UR E20 provides. At mid range the camera lens is some 15mm from the eyepiece. Possibly the Nikon P6000 may function in a similar manner. It uses the UR E21 adaptor with a 43 mm thread to connect with the scope adaptor In using Jay's digiscoping calculator I have taken the view rightly or wrongly that the calculated camera Aperture Diameter equates to the camera entrance pupil size. The SRB Griturn sleeve adaptor that I use is the 45.3 mm diameter for use with the x32 eyepiece. It attaches via three thumb screws to the eyepiece barrel and is reasonably quick to attach. SRB have a 46.3mm diameter sleeve which fits over the x21 eyepiece but as manufactured is too long. They cut one back to the length of the eyepiece for me and it now works very well. Conveniently they are only some 35 miles away from me. Cost is about £40 each including a screw thread insert to connect to the camera or camera adaptor. Theye also had a digiscoping bracket mount comprising of two clamping rings, a support bar and a mount to connect into the camera tripod bush. I found it to be too slow and fiddly to set up. Cost around £60. My apologies if this is a duplicate posting as I thought I had sent it earlier in the week but no trace of it in my 'sent' box and the 'drafts' box had only an incomplete copy. Regards Ken Earnshaw --- On Sun, 7/3/10, George Harvey wrote: From: George Harvey Subject: RE: [digiscopingbirds] Question on where to find camera data To: "'George Harvey'" , digiscopingbirds AT yahoogroups.com Date: Sunday, 7 March, 2010, 18:38 From: George Harvey [mailto:gtbharvey AT comcast.net] Sent: Sunday, March 07, 2010 11:17 AM To: 'George Harvey'; 'digiscopingbirds AT yahoogroups. com' Subject: RE: [digiscopingbirds] Question on where to find camera data Ken, I am trying to understand Claudia's problem because I am interested in using the S90 but would like a quick way to attach it to the scope when I see something worth photographing. The glue on filter ring with threads looked very interesting. I am a little wary that I may not be able to get the S90 close enough to my eyepiece to prevent vignetting. Jay's calculator is a great help but only has the exit pupil sizes of the scope and nothing on its location or the entrance pupil of the camera. To do a vignetting calculation, I think I need more info. I belive I am probably OK after reading Neil's posting on his use of the S90. With the Kowa TSN DA1, can you adjust the distance between the camera and the scope or is it always fixed? Thanks for the suggestion of using SRB GRITURN. I looked at their web site. Has anyone tried their custom adaptors or have any idea of how much they cost? When you use the the type that clamp on the the eyepiece, can you convienently get the camera on and off the scope? When scanning for birds, I want to be able to use my eye then put the camera on quickly when I spot something. Thanks, George -----Original Message----- From: digiscopingbirds AT yahoogroups. com [mailto:digiscoping birds AT yahoogroup s.com] On Behalf Of Ken Earnshaw Sent: Sunday, March 07, 2010 5:40 AM To: digiscopingbirds AT yahoogroups. com Subject: Re: [digiscopingbirds] Question on where to find camera data Regarding the Kowa 823 there is the Kowa TSN DA1 sleeve which screws onto the scope body over the x21 or x32 eyepeices and connects onto the camera via various adaptor ring sizes. I have used a Nikon P5100 connected to a 28mm adaptor ring via a UR E20 adaptor. This arrangement works well with both eyepeices on my 823. The Kowa sleeve and adaptor rings are quite expensive but are convenient to use. If using the 20-60 zoom there is an extension unit to fit on top of the DA1. I have never attempted to digiscope with this zoom lens, prefering the fixed eyepieces. Various retailers web-sites will have illustrations of these adaptors, acecameras.co. uk is one I use. I also use a 45.3mm sleeve from SRB GRITURN which clamps onto the x32 eyepeice via 3 screws. Various sized adaptor rings can then be used to attach to lens filter threads or to, eg, the UR E20. You may have noted Claudia Mayfield's problems using the DA1 and zoom extension with the Canon S90 reported 4 Mar 10. Not knowing anything relevant about the S90 I have not reponded to her with any thoughts. Jay Turberville' s digiscoping calculator offers data on various camera lens entrance pupil sizes to match to scope exit pupil sizes. I have used it extensively to gain comparative figures for a range of scope, eyepiece and camera combinations. My thank's to Jay for this facility. Regards Ken Earnshaw --- On Sat, 6/3/10, gtharvey2000 wrote: From: gtharvey2000 Subject: [digiscopingbirds] Question on where to find camera data To: digiscopingbirds AT yahoogroups. com Date: Saturday, 6 March, 2010, 20:51 From what I gather looking at the collection of files on the optics of digiscoping, it looks like you want to get to avoid vignetting you need to get the entrance pupil of the camera on the same plane as the exit pupil of the eyepiece. The entrance pupil of the camera varies in position and size depending on the zoom setting of the camera. To match up equipment, it would be nice to know the location and size of the camera entrance pupil, not a common spec on a point and shoot. Is there any way of getting this information? If not are the optics of a typical 3 to 4X zoom fairly standard? It also seems like you should always open up your camera aperture to the max when digiscoping using aperture priority to make sure you minimize vignetting if you can not get the pupils to match up. I am still trying to find a camera and adapter rings for my Kowa TSN-823. Hopefully something small that I can quickly attach and detach. Thanks for any comments. Subject: RE: Re: New digiscoping outfit From: Steve Sosensky <steve AT optics4birding.com> Date: Mon, 15 Mar 2010 12:50:52 -0700 Jeff, I think you got that link from someone else. This review is only available to paid subscribers, and I'm not one of them. I also disagree with the ranking below. In our extensive tests that included observations after dusk, the Kowa TSN-883 was unmatched in brightness and resolution when compared with the Swarovski ATM-80 HD, Leica APO Televid 82, Nikon EDG 85, and the 2009 Zeiss Diascope 85 (the redesigned 2010 Diascope is not yet available for review). I don't know what criteria BWD used for ergonomics other than weight, but my preference is for focus by small dual knobs, not collars, and the Leica is 4 ounces heavier than the Kowa. At 09:49 PM 3/14/2010, Young wrote: >Regarding scopes. > > > >Thanks to Steve Sosensky of Optics4birding.com for directing me to >this reference. > > > >The November/December 2009 edition of Bird Watcher's Digest has a >nice review of 12 scopes called, "High-end Scopes, the Best of the Best." > > > >If you add the scores for "resolution," "image quality" and >"ergonomics", the over all scores for the top three are as follows: > > > * Swarovski ATM 80 HD: 14.7 > * Leica 82 APO Televid: 14.6 > * Kowa TSN 883 Prominar: 14.4 > > > >Jeff Young Good Viewing, Steve Sosensky Vice President www.Optics4Birding.com 19 Hammond Suite 506 N 33.65926 Irvine CA 92618 W 117.70305 877.OP4.BIRD (877.674.2473) Toll Free 818.522.5261 Cell 949.360.OPTX (949.360.6789) Local Subject: Re: Re: lenses for the G1 From: Roy Halpin <royhalpin AT yahoo.com> Date: Mon, 15 Mar 2010 08:27:24 -0700 (PDT) Frank, I think I may be the only one with the combination you are interested in. Give me a few days and I will send a report. Roy Halpin ________________________________ From: Frank Barkhofen To: digiscopingbirds AT yahoogroups.com Sent: Sun, March 14, 2010 4:29:33 PM Subject: Re: [digiscopingbirds] Re: lenses for the G1 Hello, has anybody tried the Swaro TLS800 with a T2 adapter on the G1? May be the crop factor is still valid in this case and one would get a 1600mm focus length? A T2 adapter for mFT is available from Novoflex. Could be a interesting option. Regards Frank Subject: RE: Re: New digiscoping outfit From: neilfif11 <neilfif11 AT yahoo.com.au> Date: Mon, 15 Mar 2010 18:37:25 +0800 Jeff, It just goes to show how tough it is at the top . From what I've seen over the years I would be very happy with any of the top 5 brands. Neil >Regarding scopes. > >Thanks to Steve Sosensky of Optics4birding.com for directing me to >this reference. > >The November/December 2009 edition of Bird Watcher's Digest has a >nice review of 12 scopes called, "High-end Scopes, the Best of the >Best." > >If you add the scores for "resolution," "image quality" and >"ergonomics", the over all scores for the top three are as follows: > > >1. Swarovski ATM 80 HD: 14.7 >2. Leica 82 APO Televid: 14.6 >3. Kowa TSN 883 Prominar: 14.4 > > >Jeff Young > > >From: digiscopingbirds AT yahoogroups.com >[mailto:digiscopingbirds AT yahoogroups.com] On Behalf Of Scott Walker >Sent: Saturday, March 13, 2010 10:29 PM >To: digiscopingbirds AT yahoogroups.com >Subject: Re: [digiscopingbirds] Re: New digiscoping outfit > > >From the European web sight one can get the general catalog. > >http://www.kowa-europe.com/sporting_optics/Downloads/Eng/Kowa_General_Catalogue.pdf > >On page 4 it shows a scope cross-section which I assume is the 883 scope. >The front objective is shown to contain 3 elements, 2 positive element >followed by a negative element. I am assuming the calcium flurorite crystal >lens is the second element since designers like to protect this element. >Also the paragraph labeled "Prominar" lens points to this element. > >Scott Walker >----- Original Message ----- >From: "Steve Sosensky" ><steve AT optics4birding.com> >To: ><digiscopingbirds AT yahoogroups.com> >Sent: Saturday, March 13, 2010 4:36 PM >Subject: Re: [digiscopingbirds] Re: New digiscoping outfit > >> In the 2010 Kowa catalog, a paragraph on page 4 describes the >> objective as having convex lenses of fluorite crystal. A concave >> element shown paired with the rear convex objective is described as a >> glass element having "special dispersion properties to reduce the >> chromatic aberration to a further degree." >> >> At 10:07 AM 3/12/2010, Scott Walker wrote: >>>I found the first (Finish) review to be quite well done. The review >>>obviously knows a fair amount about optics. The only possible >>>concern I had was a statement about the 883 design. He stated it had >>>a 2 element objective. The Kowa catalog pictures a 3 element >>>objective and in addition the write-up indicates a total of 5 >>>elements in 4 groups. The negative lens in the midsection looks like >>>a two element design, which indicate the front objective is a 3 >>>element, 3 group design. Maybe he knows of an error in the catalog? >>>either way it was an excellent review. Thanks for pointing it out to the >>>group. >> >> >> Good Viewing, >> Steve Sosensky >>Steve AT optics4birding.com> >> Vice President >> >> www.Optics4Birding.com >> 19 Hammond Suite 506 N 33.65926 >> Irvine CA 92618 W 117.70305 >> 877.OP4.BIRD (877.674.2473) Toll Free 818.522.5261 Cell >> 949.360.OPTX (949.360.6789) Local >> >> >> >> >> >> ------------------------------------ >> >> Please post bird photos to our other group >> >>birds-pix AT yahoogroups.com.Yahoo! >>Groups Links >> >> >> >> > > > Subject: RE: Re: New digiscoping outfit From: "Young" <jeffandlaurettayoung AT comcast.net> Date: Sun, 14 Mar 2010 21:49:55 -0700 Regarding scopes. Thanks to Steve Sosensky of Optics4birding.com for directing me to this reference. The November/December 2009 edition of Bird Watcher's Digest has a nice review of 12 scopes called, "High-end Scopes, the Best of the Best." If you add the scores for "resolution," "image quality" and "ergonomics", the over all scores for the top three are as follows: 1. Swarovski ATM 80 HD: 14.7 2. Leica 82 APO Televid: 14.6 3. Kowa TSN 883 Prominar: 14.4 Jeff Young _____ From: digiscopingbirds AT yahoogroups.com [mailto:digiscopingbirds AT yahoogroups.com] On Behalf Of Scott Walker Sent: Saturday, March 13, 2010 10:29 PM To: digiscopingbirds AT yahoogroups.com Subject: Re: [digiscopingbirds] Re: New digiscoping outfit From the European web sight one can get the general catalog. http://www.kowa- europe.com/sporting_optics/Downloads/Eng/Kowa_General_Catalogue.pdf On page 4 it shows a scope cross-section which I assume is the 883 scope. The front objective is shown to contain 3 elements, 2 positive element followed by a negative element. I am assuming the calcium flurorite crystal lens is the second element since designers like to protect this element. Also the paragraph labeled "Prominar" lens points to this element. Scott Walker ----- Original Message ----- From: "Steve Sosensky" g.com> To: yahoogroups.com> Sent: Saturday, March 13, 2010 4:36 PM Subject: Re: [digiscopingbirds] Re: New digiscoping outfit > In the 2010 Kowa catalog, a paragraph on page 4 describes the > objective as having convex lenses of fluorite crystal. A concave > element shown paired with the rear convex objective is described as a > glass element having "special dispersion properties to reduce the > chromatic aberration to a further degree." > > At 10:07 AM 3/12/2010, Scott Walker wrote: >>I found the first (Finish) review to be quite well done. The review >>obviously knows a fair amount about optics. The only possible >>concern I had was a statement about the 883 design. He stated it had >>a 2 element objective. The Kowa catalog pictures a 3 element >>objective and in addition the write-up indicates a total of 5 >>elements in 4 groups. The negative lens in the midsection looks like >>a two element design, which indicate the front objective is a 3 >>element, 3 group design. Maybe he knows of an error in the catalog? >>either way it was an excellent review. Thanks for pointing it out to the >>group. > > > Good Viewing, > Steve Sosensky g.com> > Vice President > > www.Optics4Birding.com > 19 Hammond Suite 506 N 33.65926 > Irvine CA 92618 W 117.70305 > 877.OP4.BIRD (877.674.2473) Toll Free 818.522.5261 Cell > 949.360.OPTX (949.360.6789) Local > > > > > > ------------------------------------ > > Please post bird photos to our other group > birds-pix AT yahoogrou ps.com.Yahoo! Groups Links > > > > Subject: feedback From: SiriusGuy AT aol.com Date: Sun, 14 Mar 2010 18:58:48 EDT <> Sure could be...easy to see the value for some post-event feedback, for any team member who failed to get 5 out of 5 in any round. Alan Birnbaum Fresno CA There are 3 messages in this issue. Topics in this digest: 1a. Re: New digiscoping outfit From: Steve Sosensky 1b. Re: New digiscoping outfit From: Scott Walker 2a. Zeiss Photoscope at the Winter Olympics From: Dale Forbes Messages ________________________________________________________________________ 1a. Re: New digiscoping outfit Posted by: "Steve Sosensky" steve AT optics4birding.com stevesosensky Date: Sat Mar 13, 2010 4:36 pm ((PST)) In the 2010 Kowa catalog, a paragraph on page 4 describes the objective as having convex lenses of fluorite crystal. A concave element shown paired with the rear convex objective is described as a glass element having "special dispersion properties to reduce the chromatic aberration to a further degree." At 10:07 AM 3/12/2010, Scott Walker wrote: >I found the first (Finish) review to be quite well done. The review >obviously knows a fair amount about optics. The only possible >concern I had was a statement about the 883 design. He stated it had >a 2 element objective. The Kowa catalog pictures a 3 element >objective and in addition the write-up indicates a total of 5 >elements in 4 groups. The negative lens in the midsection looks like >a two element design, which indicate the front objective is a 3 >element, 3 group design. Maybe he knows of an error in the catalog? >either way it was an excellent review. Thanks for pointing it out to the group. Good Viewing, Steve Sosensky Vice President www.Optics4Birding.com 19 Hammond Suite 506 N 33.65926 Irvine CA 92618 W 117.70305 877.OP4.BIRD (877.674.2473) Toll Free 818.522.5261 Cell 949.360.OPTX (949.360.6789) Local Messages in this topic (13) ________________________________________________________________________ 1b. Re: New digiscoping outfit Posted by: "Scott Walker" sdwalker AT cox.net scottatwin Date: Sat Mar 13, 2010 10:29 pm ((PST)) From the European web sight one can get the general catalog. http://www.kowa-europe.com/sporting_optics/Downloads/Eng/Kowa_General_Catalogue.pdf On page 4 it shows a scope cross-section which I assume is the 883 scope. The front objective is shown to contain 3 elements, 2 positive element followed by a negative element. I am assuming the calcium flurorite crystal lens is the second element since designers like to protect this element. Also the paragraph labeled "Prominar" lens points to this element. Scott Walker ----- Original Message ----- From: "Steve Sosensky" To: Sent: Saturday, March 13, 2010 4:36 PM Subject: Re: [digiscopingbirds] Re: New digiscoping outfit > In the 2010 Kowa catalog, a paragraph on page 4 describes the > objective as having convex lenses of fluorite crystal. A concave > element shown paired with the rear convex objective is described as a > glass element having "special dispersion properties to reduce the > chromatic aberration to a further degree." > > At 10:07 AM 3/12/2010, Scott Walker wrote: >>I found the first (Finish) review to be quite well done. The review >>obviously knows a fair amount about optics. The only possible >>concern I had was a statement about the 883 design. He stated it had >>a 2 element objective. The Kowa catalog pictures a 3 element >>objective and in addition the write-up indicates a total of 5 >>elements in 4 groups. The negative lens in the midsection looks like >>a two element design, which indicate the front objective is a 3 >>element, 3 group design. Maybe he knows of an error in the catalog? >>either way it was an excellent review. Thanks for pointing it out to the >>group. > > > Good Viewing, > Steve Sosensky > Vice President > > www.Optics4Birding.com > 19 Hammond Suite 506 N 33.65926 > Irvine CA 92618 W 117.70305 > 877.OP4.BIRD (877.674.2473) Toll Free 818.522.5261 Cell > 949.360.OPTX (949.360.6789) Local > > > > > > ------------------------------------ > > Please post bird photos to our other group > birds-pix AT yahoogroups.com.Yahoo! Groups Links > > > > Messages in this topic (13) ________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ 2a. Zeiss Photoscope at the Winter Olympics Posted by: "Dale Forbes" capepolly AT gmail.com capepolly Date: Sun Mar 14, 2010 1:08 am ((PST)) I think you are probably referring to the trainer/coach of the German biathlon team who had a Zeiss Photoscope Happy birding, Dale Messages in this topic (4) Please post bird photos to our other group birds-pix AT yahoogroups.com. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Links ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Subject: Re: Re: lenses for the G1 From: Frank Barkhofen <pieczy AT googlemail.com> Date: Sun, 14 Mar 2010 21:29:33 +0100 Hello, has anybody tried the Swaro TLS800 with a T2 adapter on the G1? May be the crop factor is still valid in this case and one would get a 1600mm focus length? A T2 adapter for mFT is available from Novoflex. Could be a interesting option. Regards Frank Subject: Re:Zeiss Photoscope at the Winter Olympics From: Dale Forbes <capepolly AT gmail.com> Date: Sun, 14 Mar 2010 09:55:32 +0100 I think you are probably referring to the trainer/coach of the German biathlon team who had a Zeiss Photoscope Happy birding, Dale Subject: Re: Re: New digiscoping outfit From: "Scott Walker" <sdwalker AT cox.net> Date: Sat, 13 Mar 2010 22:29:15 -0800 From the European web sight one can get the general catalog. http://www.kowa-europe.com/sporting_optics/Downloads/Eng/Kowa_General_Catalogue.pdf On page 4 it shows a scope cross-section which I assume is the 883 scope. The front objective is shown to contain 3 elements, 2 positive element followed by a negative element. I am assuming the calcium flurorite crystal lens is the second element since designers like to protect this element. Also the paragraph labeled "Prominar" lens points to this element. Scott Walker ----- Original Message ----- From: "Steve Sosensky" To: Sent: Saturday, March 13, 2010 4:36 PM Subject: Re: [digiscopingbirds] Re: New digiscoping outfit > In the 2010 Kowa catalog, a paragraph on page 4 describes the > objective as having convex lenses of fluorite crystal. A concave > element shown paired with the rear convex objective is described as a > glass element having "special dispersion properties to reduce the > chromatic aberration to a further degree." > > At 10:07 AM 3/12/2010, Scott Walker wrote: >>I found the first (Finish) review to be quite well done. The review >>obviously knows a fair amount about optics. The only possible >>concern I had was a statement about the 883 design. He stated it had >>a 2 element objective. The Kowa catalog pictures a 3 element >>objective and in addition the write-up indicates a total of 5 >>elements in 4 groups. The negative lens in the midsection looks like >>a two element design, which indicate the front objective is a 3 >>element, 3 group design. Maybe he knows of an error in the catalog? >>either way it was an excellent review. Thanks for pointing it out to the >>group. > > > Good Viewing, > Steve Sosensky > Vice President > > www.Optics4Birding.com > 19 Hammond Suite 506 N 33.65926 > Irvine CA 92618 W 117.70305 > 877.OP4.BIRD (877.674.2473) Toll Free 818.522.5261 Cell > 949.360.OPTX (949.360.6789) Local > > > > > > ------------------------------------ > > Please post bird photos to our other group > birds-pix AT yahoogroups.com.Yahoo! Groups Links > > > > Subject: Re: Re: New digiscoping outfit From: Steve Sosensky <steve AT optics4birding.com> Date: Sat, 13 Mar 2010 16:36:16 -0800 In the 2010 Kowa catalog, a paragraph on page 4 describes the objective as having convex lenses of fluorite crystal. A concave element shown paired with the rear convex objective is described as a glass element having "special dispersion properties to reduce the chromatic aberration to a further degree." At 10:07 AM 3/12/2010, Scott Walker wrote: >I found the first (Finish) review to be quite well done. The review >obviously knows a fair amount about optics. The only possible >concern I had was a statement about the 883 design. He stated it had >a 2 element objective. The Kowa catalog pictures a 3 element >objective and in addition the write-up indicates a total of 5 >elements in 4 groups. The negative lens in the midsection looks like >a two element design, which indicate the front objective is a 3 >element, 3 group design. Maybe he knows of an error in the catalog? >either way it was an excellent review. Thanks for pointing it out to the group. Good Viewing, Steve Sosensky Vice President www.Optics4Birding.com 19 Hammond Suite 506 N 33.65926 Irvine CA 92618 W 117.70305 877.OP4.BIRD (877.674.2473) Toll Free 818.522.5261 Cell 949.360.OPTX (949.360.6789) Local Subject: Re: Digiscoping Survey - Final Results From: Paul Berndt <pwberndt AT yahoo.com> Date: Sat, 13 Mar 2010 04:28:53 -0800 (PST) Len, Thanks for your work.  I do think that the survey provides good statistical information on the hobby.  I can't think of a tecnic or piece of equipment missing that has been discussed in this forum.  The fact that the info is in one place can provide help for novices and encouragment for everyone. Paul Ohio, USA > >From: Len Blumin >To: digiscopingbirds AT yahoogroups.com; Birds-Pix >Cc: Len Blumin >Sent: Fri, March 12, 2010 2:34:48 PM >Subject: [digiscopingbirds] Digiscoping Survey - Final Results > >  >Greetings. > > >We have had 157 responses to the survey. I have "upgraded" the survey to include all responses (initial reports were based only on the first 100 responses). By clicking the link below, anyone who wishes can view the anonymous responses by selecting "Browse Responses", and individual responses to each question can be viewed by choosing "Show Replies". Not only that, but I believe anyone download and save the results in a variety of formats. > > >This survey was meant to be public, and I take no "ownership" of the data. Please respect the fact that surveys like this contain significant bias, and the results should not be used out of context. For instance, we surveyed a selected population, rather than a randomized group. The fact that one particular brand of scope was used more frequently, says little about how frequently the scope is used by birders in general, or about the superiority of the optics of that brand over another. We simple learn a bit about how popular certain brands are for the digiscopers who participated, and that may reflect more on the availability and quality of adapters than on anything else. > > >The results will only be available for 1 month because of the cost of maintaining SurveyMonkey membership. Let me know if you have problems viewing or downloading the data. > > >http://www.surveymonkey.com/sr.aspx?sm=j39Hi13F9pJHcjWNFC5pDHUjxyKtQxi76AlNWeeyo1g_3dLink:   > >-- >Cheers, >Len Blumin, Mill Valley, California >len.blumin AT gmail. com >Swaro 80 HD, 30X, DCA, CoolPix 8400 >http://www.flickriver.com/photos/lenblumin/sets/72157614994688364/ > > Subject: Zeiss Photoscope From: Anand Arya - GMail <anandswarooparya AT gmail.com> Date: Sat, 13 Mar 2010 07:24:23 +0530 Zeiss Photoscope was not available for trial/hands on while I was in the U.S. from Oct-Dec. Is this being used by anyone (except Stephen Ingram of Zeiss) on this group and if so can the user(s) please share the experience and the evaluation of the Photoscope. Regards. Anand Arya INDIA + 91 98182 61909 www.anandarya.com www.okhlabirdpark.com On 12-Mar-10, at 9:07 PM, siriusguy AT aol.com wrote: > > Subject: Re: And they think it is for snipers! From: Gerald F Van Oyen <jvanoyen AT juno.com> Date: Fri, 12 Mar 2010 12:01:15 -0500 Does this scope resemble the Raven? On Fri, 12 Mar 2010 08:20:34 -0500 Stephen Ingraham writes: Engadget ran this from a recent Ricoh press event. Ha. http://www.engadget.com/2010/03/12/ricoh-gxr-gets-acessorized-is-ready-fo r-the-town-or-the-shoo/ -- Steve Ingraham lightshedder: www.lightshedder.com Point and Shoot Landscape: Pic of the Day Cloudy Days and Netbook Nights: ____________________________________________________________ Weight Loss Program Best Weight Loss Program - Click Here! http://thirdpartyoffers.juno.com/TGL2141/c?cp=ET_3mzQBHi9N00Yh0-onLAAAJ1DYJNClgOYZs35TNLM_BjwgAAYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAADNAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAEUgAAAAA= Subject: New file uploaded to digiscopingbirds From: digiscopingbirds AT yahoogroups.com Date: 13 Mar 2010 00:51:09 -0000 Hello, This email message is a notification to let you know that a file has been uploaded to the Files area of the digiscopingbirds group. File : /Digiscoping Survey 2010/SurveySummary_03122010.pdf Uploaded by : bluheron Description : Summary of the results of the first 157 responses to the survey You can access this file at the URL: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/digiscopingbirds/files/Digiscoping%20Survey%202010/SurveySummary_03122010.pdf To learn more about file sharing for your group, please visit: http://help.yahoo.com/l/us/yahoo/groups/original/members/forms/general.htmlfiles Regards, bluheron Subject: Re: Digiscoping Survey - Final Results From: Len Blumin <Len.blumin AT gmail.com> Date: Fri, 12 Mar 2010 16:40:21 -0800 Thanks, Dave. I will post a pdf. summary of the survey results in "files", so we will have it available after SurveyMonkey expires. Len On Fri, Mar 12, 2010 at 12:27 PM, David Graham wrote: > > > Len, > > Can't thank you enough for your efforts to provide and analyse the results > of the poll. I'll bet it will spawn many helpful threads on our list, I'd > like to say I've been thru the whole thing, but not so. I keep getting > distracred by one or more of the submitted answers, and then it's off to > google and the web on a sear for more on the topic brought up. > > Great idea. Well carried out, > > Dave Graham > Estelline, SD > > > > On Fri, Mar 12, 2010 at 1:34 PM, Len Blumin wrote: > >> >> >> Greetings. >> >> We have had 157 responses to the survey. I have "upgraded" the survey to >> include all responses (initial reports were based only on the first 100 >> responses). By clicking the link below, anyone who wishes can view the >> anonymous responses by selecting "Browse Responses", and individual >> responses to each question can be viewed by choosing "Show Replies". Not >> only that, but I believe anyone download and save the results in a variety >> of formats. >> >> This survey was meant to be public, and I take no "ownership" of the data. >> Please respect the fact that surveys like this contain significant bias, and >> the results should not be used out of context. For instance, we surveyed a >> selected population, rather than a randomized group. The fact that one >> particular brand of scope was used more frequently, says little about how >> frequently the scope is used by birders in general, or about the superiority >> of the optics of that brand over another. We simple learn a bit about how >> popular certain brands are for the digiscopers who participated, and that >> may reflect more on the availability and quality of adapters than on >> anything else. >> >> The results will only be available for 1 month because of the cost of >> maintaining SurveyMonkey membership. Let me know if you have problems >> viewing or downloading the data. >> >> >> http://www.surveymonkey.com/sr.aspx?sm=j39Hi13F9pJHcjWNFC5pDHUjxyKtQxi76AlNWeeyo1g_3dLink: >> >> >> -- >> Cheers, >> Len Blumin, Mill Valley, California >> len.blumin AT gmail.com >> Swaro 80 HD, 30X, DCA, CoolPix 8400 >> http://www.flickriver.com/photos/lenblumin/sets/72157614994688364/ >> > > > > -- > "When one tugs at a single thing in nature, he finds it attached to the > rest of the world." > John Muir > > I love winters - > best, those truly worthy of > folks' usual complaints > D.L.Graham, Jan 10, 2010 > > One can only see what one observes, and one observes only things which are > already in the mind. > Alphonse Bertillon > > > -- Cheers, Len Blumin, Mill Valley, California len.blumin AT gmail.com Swaro 80 HD, 30X, DCA, CoolPix 8400 http://www.flickriver.com/photos/lenblumin/sets/72157614994688364/ Subject: Re: Digiscoping Survey - Final Results From: David Graham <uuglypher AT gmail.com> Date: Fri, 12 Mar 2010 14:27:49 -0600 Len, Can't thank you enough for your efforts to provide and analyse the results of the poll. I'll bet it will spawn many helpful threads on our list, I'd like to say I've been thru the whole thing, but not so. I keep getting distracred by one or more of the submitted answers, and then it's off to google and the web on a sear for more on the topic brought up. Great idea. Well carried out, Dave Graham Estelline, SD On Fri, Mar 12, 2010 at 1:34 PM, Len Blumin wrote: > > > Greetings. > > We have had 157 responses to the survey. I have "upgraded" the survey to > include all responses (initial reports were based only on the first 100 > responses). By clicking the link below, anyone who wishes can view the > anonymous responses by selecting "Browse Responses", and individual > responses to each question can be viewed by choosing "Show Replies". Not > only that, but I believe anyone download and save the results in a variety > of formats. > > This survey was meant to be public, and I take no "ownership" of the data. > Please respect the fact that surveys like this contain significant bias, and > the results should not be used out of context. For instance, we surveyed a > selected population, rather than a randomized group. The fact that one > particular brand of scope was used more frequently, says little about how > frequently the scope is used by birders in general, or about the superiority > of the optics of that brand over another. We simple learn a bit about how > popular certain brands are for the digiscopers who participated, and that > may reflect more on the availability and quality of adapters than on > anything else. > > The results will only be available for 1 month because of the cost of > maintaining SurveyMonkey membership. Let me know if you have problems > viewing or downloading the data. > > > http://www.surveymonkey.com/sr.aspx?sm=j39Hi13F9pJHcjWNFC5pDHUjxyKtQxi76AlNWeeyo1g_3dLink: > > > -- > Cheers, > Len Blumin, Mill Valley, California > len.blumin AT gmail.com > Swaro 80 HD, 30X, DCA, CoolPix 8400 > http://www.flickriver.com/photos/lenblumin/sets/72157614994688364/ > > -- "When one tugs at a single thing in nature, he finds it attached to the rest of the world." John Muir I love winters - best, those truly worthy of folks' usual complaints D.L.Graham, Jan 10, 2010 One can only see what one observes, and one observes only things which are already in the mind. Alphonse Bertillon Subject: Digiscoping Survey - Final Results From: Len Blumin <Len.blumin AT gmail.com> Date: Fri, 12 Mar 2010 11:34:48 -0800 Greetings. We have had 157 responses to the survey. I have "upgraded" the survey to include all responses (initial reports were based only on the first 100 responses). By clicking the link below, anyone who wishes can view the anonymous responses by selecting "Browse Responses", and individual responses to each question can be viewed by choosing "Show Replies". Not only that, but I believe anyone download and save the results in a variety of formats. This survey was meant to be public, and I take no "ownership" of the data. Please respect the fact that surveys like this contain significant bias, and the results should not be used out of context. For instance, we surveyed a selected population, rather than a randomized group. The fact that one particular brand of scope was used more frequently, says little about how frequently the scope is used by birders in general, or about the superiority of the optics of that brand over another. We simple learn a bit about how popular certain brands are for the digiscopers who participated, and that may reflect more on the availability and quality of adapters than on anything else. The results will only be available for 1 month because of the cost of maintaining SurveyMonkey membership. Let me know if you have problems viewing or downloading the data. http://www.surveymonkey.com/sr.aspx?sm=j39Hi13F9pJHcjWNFC5pDHUjxyKtQxi76AlNWeeyo1g_3dLink: -- Cheers, Len Blumin, Mill Valley, California len.blumin AT gmail.com Swaro 80 HD, 30X, DCA, CoolPix 8400 http://www.flickriver.com/photos/lenblumin/sets/72157614994688364/ Subject: Re: And they think it is for snipers! From: Stephen Ingraham <lightshedder AT gmail.com> Date: Fri, 12 Mar 2010 13:32:20 -0500 Not really. It is just the Ricoh camera on the back of the Kowa scope. I was mostly interested because either Ricoh or Engadget totally missed the digiscoping aspect. Snipers! Clearly it is set up, with its red dot sight, for flight shots! :) On Fri, Mar 12, 2010 at 1:27 PM, Rick wrote: > > > It looks like a Zeiss Rip off. Am I correct? > > > Stephen Ingraham wrote: > > > > Engadget ran this from a recent Ricoh press event. Ha. > > > http://www.engadget.com/2010/03/12/ricoh-gxr-gets-acessorized-is-ready-for-the-town-or-the-shoo/ > > -- > Steve Ingraham > lightshedder: www.lightshedder.com > Point and Shoot Landscape: > Pic of the Day > Cloudy Days and Netbook Nights: > > > > __________ Information from ESET NOD32 Antivirus, version of virus > signature database 4939 (20100312) __________ > > The message was checked by ESET NOD32 Antivirus. > > http://www.eset.com > > > > -- > > Rick > Fargo, ND > N 46°53'251" > W 096°48'279" > > > Remember the USS Libertyhttp://www.ussliberty.org/ > > Reply to: fholbrookatcableone.net > > > > > > > -- Steve Ingraham lightshedder: www.lightshedder.com Point and Shoot Landscape: Pic of the Day Cloudy Days and Netbook Nights: Subject: Re: And they think it is for snipers! From: Rick <FHolbrook AT cableone.net> Date: Fri, 12 Mar 2010 12:27:48 -0600 It looks like a Zeiss Rip off. Am I correct? Stephen Ingraham wrote: > > > Engadget ran this from a recent Ricoh press event. Ha. > > > http://www.engadget.com/2010/03/12/ricoh-gxr-gets-acessorized-is-ready-for-the-town-or-the-shoo/ > > > -- > Steve Ingraham > lightshedder: www.lightshedder.com > Point and Shoot Landscape: > Pic of the Day > Cloudy Days and Netbook Nights: > > > > > __________ Information from ESET NOD32 Antivirus, version of virus > signature database 4939 (20100312) __________ > > The message was checked by ESET NOD32 Antivirus. > > http://www.eset.com -- Rick Fargo, ND N 46°53'251" W 096°48'279" Remember the USS Liberty http://www.ussliberty.org/ Reply to: fholbrookatcableone.net Subject: Re: Re: New digiscoping outfit From: "Scott Walker" <sdwalker AT cox.net> Date: Fri, 12 Mar 2010 10:07:05 -0800 I found the first (Finish) review to be quite well done. The review obviously knows a fair amount about optics. The only possible concern I had was a statement about the 883 design. He stated it had a 2 element objective. The Kowa catalog pictures a 3 element objective and in addition the write-up indicates a total of 5 elements in 4 groups. The negative lens in the midsection looks like a two element design, which indicate the front objective is a 3 element, 3 group design. Maybe he knows of an error in the catalog? either way it was an excellent review. Thanks for pointing it out to the group. Scott Walker ----- Original Message ----- From: Young To: digiscopingbirds AT yahoogroups.com Sent: Thursday, March 11, 2010 5:15 PM Subject: RE: [digiscopingbirds] Re: New digiscoping outfit David, Here are a few opinions or scope evaluations I found today: http://www.lintuvaruste.fi/hinnasto/optiikkaarvostelu/optics_13_kowa883_GB.shtml http://store.birdwatching.net/store/-strse-1153/Detail.bok http://www.birdwatching.com/optics/kowa/kowa_prominar2009.html Jeff Young, Portland, Oregon ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ From: digiscopingbirds AT yahoogroups.com [mailto:digiscopingbirds AT yahoogroups.com] On Behalf Of dalston27 Sent: Thursday, March 11, 2010 4:11 AM To: digiscopingbirds AT yahoogroups.com Subject: [digiscopingbirds] Re: New digiscoping outfit Hi Jeff I am no expert by any means but from the information that I have been given or have found, it appears that the nikon p5100 is a better camera for digiscoping than the p6000. Apparently there are no vignetting issues with the p5100 but there are with the p6000. I tried out the p6000 yesterday just on landscape shots and I wasn't very impressed with the quality and brightness of the screen. There are very few p6000s available now. Amazon.co.uk lists a couple of vendors. From what I have been able to find out. Swarovski has an excellent follow up and warranty service apparently a lot better than leica. I don't know about kowa. I am probably going to opt for swarovski, but what a "rip off" for the DCA adaptor which costs £140 or aprox $225 for two pieces of alloy tube!. Also the stay on case £145 or aprox $230. I do not understand why there are not 3rd party products available which serve the same purpose. DavidH --- In digiscopingbirds AT yahoogroups.com, "Young" wrote:> > Hello, > > It would appear that David H's original questions about which adapter to use > with the Nikon P6000 with either the Kowa or Swarovski scope have been > addressed by Kevin Bolton and Neil. > > > > David I believe you were asking another, especially challenging question, > which I too am wrestling with and that is, whether to purchase a Swarovski > 80 mm HD scope or a Kowa 88 mm Prominar scope. > > > > Perhaps a consideration is the camera to be used. Here is my first > question: similar to David, I'm using a Nikon p5100, but would like to > upgrade that as well to probably a Nikon P6000 as opposed to a micro 4/3 SLR > due to my current desire to keep the camera part of this outfit less > expensive for now. I would hold off on the Nikon p6000 if only there was > some reliable way to know a more desirable upgrade was around the corner. > Any insights or advice on this question? > > > > Back to the scope question; it seems pretty obvious that both are fantastic > scopes. Especially helpful would be insights into key differences between > these scopes, or whether there is any objective data available which > compares performance of the two. > > > > Thank you in advance, > > > > Jeff Young > > Portland, Oregon > > > > _____ > > From: digiscopingbirds AT yahoogroups.com > [mailto:digiscopingbirds AT yahoogroups.com] On Behalf Of dalston27 > Sent: Wednesday, March 10, 2010 2:49 AM > To: digiscopingbirds AT yahoogroups.com > Subject: [digiscopingbirds] Re: New digiscoping outfit > > > > > > Thanks Kevin > your wader shots are superb. In fact I decided to buy the nikon p6000 after > seeing yours Taras and Neils photos taken with this camera. > > So the UR-E21 has a 48mm filter thread ? or 46mm. It seems that Kowa adapter > rings for TSN DA 10 are only 43 and 52mm with nothing in between. > > --- In digiscopingbirds AT > yahoogroups.com, Kevin Bolton wrote: > > > > Dave > > > > Hello and welcome ,I have been using the Kowa 883/884 for 3 years now > Digiscoping with the 25LER/DCA-TSN-DA10/Nikon P6000 with satisfying results > and yes the conversion adapter is the UER-21 along with the Kowa 48mm > adapter ring. > > > > Also I use the Kowa TSN-DA3 balance support with using the Kowa 30x > Eyepiece along with the 20-60 Zoom with good results here is some pics. > > > > http://www.flickr. > > com/photos/mcbrian/4406479781/sizes/o/ > > > > http://www.flickr. > > com/photos/mcbrian/4392143260/sizes/o/ > > > > > > http://www.flickr. > > com/photos/mcbrian/4219440319/sizes/o/ > > > > > > http://www.flickr. > > com/photos/mcbrian/4123123590/sizes/o/ > > > > > > Kevin Bolton > > kakebolton AT > > www.jerseydigiscoping.blogspot.com > > > > > > > > > > > > > > ----- Original Message ----- > > From: dalston27 > > To: digiscopingbirds AT > yahoogroups.com > > Sent: Tuesday, March 09, 2010 8:40 PM > > Subject: [digiscopingbirds] New digiscoping outfit > > > > > > > > I have today aquired a nikon p6000 camera and intend to purchase some good > quality optics to go with it. I telephoned a dealer today and asked about a > kowa 883 scope and 25x LER eyepiece to go with the nikon p6000. He has > advised against the 25x LER because it is so difficult to use as a normal > scope due to the large distance between eye and lens.I know that some people > on the group have recommended this eyepiece, but I wonder if others have > found any problems.The dealer recommends 30x eyepiece and zoom in a little > with the camera to remove vignetting. Is this OK? > > > > I am also considering a swarovski ATM80HD and the dealer recommends the 25 > -50X wide angle eyepiece. I mentioned that there may be a problem with > vignetting using the p6000, but I was told that all you do is just zoom in a > touch. Again I am wondering if this is a practical answer and will it not > cause problems like restricting the amount of zoom when you want to change > the image size to fill the screen. > > > > On the swarowski web site describing suitable cameras it lists the nikon > p6000 and says it has a 28mm filter thread and also suggests the UR-E20 > filter adapter should be used. I think all of this may be wrong.I think that > the filter adapter should be the URE21 with a 46mm filter thread. I am > planning on using the swarovski DCA zoom adapter which has 4 sizes of > adapter rings . Would I step up to a 52mm or down to a 43mm? > > I would be grateful to hear any bodies experiences or advice before I make > a purchase > > DavidH > > > Subject: Re: Zeiss Photoscope at the Winter Olympics From: "wturber" <jay AT studio522.com> Date: Fri, 12 Mar 2010 17:36:51 -0000 > Did I mention that at one point during the recent Vancouver Winter > Olympics, spotted one of the judges for the shooting portion of the biathlon > checking, and perhaps recording, results through what was clearly a Zeiss > Photoscope? Not too unexpected, at an event where results get timed to 0.01 > second. Yeah, but if he digiscoped with an GH1, he could have recorded 720p HD video at 60 fps or shot 1080p at 24 fps. That's either 1Mp images at 60fps or 2Mp images at 24 fps. Ain't technology wonderful? Jay Turberville www.jayandwanda.com Subject: Zeiss Photoscope at the Winter Olympics From: SiriusGuy AT aol.com Date: Fri, 12 Mar 2010 10:37:41 EST Did I mention that at one point during the recent Vancouver Winter Olympics, spotted one of the judges for the shooting portion of the biathlon checking, and perhaps recording, results through what was clearly a Zeiss Photoscope? Not too unexpected, at an event where results get timed to 0.01 second. Alan Birnbaum Fresno CA Subject: Re: about Ricoh w kowa, in Japanese From: John Top <jjtop AT fastmail.us> Date: Thu, 11 Mar 2010 18:14:17 -0800 > I bought a BB gun red dot sight at Wally's for less than $10. It >worked great until I got used to my scope and found that I can line >it up faster without it. John > >These are called red dot finders. They are user on telescope. They are also >used on some guns. They are very useful as a unity gain device to tell you >where your scope is pointing. You look through a clear window and see a red >dot or reticule. The center of the dot is where your scope is pointing. The >reticule is adjustable so that it can be accurately aligned to the scope. >The finder needs to be roughly mounted in alignment with the scope and the >fine adjustment takes out the remaining error. The ones sold for guns may be >more likely to work for you since they are designed to work in the daylight. >Most have brightness adjustments but some of the ones for telescopes are >made to be very dim so they work well at night. >Here are two links that talks about operation. > >http://content.telescope.com/rsc/img/catalog/product/instructions/29302.pdf > >http://www.burgessoptical.com/Files/MRF_Instructions_06-05.pdf > >I have used the burgess optical MRF finder and it worked well for daytime >use, but it is on backorder. > >These are not laser sights. Figuring how to mount it to the scope will >likely be our your biggest challenge. Burgess Optical does sell a variety of >mounting attachments. These mounting points can be mounted to a wood block >and the wood block can to strapped to the scope. The wood block can easily >be shaped to properly align the mounting pad to the scope. Outdoor double >backed foam tape (3m VHB tape) can also be very useful. > >Scott Walker >----- Original Message ----- >From: "bryan" <brston73 AT hotmail.com> >To: ><digiscopingbirds AT yahoogroups.com> >Sent: Thursday, March 11, 2010 7:25 AM >Subject: [digiscopingbirds] about Ricoh w kowa, in Japanese > >> About half way down this page is a display of a Ricoh BR-GXR50 camera >> attached to a Kowa 883 >> >> On the right is a view of some sort of aiming scope attached to it. >> >> >> >>http://dc.watch.impress.co.jp/docs/news/20100311_353988.html >> >> I wonder if anyone here can interpret this. I had no luck with Google and >> Bing transalations. >> >> I have the Kowa 884 with Nikon and micro 4/3 adapters. An aiming scope >> would make using it and the Nikon 500mm f4 a lot easier. >> >> Bryan >> >> >> >> ------------------------------------ >> >> Please post bird photos to our other group >> >>birds-pix AT yahoogroups.com.Yahoo! >>Groups Links >> >> >> >> > > Subject: And they think it is for snipers! From: Stephen Ingraham <lightshedder AT gmail.com> Date: Fri, 12 Mar 2010 08:20:34 -0500 Engadget ran this from a recent Ricoh press event. Ha. http://www.engadget.com/2010/03/12/ricoh-gxr-gets-acessorized-is-ready-for-the-town-or-the-shoo/ -- Steve Ingraham lightshedder: www.lightshedder.com Point and Shoot Landscape: Pic of the Day Cloudy Days and Netbook Nights: Subject: RE: Question on where to find camera data From: Ken Earnshaw <ken.earnshaw AT btinternet.com> Date: Fri, 12 Mar 2010 09:32:26 +0000 (GMT) Hi George I'm using the older Kowa TSN DA1A adaptor but I doubt if there is much difference with the current DA1 adaptor. On the DA1A the inner sleeve attaches to the scope body, the outer sleeve to the camera and there is some 15mm of useful travel between the inner and outer sleeves to allow for positioning. One screw for locking them together. This allows for quite rapid fitting of the camera to the scope. Using this set-up with a Nikon 4500 on the x21 eyepiece there is severe vignetting up to about half zoom. The front lens element is about 4 mm from the eyepiece. There is still severe vignetting when camera is pressed right up against the eyepiece without the adaptor. With the Nikon P5100, UR E20 adaptor and DA1A adaptor on the x21 eyepice there is virtually no vignetting apart from a very small area in the bottom left hand at minimum zoom. At min or max zoom the front lens needs to be about 8 to 10 mm from the eyepiece which the UR E20 provides. At mid range the camera lens is some 15mm from the eyepiece. Possibly the Nikon P6000 may function in  a similar manner. It uses the UR E21 adaptor with a 43 mm thread to connect with the scope adaptor In using Jay's digiscoping calculator I have taken the view rightly or wrongly that the calculated camera Aperture Diameter equates to the camera entrance pupil size.   The SRB Griturn sleeve adaptor that I use is the 45.3 mm diameter for use with the x32 eyepiece. It attaches via three thumb screws to the eyepiece barrel and is reasonably quick to attach. SRB have a 46.3mm diameter sleeve which fits over the x21 eyepiece but as manufactured is too long. They cut one back to the length of the eyepiece for me and it now works very well. Conveniently they are only some 35 miles away from me. Cost is about £40 each including a screw thread insert to connect to the camera or camera adaptor. Theye also had a digiscoping bracket mount comprising of two clamping rings, a support bar and a mount to connect into the camera tripod bush. I found it to be too slow and fiddly to set up. Cost around £60.   My apologies if this is a duplicate posting as I thought I had sent it earlier in the week but no trace of it in my 'sent' box and the 'drafts' box had only an incomplete copy.   Regards Ken Earnshaw       --- On Sun, 7/3/10, George Harvey wrote: From: George Harvey Subject: RE: [digiscopingbirds] Question on where to find camera data To: "'George Harvey'" , digiscopingbirds AT yahoogroups.com Date: Sunday, 7 March, 2010, 18:38         From: George Harvey [mailto:gtbharvey AT comcast.net] Sent: Sunday, March 07, 2010 11:17 AM To: 'George Harvey'; 'digiscopingbirds AT yahoogroups. com' Subject: RE: [digiscopingbirds] Question on where to find camera data     Ken, I am trying to understand Claudia's problem because I am interested in using the S90 but would like a quick way to attach it to the scope when I see something worth photographing.  The glue on filter ring with threads looked very interesting.  I am a little wary that I may not be able to get the S90 close enough to my eyepiece to prevent vignetting.  Jay's calculator is a great help but only has the exit pupil sizes of the scope and nothing on its location or the entrance pupil of the camera.  To do a vignetting calculation, I think I need more info.  I belive I am probably OK after reading Neil's posting on his use of the S90.   With the Kowa TSN DA1, can you adjust the distance between the camera and the scope or is it always fixed?  Thanks for the suggestion of using SRB GRITURN.  I looked at their web site.  Has anyone tried their custom adaptors or have any idea of how much they cost?  When you use the the type that clamp on the the eyepiece, can you convienently get the camera on and off the scope?  When scanning for birds, I want to be able to use my eye then put the camera on quickly when I spot something. Thanks, George -----Original Message----- From: digiscopingbirds AT yahoogroups. com [mailto:digiscoping birds AT yahoogroup s.com] On Behalf Of Ken Earnshaw Sent: Sunday, March 07, 2010 5:40 AM To: digiscopingbirds AT yahoogroups. com Subject: Re: [digiscopingbirds] Question on where to find camera data   Regarding the Kowa 823 there is the Kowa TSN DA1 sleeve which screws onto the scope body over the x21 or x32 eyepeices and connects onto the camera via various adaptor ring sizes. I have used a Nikon P5100 connected to a 28mm adaptor ring via a UR E20 adaptor. This arrangement works well with both eyepeices on my 823. The Kowa sleeve and adaptor rings are quite expensive but are convenient to use. If using the 20-60 zoom there is an extension unit to fit on top of the DA1. I have never attempted to digiscope with this zoom lens, prefering the fixed eyepieces. Various retailers web-sites will have illustrations of these adaptors, acecameras.co. uk is one I use. I also use a 45.3mm sleeve from SRB GRITURN which clamps onto the x32 eyepeice via 3 screws. Various sized adaptor rings can then be used to attach to lens filter threads or to, eg, the UR E20. You may have noted Claudia Mayfield's problems using the DA1 and zoom extension with the Canon S90 reported 4 Mar 10. Not knowing anything relevant about the S90 I have not reponded to her with any thoughts. Jay Turberville' s digiscoping calculator offers data on various camera lens entrance pupil sizes to match to scope exit pupil sizes. I have used it extensively to gain comparative figures for a range of scope, eyepiece and camera combinations. My thank's to Jay for this facility. Regards Ken Earnshaw  --- On Sat, 6/3/10, gtharvey2000 wrote: From: gtharvey2000 Subject: [digiscopingbirds] Question on where to find camera data To: digiscopingbirds AT yahoogroups. com Date: Saturday, 6 March, 2010, 20:51   From what I gather looking at the collection of files on the optics of digiscoping, it looks like you want to get to avoid vignetting you need to get the entrance pupil of the camera on the same plane as the exit pupil of the eyepiece. The entrance pupil of the camera varies in position and size depending on the zoom setting of the camera. To match up equipment, it would be nice to know the location and size of the camera entrance pupil, not a common spec on a point and shoot. Is there any way of getting this information? If not are the optics of a typical 3 to 4X zoom fairly standard? It also seems like you should always open up your camera aperture to the max when digiscoping using aperture priority to make sure you minimize vignetting if you can not get the pupils to match up. I am still trying to find a camera and adapter rings for my Kowa TSN-823. Hopefully something small that I can quickly attach and detach. Thanks for any comments. Subject: digiscoping set up for sale on ebay From: "barry" <barryjones_2003 AT yahoo.co.uk> Date: Fri, 12 Mar 2010 07:28:23 -0000 Hi guys just bought a big lens for my slr and now would like to sell my digiscoping set. Click on the link below for details.... http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=250595033656&_trkparms=tab%3DSelling Subject: RE: Re: New digiscoping outfit From: "Young" <jeffandlaurettayoung AT comcast.net> Date: Thu, 11 Mar 2010 17:15:19 -0800 David, Here are a few opinions or scope evaluations I found today: http://www.lintuvaruste.fi/hinnasto/optiikkaarvostelu/optics_13_kowa883_GB.s html http://store.birdwatching.net/store/-strse-1153/Detail.bok http://www.birdwatching.com/optics/kowa/kowa_prominar2009.html Jeff Young, Portland, Oregon _____ From: digiscopingbirds AT yahoogroups.com [mailto:digiscopingbirds AT yahoogroups.com] On Behalf Of dalston27 Sent: Thursday, March 11, 2010 4:11 AM To: digiscopingbirds AT yahoogroups.com Subject: [digiscopingbirds] Re: New digiscoping outfit Hi Jeff I am no expert by any means but from the information that I have been given or have found, it appears that the nikon p5100 is a better camera for digiscoping than the p6000. Apparently there are no vignetting issues with the p5100 but there are with the p6000. I tried out the p6000 yesterday just on landscape shots and I wasn't very impressed with the quality and brightness of the screen. There are very few p6000s available now. Amazon.co.uk lists a couple of vendors. From what I have been able to find out. Swarovski has an excellent follow up and warranty service apparently a lot better than leica. I don't know about kowa. I am probably going to opt for swarovski, but what a "rip off" for the DCA adaptor which costs £140 or aprox $225 for two pieces of alloy tube!. Also the stay on case £145 or aprox $230. I do not understand why there are not 3rd party products available which serve the same purpose. DavidH --- In digiscopingbirds AT yahoogroups.com, "Young" wrote:> > Hello, > > It would appear that David H's original questions about which adapter to use > with the Nikon P6000 with either the Kowa or Swarovski scope have been > addressed by Kevin Bolton and Neil. > > > > David I believe you were asking another, especially challenging question, > which I too am wrestling with and that is, whether to purchase a Swarovski > 80 mm HD scope or a Kowa 88 mm Prominar scope. > > > > Perhaps a consideration is the camera to be used. Here is my first > question: similar to David, I'm using a Nikon p5100, but would like to > upgrade that as well to probably a Nikon P6000 as opposed to a micro 4/3 SLR > due to my current desire to keep the camera part of this outfit less > expensive for now. I would hold off on the Nikon p6000 if only there was > some reliable way to know a more desirable upgrade was around the corner. > Any insights or advice on this question? > > > > Back to the scope question; it seems pretty obvious that both are fantastic > scopes. Especially helpful would be insights into key differences between > these scopes, or whether there is any objective data available which > compares performance of the two. > > > > Thank you in advance, > > > > Jeff Young > > Portland, Oregon > > > > _____ > > From: digiscopingbirds AT yahoogroups.com > [mailto:digiscopingbirds AT yahoogroups.com] On Behalf Of dalston27 > Sent: Wednesday, March 10, 2010 2:49 AM > To: digiscopingbirds AT yahoogroups.com > Subject: [digiscopingbirds] Re: New digiscoping outfit > > > > > > Thanks Kevin > your wader shots are superb. In fact I decided to buy the nikon p6000 after > seeing yours Taras and Neils photos taken with this camera. > > So the UR-E21 has a 48mm filter thread ? or 46mm. It seems that Kowa adapter > rings for TSN DA 10 are only 43 and 52mm with nothing in between. > > --- In digiscopingbirds AT > yahoogroups.com, Kevin Bolton wrote: > > > > Dave > > > > Hello and welcome ,I have been using the Kowa 883/884 for 3 years now > Digiscoping with the 25LER/DCA-TSN-DA10/Nikon P6000 with satisfying results > and yes the conversion adapter is the UER-21 along with the Kowa 48mm > adapter ring. > > > > Also I use the Kowa TSN-DA3 balance support with using the Kowa 30x > Eyepiece along with the 20-60 Zoom with good results here is some pics. > > > > http://www.flickr. > com/photos/mcbrian/4406479781/sizes/o/> > com/photos/mcbrian/4406479781/sizes/o/ > > > > http://www.flickr. > com/photos/mcbrian/4392143260/sizes/o/> > com/photos/mcbrian/4392143260/sizes/o/ > > > > > > http://www.flickr. > com/photos/mcbrian/4219440319/sizes/o/> > com/photos/mcbrian/4219440319/sizes/o/ > > > > > > http://www.flickr. > com/photos/mcbrian/4123123590/sizes/o/> > com/photos/mcbrian/4123123590/sizes/o/ > > > > > > Kevin Bolton > > kakebolton AT > > www.jerseydigiscoping.blogspot.com > > > > > > > > > > > > > > ----- Original Message ----- > > From: dalston27 > > To: digiscopingbirds AT > yahoogroups.com > > Sent: Tuesday, March 09, 2010 8:40 PM > > Subject: [digiscopingbirds] New digiscoping outfit > > > > > > > > I have today aquired a nikon p6000 camera and intend to purchase some good > quality optics to go with it. I telephoned a dealer today and asked about a > kowa 883 scope and 25x LER eyepiece to go with the nikon p6000. He has > advised against the 25x LER because it is so difficult to use as a normal > scope due to the large distance between eye and lens.I know that some people > on the group have recommended this eyepiece, but I wonder if others have > found any problems.The dealer recommends 30x eyepiece and zoom in a little > with the camera to remove vignetting. Is this OK? > > > > I am also considering a swarovski ATM80HD and the dealer recommends the 25 > -50X wide angle eyepiece. I mentioned that there may be a problem with > vignetting using the p6000, but I was told that all you do is just zoom in a > touch. Again I am wondering if this is a practical answer and will it not > cause problems like restricting the amount of zoom when you want to change > the image size to fill the screen. > > > > On the swarowski web site describing suitable cameras it lists the nikon > p6000 and says it has a 28mm filter thread and also suggests the UR-E20 > filter adapter should be used. I think all of this may be wrong.I think that > the filter adapter should be the URE21 with a 46mm filter thread. I am > planning on using the swarovski DCA zoom adapter which has 4 sizes of > adapter rings . Would I step up to a 52mm or down to a 43mm? > > I would be grateful to hear any bodies experiences or advice before I make > a purchase > > DavidH > > > Subject: Re: about Ricoh w kowa, in Japanese From: "Scott Walker" <sdwalker AT cox.net> Date: Thu, 11 Mar 2010 12:03:11 -0800 These are called red dot finders. They are user on telescope. They are also used on some guns. They are very useful as a unity gain device to tell you where your scope is pointing. You look through a clear window and see a red dot or reticule. The center of the dot is where your scope is pointing. The reticule is adjustable so that it can be accurately aligned to the scope. The finder needs to be roughly mounted in alignment with the scope and the fine adjustment takes out the remaining error. The ones sold for guns may be more likely to work for you since they are designed to work in the daylight. Most have brightness adjustments but some of the ones for telescopes are made to be very dim so they work well at night. Here are two links that talks about operation. http://content.telescope.com/rsc/img/catalog/product/instructions/29302.pdf http://www.burgessoptical.com/Files/MRF_Instructions_06-05.pdf I have used the burgess optical MRF finder and it worked well for daytime use, but it is on backorder. These are not laser sights. Figuring how to mount it to the scope will likely be our your biggest challenge. Burgess Optical does sell a variety of mounting attachments. These mounting points can be mounted to a wood block and the wood block can to strapped to the scope. The wood block can easily be shaped to properly align the mounting pad to the scope. Outdoor double backed foam tape (3m VHB tape) can also be very useful. Scott Walker ----- Original Message ----- From: "bryan" To: Sent: Thursday, March 11, 2010 7:25 AM Subject: [digiscopingbirds] about Ricoh w kowa, in Japanese > About half way down this page is a display of a Ricoh BR-GXR50 camera > attached to a Kowa 883 > > On the right is a view of some sort of aiming scope attached to it. > > > http://dc.watch.impress.co.jp/docs/news/20100311_353988.html > > I wonder if anyone here can interpret this. I had no luck with Google and > Bing transalations. > > I have the Kowa 884 with Nikon and micro 4/3 adapters. An aiming scope > would make using it and the Nikon 500mm f4 a lot easier. > > Bryan > > > > ------------------------------------ > > Please post bird photos to our other group > birds-pix AT yahoogroups.com.Yahoo! Groups Links > > > > Subject: Re: about Ricoh w kowa, in Japanese From: Roger Isaacs <Roger.Isaacs AT gmail.com> Date: Thu, 11 Mar 2010 11:03:56 -0700 Hi Bryan, that looks like a reflex sight: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reflex_sight I use a similar red dot sight mounted on the flash shoe. Some of these are available probably for less than $50 USD. thanks, Roger On Thu, Mar 11, 2010 at 8:25 AM, bryan wrote: > > > About half way down this page is a display of a Ricoh BR-GXR50 camera > attached to a Kowa 883 > > On the right is a view of some sort of aiming scope attached to it. > > http://dc.watch.impress.co.jp/docs/news/20100311_353988.html > > I wonder if anyone here can interpret this. I had no luck with Google and > Bing transalations. > > I have the Kowa 884 with Nikon and micro 4/3 adapters. An aiming scope > would make using it and the Nikon 500mm f4 a lot easier. > > Bryan > > > Subject: about Ricoh w kowa, in Japanese From: "bryan" <brston73 AT hotmail.com> Date: Thu, 11 Mar 2010 15:25:16 -0000 About half way down this page is a display of a Ricoh BR-GXR50 camera attached to a Kowa 883 On the right is a view of some sort of aiming scope attached to it. http://dc.watch.impress.co.jp/docs/news/20100311_353988.html I wonder if anyone here can interpret this. I had no luck with Google and Bing transalations. I have the Kowa 884 with Nikon and micro 4/3 adapters. An aiming scope would make using it and the Nikon 500mm f4 a lot easier. Bryan Subject: Re: New digiscoping outfit From: "dalston27" <davehickson_1 AT hotmail.com> Date: Thu, 11 Mar 2010 12:11:00 -0000 Hi Jeff I am no expert by any means but from the information that I have been given or have found, it appears that the nikon p5100 is a better camera for digiscoping than the p6000. Apparently there are no vignetting issues with the p5100 but there are with the p6000. I tried out the p6000 yesterday just on landscape shots and I wasn't very impressed with the quality and brightness of the screen. There are very few p6000s available now. Amazon.co.uk lists a couple of vendors. From what I have been able to find out. Swarovski has an excellent follow up and warranty service apparently a lot better than leica. I don't know about kowa. I am probably going to opt for swarovski, but what a "rip off" for the DCA adaptor which costs £140 or aprox $225 for two pieces of alloy tube!. Also the stay on case £145 or aprox $230. I do not understand why there are not 3rd party products available which serve the same purpose. DavidH --- In digiscopingbirds AT yahoogroups.com, "Young" wrote:> > Hello, > > It would appear that David H's original questions about which adapter to use > with the Nikon P6000 with either the Kowa or Swarovski scope have been > addressed by Kevin Bolton and Neil. > > > > David I believe you were asking another, especially challenging question, > which I too am wrestling with and that is, whether to purchase a Swarovski > 80 mm HD scope or a Kowa 88 mm Prominar scope. > > > > Perhaps a consideration is the camera to be used. Here is my first > question: similar to David, I'm using a Nikon p5100, but would like to > upgrade that as well to probably a Nikon P6000 as opposed to a micro 4/3 SLR > due to my current desire to keep the camera part of this outfit less > expensive for now. I would hold off on the Nikon p6000 if only there was > some reliable way to know a more desirable upgrade was around the corner. > Any insights or advice on this question? > > > > Back to the scope question; it seems pretty obvious that both are fantastic > scopes. Especially helpful would be insights into key differences between > these scopes, or whether there is any objective data available which > compares performance of the two. > > > > Thank you in advance, > > > > Jeff Young > > Portland, Oregon > > > > _____ > > From: digiscopingbirds AT yahoogroups.com > [mailto:digiscopingbirds AT yahoogroups.com] On Behalf Of dalston27 > Sent: Wednesday, March 10, 2010 2:49 AM > To: digiscopingbirds AT yahoogroups.com > Subject: [digiscopingbirds] Re: New digiscoping outfit > > > > > > Thanks Kevin > your wader shots are superb. In fact I decided to buy the nikon p6000 after > seeing yours Taras and Neils photos taken with this camera. > > So the UR-E21 has a 48mm filter thread ? or 46mm. It seems that Kowa adapter > rings for TSN DA 10 are only 43 and 52mm with nothing in between. > > --- In digiscopingbirds AT > yahoogroups.com, Kevin Bolton wrote: > > > > Dave > > > > Hello and welcome ,I have been using the Kowa 883/884 for 3 years now > Digiscoping with the 25LER/DCA-TSN-DA10/Nikon P6000 with satisfying results > and yes the conversion adapter is the UER-21 along with the Kowa 48mm > adapter ring. > > > > Also I use the Kowa TSN-DA3 balance support with using the Kowa 30x > Eyepiece along with the 20-60 Zoom with good results here is some pics. > > > > http://www.flickr. > > com/photos/mcbrian/4406479781/sizes/o/ > > > > http://www.flickr. > > com/photos/mcbrian/4392143260/sizes/o/ > > > > > > http://www.flickr. > > com/photos/mcbrian/4219440319/sizes/o/ > > > > > > http://www.flickr. > > com/photos/mcbrian/4123123590/sizes/o/ > > > > > > Kevin Bolton > > kakebolton AT > > www.jerseydigiscoping.blogspot.com > > > > > > > > > > > > > > ----- Original Message ----- > > From: dalston27 > > To: digiscopingbirds AT > yahoogroups.com > > Sent: Tuesday, March 09, 2010 8:40 PM > > Subject: [digiscopingbirds] New digiscoping outfit > > > > > > > > I have today aquired a nikon p6000 camera and intend to purchase some good > quality optics to go with it. I telephoned a dealer today and asked about a > kowa 883 scope and 25x LER eyepiece to go with the nikon p6000. He has > advised against the 25x LER because it is so difficult to use as a normal > scope due to the large distance between eye and lens.I know that some people > on the group have recommended this eyepiece, but I wonder if others have > found any problems.The dealer recommends 30x eyepiece and zoom in a little > with the camera to remove vignetting. Is this OK? > > > > I am also considering a swarovski ATM80HD and the dealer recommends the 25 > -50X wide angle eyepiece. I mentioned that there may be a problem with > vignetting using the p6000, but I was told that all you do is just zoom in a > touch. Again I am wondering if this is a practical answer and will it not > cause problems like restricting the amount of zoom when you want to change > the image size to fill the screen. > > > > On the swarowski web site describing suitable cameras it lists the nikon > p6000 and says it has a 28mm filter thread and also suggests the UR-E20 > filter adapter should be used. I think all of this may be wrong.I think that > the filter adapter should be the URE21 with a 46mm filter thread. I am > planning on using the swarovski DCA zoom adapter which has 4 sizes of > adapter rings . Would I step up to a 52mm or down to a 43mm? > > I would be grateful to hear any bodies experiences or advice before I make > a purchase > > DavidH > > > Subject: Re: New digiscoping outfit From: "dalston27" <davehickson_1 AT hotmail.com> Date: Thu, 11 Mar 2010 12:41:10 -0000 This is another review of scopes from 2008 . It doesn't include the new leica scope http://www.allaboutbirds.org/NetCommunity/Page.aspx?pid=1039#top One of the guys working at one of the biggest scope dealers in UK told me that the new leica has the best image quality and resolution but isn't geared up so well for digiscoping DavidH --- In digiscopingbirds AT yahoogroups.com, "Scott Walker" wrote: > > Here is a recent review that includes many of the top scopes. Believe the review at your own risk. Some of the noteable differences between the two scopes are weight, armor, objective size and eyepiece price and options. > > Scott Walker > > http://www.birdwatching.com/optics/2009scopes_high/index.html > ----- Original Message ----- > From: Young > To: digiscopingbirds AT yahoogroups.com > Sent: Wednesday, March 10, 2010 8:24 AM > Subject: RE: [digiscopingbirds] Re: New digiscoping outfit > > > > > > Hello, > > It would appear that David H's original questions about which adapter to use with the Nikon P6000 with either the Kowa or Swarovski scope have been addressed by Kevin Bolton and Neil. > > > > David I believe you were asking another, especially challenging question, which I too am wrestling with and that is, whether to purchase a Swarovski 80 mm HD scope or a Kowa 88 mm Prominar scope. > > > > Perhaps a consideration is the camera to be used. Here is my first question: similar to David, I'm using a Nikon p5100, but would like to upgrade that as well to probably a Nikon P6000 as opposed to a micro 4/3 SLR due to my current desire to keep the camera part of this outfit less expensive for now. I would hold off on the Nikon p6000 if only there was some reliable way to know a more desirable upgrade was around the corner. Any insights or advice on this question? > > > > Back to the scope question; it seems pretty obvious that both are fantastic scopes. Especially helpful would be insights into key differences between these scopes, or whether there is any objective data available which compares performance of the two. > > > > Thank you in advance, > > > > Jeff Young > > Portland, Oregon > > > > > ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ > > From: digiscopingbirds AT yahoogroups.com [mailto:digiscopingbirds AT yahoogroups.com] On Behalf Of dalston27 > Sent: Wednesday, March 10, 2010 2:49 AM > To: digiscopingbirds AT yahoogroups.com > Subject: [digiscopingbirds] Re: New digiscoping outfit > > > > > > Thanks Kevin > your wader shots are superb. In fact I decided to buy the nikon p6000 after seeing yours Taras and Neils photos taken with this camera. > > So the UR-E21 has a 48mm filter thread ? or 46mm. It seems that Kowa adapter rings for TSN DA 10 are only 43 and 52mm with nothing in between. > > --- In digiscopingbirds AT yahoogroups.com, Kevin Bolton wrote: > > > > Dave > > > > Hello and welcome ,I have been using the Kowa 883/884 for 3 years now Digiscoping with the 25LER/DCA-TSN-DA10/Nikon P6000 with satisfying results and yes the conversion adapter is the UER-21 along with the Kowa 48mm adapter ring. > > > > Also I use the Kowa TSN-DA3 balance support with using the Kowa 30x Eyepiece along with the 20-60 Zoom with good results here is some pics. > > > > http://www.flickr.com/photos/mcbrian/4406479781/sizes/o/ > > > > http://www.flickr.com/photos/mcbrian/4392143260/sizes/o/ > > > > > > http://www.flickr.com/photos/mcbrian/4219440319/sizes/o/ > > > > > > http://www.flickr.com/photos/mcbrian/4123123590/sizes/o/ > > > > > > Kevin Bolton > > kakebolton AT > > www.jerseydigiscoping.blogspot.com > > > > > > > > > > > > > > ----- Original Message ----- > > From: dalston27 > > To: digiscopingbirds AT yahoogroups.com > > Sent: Tuesday, March 09, 2010 8:40 PM > > Subject: [digiscopingbirds] New digiscoping outfit > > > > > > > > I have today aquired a nikon p6000 camera and intend to purchase some good quality optics to go with it. I telephoned a dealer today and asked about a kowa 883 scope and 25x LER eyepiece to go with the nikon p6000. He has advised against the 25x LER because it is so difficult to use as a normal scope due to the large distance between eye and lens.I know that some people on the group have recommended this eyepiece, but I wonder if others have found any problems.The dealer recommends 30x eyepiece and zoom in a little with the camera to remove vignetting. Is this OK? > > > > I am also considering a swarovski ATM80HD and the dealer recommends the 25 -50X wide angle eyepiece. I mentioned that there may be a problem with vignetting using the p6000, but I was told that all you do is just zoom in a touch. Again I am wondering if this is a practical answer and will it not cause problems like restricting the amount of zoom when you want to change the image size to fill the screen. > > > > On the swarowski web site describing suitable cameras it lists the nikon p6000 and says it has a 28mm filter thread and also suggests the UR-E20 filter adapter should be used. I think all of this may be wrong.I think that the filter adapter should be the URE21 with a 46mm filter thread. I am planning on using the swarovski DCA zoom adapter which has 4 sizes of adapter rings . Would I step up to a 52mm or down to a 43mm? > > I would be grateful to hear any bodies experiences or advice before I make a purchase > > DavidH > > > Subject: Re: Re: New digiscoping outfit From: "Scott Walker" <sdwalker AT cox.net> Date: Wed, 10 Mar 2010 21:11:08 -0800 Here is a recent review that includes many of the top scopes. Believe the review at your own risk. Some of the noteable differences between the two scopes are weight, armor, objective size and eyepiece price and options. Scott Walker http://www.birdwatching.com/optics/2009scopes_high/index.html ----- Original Message ----- From: Young To: digiscopingbirds AT yahoogroups.com Sent: Wednesday, March 10, 2010 8:24 AM Subject: RE: [digiscopingbirds] Re: New digiscoping outfit Hello, It would appear that David H's original questions about which adapter to use with the Nikon P6000 with either the Kowa or Swarovski scope have been addressed by Kevin Bolton and Neil. David I believe you were asking another, especially challenging question, which I too am wrestling with and that is, whether to purchase a Swarovski 80 mm HD scope or a Kowa 88 mm Prominar scope. Perhaps a consideration is the camera to be used. Here is my first question: similar to David, I'm using a Nikon p5100, but would like to upgrade that as well to probably a Nikon P6000 as opposed to a micro 4/3 SLR due to my current desire to keep the camera part of this outfit less expensive for now. I would hold off on the Nikon p6000 if only there was some reliable way to know a more desirable upgrade was around the corner. Any insights or advice on this question? Back to the scope question; it seems pretty obvious that both are fantastic scopes. Especially helpful would be insights into key differences between these scopes, or whether there is any objective data available which compares performance of the two. Thank you in advance, Jeff Young Portland, Oregon ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ From: digiscopingbirds AT yahoogroups.com [mailto:digiscopingbirds AT yahoogroups.com] On Behalf Of dalston27 Sent: Wednesday, March 10, 2010 2:49 AM To: digiscopingbirds AT yahoogroups.com Subject: [digiscopingbirds] Re: New digiscoping outfit Thanks Kevin your wader shots are superb. In fact I decided to buy the nikon p6000 after seeing yours Taras and Neils photos taken with this camera. So the UR-E21 has a 48mm filter thread ? or 46mm. It seems that Kowa adapter rings for TSN DA 10 are only 43 and 52mm with nothing in between. --- In digiscopingbirds AT yahoogroups.com, Kevin Bolton wrote: > > Dave > > Hello and welcome ,I have been using the Kowa 883/884 for 3 years now Digiscoping with the 25LER/DCA-TSN-DA10/Nikon P6000 with satisfying results and yes the conversion adapter is the UER-21 along with the Kowa 48mm adapter ring. > > Also I use the Kowa TSN-DA3 balance support with using the Kowa 30x Eyepiece along with the 20-60 Zoom with good results here is some pics. > > http://www.flickr.com/photos/mcbrian/4406479781/sizes/o/ > > http://www.flickr.com/photos/mcbrian/4392143260/sizes/o/ > > > http://www.flickr.com/photos/mcbrian/4219440319/sizes/o/ > > > http://www.flickr.com/photos/mcbrian/4123123590/sizes/o/ > > > Kevin Bolton > kakebolton AT ... > www.jerseydigiscoping.blogspot.com > > > > > > > ----- Original Message ----- > From: dalston27 > To: digiscopingbirds AT yahoogroups.com > Sent: Tuesday, March 09, 2010 8:40 PM > Subject: [digiscopingbirds] New digiscoping outfit > > > > I have today aquired a nikon p6000 camera and intend to purchase some good quality optics to go with it. I telephoned a dealer today and asked about a kowa 883 scope and 25x LER eyepiece to go with the nikon p6000. He has advised against the 25x LER because it is so difficult to use as a normal scope due to the large distance between eye and lens.I know that some people on the group have recommended this eyepiece, but I wonder if others have found any problems.The dealer recommends 30x eyepiece and zoom in a little with the camera to remove vignetting. Is this OK? > > I am also considering a swarovski ATM80HD and the dealer recommends the 25 -50X wide angle eyepiece. I mentioned that there may be a problem with vignetting using the p6000, but I was told that all you do is just zoom in a touch. Again I am wondering if this is a practical answer and will it not cause problems like restricting the amount of zoom when you want to change the image size to fill the screen. > > On the swarowski web site describing suitable cameras it lists the nikon p6000 and says it has a 28mm filter thread and also suggests the UR-E20 filter adapter should be used. I think all of this may be wrong.I think that the filter adapter should be the URE21 with a 46mm filter thread. I am planning on using the swarovski DCA zoom adapter which has 4 sizes of adapter rings . Would I step up to a 52mm or down to a 43mm? > I would be grateful to hear any bodies experiences or advice before I make a purchase > DavidH > Subject: RE: Re: New digiscoping outfit From: "Young" <jeffandlaurettayoung AT comcast.net> Date: Wed, 10 Mar 2010 08:24:00 -0800 Hello, It would appear that David H's original questions about which adapter to use with the Nikon P6000 with either the Kowa or Swarovski scope have been addressed by Kevin Bolton and Neil. David I believe you were asking another, especially challenging question, which I too am wrestling with and that is, whether to purchase a Swarovski 80 mm HD scope or a Kowa 88 mm Prominar scope. Perhaps a consideration is the camera to be used. Here is my first question: similar to David, I'm using a Nikon p5100, but would like to upgrade that as well to probably a Nikon P6000 as opposed to a micro 4/3 SLR due to my current desire to keep the camera part of this outfit less expensive for now. I would hold off on the Nikon p6000 if only there was some reliable way to know a more desirable upgrade was around the corner. Any insights or advice on this question? Back to the scope question; it seems pretty obvious that both are fantastic scopes. Especially helpful would be insights into key differences between these scopes, or whether there is any objective data available which compares performance of the two. Thank you in advance, Jeff Young Portland, Oregon _____ From: digiscopingbirds AT yahoogroups.com [mailto:digiscopingbirds AT yahoogroups.com] On Behalf Of dalston27 Sent: Wednesday, March 10, 2010 2:49 AM To: digiscopingbirds AT yahoogroups.com Subject: [digiscopingbirds] Re: New digiscoping outfit Thanks Kevin your wader shots are superb. In fact I decided to buy the nikon p6000 after seeing yours Taras and Neils photos taken with this camera. So the UR-E21 has a 48mm filter thread ? or 46mm. It seems that Kowa adapter rings for TSN DA 10 are only 43 and 52mm with nothing in between. --- In digiscopingbirds AT yahoogroups.com, Kevin Bolton wrote: > > Dave > > Hello and welcome ,I have been using the Kowa 883/884 for 3 years now Digiscoping with the 25LER/DCA-TSN-DA10/Nikon P6000 with satisfying results and yes the conversion adapter is the UER-21 along with the Kowa 48mm adapter ring. > > Also I use the Kowa TSN-DA3 balance support with using the Kowa 30x Eyepiece along with the 20-60 Zoom with good results here is some pics. > > http://www.flickr. com/photos/mcbrian/4406479781/sizes/o/ > > http://www.flickr. com/photos/mcbrian/4392143260/sizes/o/ > > > http://www.flickr. com/photos/mcbrian/4219440319/sizes/o/ > > > http://www.flickr. com/photos/mcbrian/4123123590/sizes/o/ > > > Kevin Bolton > kakebolton AT ... > www.jerseydigiscoping.blogspot.com > > > > > > > ----- Original Message ----- > From: dalston27 > To: digiscopingbirds AT yahoogroups.com > Sent: Tuesday, March 09, 2010 8:40 PM > Subject: [digiscopingbirds] New digiscoping outfit > > > > I have today aquired a nikon p6000 camera and intend to purchase some good quality optics to go with it. I telephoned a dealer today and asked about a kowa 883 scope and 25x LER eyepiece to go with the nikon p6000. He has advised against the 25x LER because it is so difficult to use as a normal scope due to the large distance between eye and lens.I know that some people on the group have recommended this eyepiece, but I wonder if others have found any problems.The dealer recommends 30x eyepiece and zoom in a little with the camera to remove vignetting. Is this OK? > > I am also considering a swarovski ATM80HD and the dealer recommends the 25 -50X wide angle eyepiece. I mentioned that there may be a problem with vignetting using the p6000, but I was told that all you do is just zoom in a touch. Again I am wondering if this is a practical answer and will it not cause problems like restricting the amount of zoom when you want to change the image size to fill the screen. > > On the swarowski web site describing suitable cameras it lists the nikon p6000 and says it has a 28mm filter thread and also suggests the UR-E20 filter adapter should be used. I think all of this may be wrong.I think that the filter adapter should be the URE21 with a 46mm filter thread. I am planning on using the swarovski DCA zoom adapter which has 4 sizes of adapter rings . Would I step up to a 52mm or down to a 43mm? > I would be grateful to hear any bodies experiences or advice before I make a purchase > DavidH > Subject: Re: Re: New digiscoping outfit From: Kevin Bolton <kakebolton AT optonline.net> Date: Wed, 10 Mar 2010 18:44:18 -0500 Yes It is the 43mm, half a sleep when I repied,and the 52mm is for the third party adapter. Kevin Bolton ----- Original Message ----- From: dalston27 To: digiscopingbirds AT yahoogroups.com Sent: Wednesday, March 10, 2010 5:48 AM Subject: [digiscopingbirds] Re: New digiscoping outfit Thanks Kevin your wader shots are superb. In fact I decided to buy the nikon p6000 after seeing yours Taras and Neils photos taken with this camera. So the UR-E21 has a 48mm filter thread ? or 46mm. It seems that Kowa adapter rings for TSN DA 10 are only 43 and 52mm with nothing in between. --- In digiscopingbirds AT yahoogroups.com, Kevin Bolton wrote: > > Dave > > Hello and welcome ,I have been using the Kowa 883/884 for 3 years now Digiscoping with the 25LER/DCA-TSN-DA10/Nikon P6000 with satisfying results and yes the conversion adapter is the UER-21 along with the Kowa 48mm adapter ring. > > Also I use the Kowa TSN-DA3 balance support with using the Kowa 30x Eyepiece along with the 20-60 Zoom with good results here is some pics. > > http://www.flickr.com/photos/mcbrian/4406479781/sizes/o/ > > http://www.flickr.com/photos/mcbrian/4392143260/sizes/o/ > > > http://www.flickr.com/photos/mcbrian/4219440319/sizes/o/ > > > http://www.flickr.com/photos/mcbrian/4123123590/sizes/o/ > > > Kevin Bolton > kakebolton AT ... > www.jerseydigiscoping.blogspot.com > > > > > > > ----- Original Message ----- > From: dalston27 > To: digiscopingbirds AT yahoogroups.com > Sent: Tuesday, March 09, 2010 8:40 PM > Subject: [digiscopingbirds] New digiscoping outfit > > > > I have today aquired a nikon p6000 camera and intend to purchase some good quality optics to go with it. I telephoned a dealer today and asked about a kowa 883 scope and 25x LER eyepiece to go with the nikon p6000. He has advised against the 25x LER because it is so difficult to use as a normal scope due to the large distance between eye and lens.I know that some people on the group have recommended this eyepiece, but I wonder if others have found any problems.The dealer recommends 30x eyepiece and zoom in a little with the camera to remove vignetting. Is this OK? > > I am also considering a swarovski ATM80HD and the dealer recommends the 25 -50X wide angle eyepiece. I mentioned that there may be a problem with vignetting using the p6000, but I was told that all you do is just zoom in a touch. Again I am wondering if this is a practical answer and will it not cause problems like restricting the amount of zoom when you want to change the image size to fill the screen. > > On the swarowski web site describing suitable cameras it lists the nikon p6000 and says it has a 28mm filter thread and also suggests the UR-E20 filter adapter should be used. I think all of this may be wrong.I think that the filter adapter should be the URE21 with a 46mm filter thread. I am planning on using the swarovski DCA zoom adapter which has 4 sizes of adapter rings . Would I step up to a 52mm or down to a 43mm? > I would be grateful to hear any bodies experiences or advice before I make a purchase > DavidH > Subject: Re: New digiscoping outfit From: neilfif11 <neilfif11 AT yahoo.com.au> Date: Wed, 10 Mar 2010 20:04:20 +0800 Dave, The UR-E21 should be 43 mm. Neil. >Thanks Kevin >your wader shots are superb. In fact I decided to buy the nikon >p6000 after seeing yours Taras and Neils photos taken with this >camera. > >So the UR-E21 has a 48mm filter thread ? or 46mm. It seems that Kowa >adapter rings for TSN DA 10 are only 43 and 52mm with nothing in >between. > >--- In digiscopingbirds AT yahoogroups.com, Kevin Bolton wrote: >> >> Dave >> >> Hello and welcome ,I have been using the Kowa 883/884 for 3 years >>now Digiscoping with the 25LER/DCA-TSN-DA10/Nikon P6000 with >>satisfying results and yes the conversion adapter is the UER-21 >>along with the Kowa 48mm adapter ring. >> >> Also I use the Kowa TSN-DA3 balance support with using the Kowa >>30x Eyepiece along with the 20-60 Zoom with good results here is >>some pics. >> >> http://www.flickr.com/photos/mcbrian/4406479781/sizes/o/ >> >> http://www.flickr.com/photos/mcbrian/4392143260/sizes/o/ >> >> >> http://www.flickr.com/photos/mcbrian/4219440319/sizes/o/ >> >> >> http://www.flickr.com/photos/mcbrian/4123123590/sizes/o/ >> >> >> Kevin Bolton >> kakebolton AT ... >> www.jerseydigiscoping.blogspot.com >> >> >> >> >> >> >> ----- Original Message ----- >> From: dalston27 >> To: digiscopingbirds AT yahoogroups.com >> Sent: Tuesday, March 09, 2010 8:40 PM >> Subject: [digiscopingbirds] New digiscoping outfit >> >> >> >> I have today aquired a nikon p6000 camera and intend to purchase >>some good quality optics to go with it. I telephoned a dealer today >>and asked about a kowa 883 scope and 25x LER eyepiece to go with >>the nikon p6000. He has advised against the 25x LER because it is >>so difficult to use as a normal scope due to the large distance >>between eye and lens.I know that some people on the group have >>recommended this eyepiece, but I wonder if others have found any >>problems.The dealer recommends 30x eyepiece and zoom in a little >>with the camera to remove vignetting. Is this OK? >> >> I am also considering a swarovski ATM80HD and the dealer >>recommends the 25 -50X wide angle eyepiece. I mentioned that there >>may be a problem with vignetting using the p6000, but I was told >>that all you do is just zoom in a touch. Again I am wondering if >>this is a practical answer and will it not cause problems like >>restricting the amount of zoom when you want to change the image >>size to fill the screen. >> >> On the swarowski web site describing suitable cameras it lists >>the nikon p6000 and says it has a 28mm filter thread and also >>suggests the UR-E20 filter adapter should be used. I think all of >>this may be wrong.I think that the filter adapter should be the >>URE21 with a 46mm filter thread. I am planning on using the >>swarovski DCA zoom adapter which has 4 sizes of adapter rings . >>Would I step up to a 52mm or down to a 43mm? >> I would be grateful to hear any bodies experiences or advice >>before I make a purchase >> DavidH >> > > > > >------------------------------------ > >Please post bird photos to our other group >birds-pix AT yahoogroups.com.Yahoo! Groups Links > > > Subject: Re: New digiscoping outfit From: "dalston27" <davehickson_1 AT hotmail.com> Date: Wed, 10 Mar 2010 10:48:43 -0000 Thanks Kevin your wader shots are superb. In fact I decided to buy the nikon p6000 after seeing yours Taras and Neils photos taken with this camera. So the UR-E21 has a 48mm filter thread ? or 46mm. It seems that Kowa adapter rings for TSN DA 10 are only 43 and 52mm with nothing in between. --- In digiscopingbirds AT yahoogroups.com, Kevin Bolton wrote: > > Dave > > Hello and welcome ,I have been using the Kowa 883/884 for 3 years now Digiscoping with the 25LER/DCA-TSN-DA10/Nikon P6000 with satisfying results and yes the conversion adapter is the UER-21 along with the Kowa 48mm adapter ring. > > Also I use the Kowa TSN-DA3 balance support with using the Kowa 30x Eyepiece along with the 20-60 Zoom with good results here is some pics. > > http://www.flickr.com/photos/mcbrian/4406479781/sizes/o/ > > http://www.flickr.com/photos/mcbrian/4392143260/sizes/o/ > > > http://www.flickr.com/photos/mcbrian/4219440319/sizes/o/ > > > http://www.flickr.com/photos/mcbrian/4123123590/sizes/o/ > > > Kevin Bolton > kakebolton AT ... > www.jerseydigiscoping.blogspot.com > > > > > > > ----- Original Message ----- > From: dalston27 > To: digiscopingbirds AT yahoogroups.com > Sent: Tuesday, March 09, 2010 8:40 PM > Subject: [digiscopingbirds] New digiscoping outfit > > > > I have today aquired a nikon p6000 camera and intend to purchase some good quality optics to go with it. I telephoned a dealer today and asked about a kowa 883 scope and 25x LER eyepiece to go with the nikon p6000. He has advised against the 25x LER because it is so difficult to use as a normal scope due to the large distance between eye and lens.I know that some people on the group have recommended this eyepiece, but I wonder if others have found any problems.The dealer recommends 30x eyepiece and zoom in a little with the camera to remove vignetting. Is this OK? > > I am also considering a swarovski ATM80HD and the dealer recommends the 25 -50X wide angle eyepiece. I mentioned that there may be a problem with vignetting using the p6000, but I was told that all you do is just zoom in a touch. Again I am wondering if this is a practical answer and will it not cause problems like restricting the amount of zoom when you want to change the image size to fill the screen. > > On the swarowski web site describing suitable cameras it lists the nikon p6000 and says it has a 28mm filter thread and also suggests the UR-E20 filter adapter should be used. I think all of this may be wrong.I think that the filter adapter should be the URE21 with a 46mm filter thread. I am planning on using the swarovski DCA zoom adapter which has 4 sizes of adapter rings . Would I step up to a 52mm or down to a 43mm? > I would be grateful to hear any bodies experiences or advice before I make a purchase > DavidH > Subject: Fw: New digiscoping outfit From: Kevin Bolton <kakebolton AT optonline.net> Date: Wed, 10 Mar 2010 04:49:39 -0500 Sorry if my filtering blocked the other Photos here are the alternatives both P6000 and Canon S90 captures http://www.flickr.com/photos/mcbrian/4179861884/in/photostream/ http://www.flickr.com/photos/mcbrian/4406479781/ http://www.flickr.com/photos/mcbrian/4156845858/in/set-72157606205682028/ http://www.flickr.com/photos/mcbrian/4122432761/in/set-72157606205682028/ http://www.flickr.com/photos/mcbrian/4392143260/ Kevin Bolton kakebolton AT optonline.net www.jerseydigiscoping.blogspot.com ----- Original Message ----- From: Kevin Bolton To: digiscopingbirds AT yahoogroups.com Sent: Wednesday, March 10, 2010 4:30 AM Subject: Re: [digiscopingbirds] New digiscoping outfit Dave Hello and welcome ,I have been using the Kowa 883/884 for 3 years now Digiscoping with the 25LER/DCA-TSN-DA10/Nikon P6000 with satisfying results and yes the conversion adapter is the UER-21 along with the Kowa 48mm adapter ring. Also I use the Kowa TSN-DA3 balance support with using the Kowa 30x Eyepiece along with the 20-60 Zoom with good results here is some pics. http://www.flickr.com/photos/mcbrian/4406479781/sizes/o/ http://www.flickr.com/photos/mcbrian/4392143260/sizes/o/ http://www.flickr.com/photos/mcbrian/4219440319/sizes/o/ http://www.flickr.com/photos/mcbrian/4123123590/sizes/o/ Kevin Bolton kakebolton AT optonline.net www.jerseydigiscoping.blogspot.com ----- Original Message ----- From: dalston27 To: digiscopingbirds AT yahoogroups.com Sent: Tuesday, March 09, 2010 8:40 PM Subject: [digiscopingbirds] New digiscoping outfit I have today aquired a nikon p6000 camera and intend to purchase some good quality optics to go with it. I telephoned a dealer today and asked about a kowa 883 scope and 25x LER eyepiece to go with the nikon p6000. He has advised against the 25x LER because it is so difficult to use as a normal scope due to the large distance between eye and lens.I know that some people on the group have recommended this eyepiece, but I wonder if others have found any problems.The dealer recommends 30x eyepiece and zoom in a little with the camera to remove vignetting. Is this OK? I am also considering a swarovski ATM80HD and the dealer recommends the 25 -50X wide angle eyepiece. I mentioned that there may be a problem with vignetting using the p6000, but I was told that all you do is just zoom in a touch. Again I am wondering if this is a practical answer and will it not cause problems like restricting the amount of zoom when you want to change the image size to fill the screen. On the swarowski web site describing suitable cameras it lists the nikon p6000 and says it has a 28mm filter thread and also suggests the UR-E20 filter adapter should be used. I think all of this may be wrong.I think that the filter adapter should be the URE21 with a 46mm filter thread. I am planning on using the swarovski DCA zoom adapter which has 4 sizes of adapter rings . Would I step up to a 52mm or down to a 43mm? I would be grateful to hear any bodies experiences or advice before I make a purchase DavidH Subject: Re: New digiscoping outfit From: Kevin Bolton <kakebolton AT optonline.net> Date: Wed, 10 Mar 2010 04:30:32 -0500 Dave Hello and welcome ,I have been using the Kowa 883/884 for 3 years now Digiscoping with the 25LER/DCA-TSN-DA10/Nikon P6000 with satisfying results and yes the conversion adapter is the UER-21 along with the Kowa 48mm adapter ring. Also I use the Kowa TSN-DA3 balance support with using the Kowa 30x Eyepiece along with the 20-60 Zoom with good results here is some pics. http://www.flickr.com/photos/mcbrian/4406479781/sizes/o/ http://www.flickr.com/photos/mcbrian/4392143260/sizes/o/ http://www.flickr.com/photos/mcbrian/4219440319/sizes/o/ http://www.flickr.com/photos/mcbrian/4123123590/sizes/o/ Kevin Bolton kakebolton AT optonline.net www.jerseydigiscoping.blogspot.com ----- Original Message ----- From: dalston27 To: digiscopingbirds AT yahoogroups.com Sent: Tuesday, March 09, 2010 8:40 PM Subject: [digiscopingbirds] New digiscoping outfit I have today aquired a nikon p6000 camera and intend to purchase some good quality optics to go with it. I telephoned a dealer today and asked about a kowa 883 scope and 25x LER eyepiece to go with the nikon p6000. He has advised against the 25x LER because it is so difficult to use as a normal scope due to the large distance between eye and lens.I know that some people on the group have recommended this eyepiece, but I wonder if others have found any problems.The dealer recommends 30x eyepiece and zoom in a little with the camera to remove vignetting. Is this OK? I am also considering a swarovski ATM80HD and the dealer recommends the 25 -50X wide angle eyepiece. I mentioned that there may be a problem with vignetting using the p6000, but I was told that all you do is just zoom in a touch. Again I am wondering if this is a practical answer and will it not cause problems like restricting the amount of zoom when you want to change the image size to fill the screen. On the swarowski web site describing suitable cameras it lists the nikon p6000 and says it has a 28mm filter thread and also suggests the UR-E20 filter adapter should be used. I think all of this may be wrong.I think that the filter adapter should be the URE21 with a 46mm filter thread. I am planning on using the swarovski DCA zoom adapter which has 4 sizes of adapter rings . Would I step up to a 52mm or down to a 43mm? I would be grateful to hear any bodies experiences or advice before I make a purchase DavidH Subject: New digiscoping outfit From: "dalston27" <davehickson_1 AT hotmail.com> Date: Wed, 10 Mar 2010 01:40:52 -0000 I have today aquired a nikon p6000 camera and intend to purchase some good quality optics to go with it. I telephoned a dealer today and asked about a kowa 883 scope and 25x LER eyepiece to go with the nikon p6000. He has advised against the 25x LER because it is so difficult to use as a normal scope due to the large distance between eye and lens.I know that some people on the group have recommended this eyepiece, but I wonder if others have found any problems.The dealer recommends 30x eyepiece and zoom in a little with the camera to remove vignetting. Is this OK? I am also considering a swarovski ATM80HD and the dealer recommends the 25 -50X wide angle eyepiece. I mentioned that there may be a problem with vignetting using the p6000, but I was told that all you do is just zoom in a touch. Again I am wondering if this is a practical answer and will it not cause problems like restricting the amount of zoom when you want to change the image size to fill the screen. On the swarowski web site describing suitable cameras it lists the nikon p6000 and says it has a 28mm filter thread and also suggests the UR-E20 filter adapter should be used. I think all of this may be wrong.I think that the filter adapter should be the URE21 with a 46mm filter thread. I am planning on using the swarovski DCA zoom adapter which has 4 sizes of adapter rings . Would I step up to a 52mm or down to a 43mm? I would be grateful to hear any bodies experiences or advice before I make a purchase DavidH Subject: Re: Nikon digiscoping outfit From: Len Blumin <Len.blumin AT gmail.com> Date: Tue, 9 Mar 2010 17:55:51 -0800 Dave- When I used the Nikon CoolPix 4500 for digiscopiing, I found that a screen hood/viewer was essential to get consistent good results. My favorite was the Xtend-a-View, which I believe was made in varous sizes (the 4500 screen is rather small). The viewer effectively excluded ambient light and provided a 2x magnified view of the screen. They even made a pricey bracket to mount the viewer to the camera by utilizing the tripod mount threads on the camera base. Hoodman and other companies also make CD viewers in various sizes. Some even allow a diopter adjustment! Cheers, Len On Tue, Mar 9, 2010 at 5:12 PM, dalston27 wrote: > > > I have placed some of my costa rica fotos at > http://www.flickr.com/photos/48218969 AT N07/4418637438/in/photostream/ > They were taken with a nikon ED iiiA 60mm scope, 24x digiscoping eyepiece > and nikon coolpix 5200 camera with FSB-1 adapter. The whole outfit cost $700 > and I am quite pleased with the results overall. The equipment worked well > in low light conditions where SLR cameras with extremely expensive long > telephoto lens were struggling to cope. The only major problem was the > screen on the camera which is so small that it is difficult to see if the > subject is in focus or not. The brightness of the screen was also a problem > DaveH > > > -- Cheers, Len Blumin, Mill Valley, California len.blumin AT gmail.com Swaro 80 HD, 30X, DCA, CoolPix 8400 http://www.flickriver.com/photos/lenblumin/sets/72157614994688364/ Subject: Nikon digiscoping outfit From: "dalston27" <davehickson_1 AT hotmail.com> Date: Wed, 10 Mar 2010 01:12:57 -0000 I have placed some of my costa rica fotos at http://www.flickr.com/photos/48218969 AT N07/4418637438/in/photostream/ They were taken with a nikon ED iiiA 60mm scope, 24x digiscoping eyepiece and nikon coolpix 5200 camera with FSB-1 adapter. The whole outfit cost $700 and I am quite pleased with the results overall. The equipment worked well in low light conditions where SLR cameras with extremely expensive long telephoto lens were struggling to cope. The only major problem was the screen on the camera which is so small that it is difficult to see if the subject is in focus or not. The brightness of the screen was also a problem DaveH Subject: Re: Digiscoping Survey - Results (Part 1) From: "Scott Walker" <sdwalker AT cox.net> Date: Tue, 9 Mar 2010 09:37:31 -0800 Thanks for the additional data. It looks like many of the Kowa users are using the high-end (773/774 and 883/884) models. I was surprised that more did not use the special 25LER eyepiece since the long eye-relief should be a benefit when Digiscoping. With my camera, the Canon S80, I need at least 20mm of eye relief for the setup to work well. The narrower FOV of the 25LER may turn some off, plus the X30 likely has enough ER to make many cameras work well. Scott Walker ----- Original Message ----- From: Len Blumin To: digiscopingbirds AT yahoogroups.com Sent: Friday, March 05, 2010 12:41 PM Subject: Re: [digiscopingbirds] Digiscoping Survey - Results (Part 1) Hi Scott- Thanks for your kind words and interest. Kowa models (in order of submission, listed unedited as submitted): 773, 883, 773, 663, 773, 885, 883, 820, "Kowa", 884, 884, 883, 883, 883, 823(sic). I think the frequency of use of scopes (by brand name) for digiscoping has a lot to do with the quality and availability of manufacturer made adapters. Swaro's DCA gave them a leg up at the start. I think Kowa is catching up, and since their scopes are so good they may catch up or even prevail in the end, especially if they make a 25-50 WA eyepiece. Of the 15 Kowa users in the survey, 7 use only the 20-60X, 3 use only the 30X, and one uses only the 25LER. The other 4 Kowa folks use multiple eyepieces. These 4 listed their eyepiece preference in rank order as follows: (30x,20x,45x), (25LER,20-60), (20-60,30X), and (20x,30x). This reveals an important bias in the survey results, in that the most favored eyepiece was the 20-60 zoom, but that is probably because that is the eyepiece that 90% of people buy with their scopes. I am going to parse the data for all the scopes as I did here for Kowa, because what we really want to know is, given a choice, which eyepiece do digiscopers reach for first as their favorite. Survey monkey offers a paid upgrade, which will allow me to tally all the responses (now over 130), as well as apply filters to the data and to generate pdf files for download, which perhaps Jay could post. Cheers, Len Blumin On Fri, Mar 5, 2010 at 10:00 AM, Scott Walker wrote:  Len Thanks for putting the survey together and providing the results. I found the percentages for the scopes interesting. Much different than I expected. I expected Zeiss and Leica to be higher and Swarovski to not be so dominant. If you could provide the models of the scopes that would interest me. You already told us that most are the larger models, but for say Kowa, there is quite a range in prices for all their "larger" models. Other makers also offer two models in the large size. It would be interesting to see if the group tends to the high-end or what the mix is. Thanks again for all your work Scott Walker Subject: RE: My Dilemma From: "Claudia" <claudiamayfield AT comcast.net> Date: Mon, 8 Mar 2010 17:20:42 -0800 Thank you, Steve. I don't think I would have figured out that the adaptor even had an extra ring- it seemed like one piece. I have removed it and will no doubt have much better results. I appreciate all the help that I have gotten from this group. It is a wonderful resource. Claudia -----Original Message----- From: digiscopingbirds AT yahoogroups.com [mailto:digiscopingbirds AT yahoogroups.com] On Behalf Of Steve Sosensky Sent: Monday, March 08, 2010 12:25 PM To: digiscopingbirds AT yahoogroups.com Subject: RE: [digiscopingbirds] My Dilemma Hi All, Claudia sent me photographs of her setup, and I just got to look at them this morning. The TSN-DA1A ships bundled with a part called TSN-SS1 (formerly TSN-EXR) which is an extension ring that was added when Kowa introduced the latest version of their eyepieces for the 60/66/old 77/82SV scopes. It is required for the 25x LER and the 30x WA but not the 20-60x zoom. Claudia had installed that ring which added 6.5mm to the distance between the eyepiece and the camera lens. I'm sure removing this ring will be a huge help. At 07:52 AM 3/5/2010, Claudia wrote: >Thanks so much for the several replies. I will check out the link provided >on one. And to clarify, I am able to get images with the 20X when birds are >pretty close, I just wanted to photograph more distant subjects using the >zoom feature without vignetting. As my two shots show, one has the >vignetting because it is shot with the adaptors, the other is shot hand-held >with the camera right up against the scope eye piece- zoom is about 30X for >both. But of course, the hand-held is really fuzzy. (No eye cup present on >either.) > >Perhaps a general question will help other readers of this discussion: > >Is it correct that the closer the camera lens is to the scope lens the less >the impact of the "eye relief" problem of vignetting? Do I have the concept >right? > >And what are the typical distances between the two lenses of the most >effective setup? i.e. what is the distance of separation on your setup? Good Viewing, Steve Sosensky > Vice President www.Optics4Birding.com 19 Hammond Suite 506 N 33.65926 Irvine CA 92618 W 117.70305 877.OP4.BIRD (877.674.2473) Toll Free 818.522.5261 Cell 949.360.OPTX (949.360.6789) Local Subject: Hey David - From: "wturber" <jay AT studio522.com> Date: Tue, 09 Mar 2010 00:57:11 -0000 At least I think it was David. On approving pending posts, I accidentally deleted a message from David. So if there's a David out there who had a post that seemed to never show up, that's my fault. Sorry. Please re-post when you get a chance. Jay Turberville Fat-fingered Moderator Subject: Re: My Dilemma From: "Scott Walker" <sdwalker AT cox.net> Date: Mon, 8 Mar 2010 13:59:10 -0800 Thanks for the update Steve. I would expect 6.5 mm to make a large difference in vignetting. I sometimes use thin filters with the glass removed to tune the eyepiece to camera distance or to change the zoom range the setup works best over. These filters cause about a 3.5 mm change. Scott Walker ----- Original Message ----- From: "Steve Sosensky" To: Sent: Monday, March 08, 2010 12:25 PM Subject: RE: [digiscopingbirds] My Dilemma > Hi All, > > Claudia sent me photographs of her setup, and I just got to look at > them this morning. > > The TSN-DA1A ships bundled with a part called TSN-SS1 (formerly > TSN-EXR) which is an extension ring that was added when Kowa > introduced the latest version of their eyepieces for the 60/66/old > 77/82SV scopes. It is required for the 25x LER and the 30x WA but not > the 20-60x zoom. Claudia had installed that ring which added 6.5mm to > the distance between the eyepiece and the camera lens. I'm sure > removing this ring will be a huge help. > > At 07:52 AM 3/5/2010, Claudia wrote: >>Thanks so much for the several replies. I will check out the link >>provided >>on one. And to clarify, I am able to get images with the 20X when birds >>are >>pretty close, I just wanted to photograph more distant subjects using the >>zoom feature without vignetting. As my two shots show, one has the >>vignetting because it is shot with the adaptors, the other is shot >>hand-held >>with the camera right up against the scope eye piece- zoom is about 30X >>for >>both. But of course, the hand-held is really fuzzy. (No eye cup present >>on >>either.) >> >>Perhaps a general question will help other readers of this discussion: >> >>Is it correct that the closer the camera lens is to the scope lens the >>less >>the impact of the "eye relief" problem of vignetting? Do I have the >>concept >>right? >> >>And what are the typical distances between the two lenses of the most >>effective setup? i.e. what is the distance of separation on your setup? > > > Good Viewing, > Steve Sosensky > Vice President > > www.Optics4Birding.com > 19 Hammond Suite 506 N 33.65926 > Irvine CA 92618 W 117.70305 > 877.OP4.BIRD (877.674.2473) Toll Free 818.522.5261 Cell > 949.360.OPTX (949.360.6789) Local > > > > > > ------------------------------------ > > Please post bird photos to our other group > birds-pix AT yahoogroups.com.Yahoo! Groups Links > > > > Subject: Re: Cable release for nikon p6000 From: Frank Barkhofen <pieczy AT googlemail.com> Date: Mon, 8 Mar 2010 22:13:15 +0100 Hi, the infrared idea is nice - no cam shake, but it do not allow of prefocus. So the picture is only taken after the AF time. The mechanical solutions allow this half-press for focus. Regards Frank On Sun, Mar 7, 2010 at 11:05 PM, neilfif11 wrote: > > > Dave, > This is the remote to use > > http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/207373-USA/Nikon_4730_ML_L3_Remote_Control.html > > Neil > > > Subject: RE: My Dilemma From: Steve Sosensky <steve AT optics4birding.com> Date: Mon, 08 Mar 2010 12:25:11 -0800 Hi All, Claudia sent me photographs of her setup, and I just got to look at them this morning. The TSN-DA1A ships bundled with a part called TSN-SS1 (formerly TSN-EXR) which is an extension ring that was added when Kowa introduced the latest version of their eyepieces for the 60/66/old 77/82SV scopes. It is required for the 25x LER and the 30x WA but not the 20-60x zoom. Claudia had installed that ring which added 6.5mm to the distance between the eyepiece and the camera lens. I'm sure removing this ring will be a huge help. At 07:52 AM 3/5/2010, Claudia wrote: >Thanks so much for the several replies. I will check out the link provided >on one. And to clarify, I am able to get images with the 20X when birds are >pretty close, I just wanted to photograph more distant subjects using the >zoom feature without vignetting. As my two shots show, one has the >vignetting because it is shot with the adaptors, the other is shot hand-held >with the camera right up against the scope eye piece- zoom is about 30X for >both. But of course, the hand-held is really fuzzy. (No eye cup present on >either.) > >Perhaps a general question will help other readers of this discussion: > >Is it correct that the closer the camera lens is to the scope lens the less >the impact of the "eye relief" problem of vignetting? Do I have the concept >right? > >And what are the typical distances between the two lenses of the most >effective setup? i.e. what is the distance of separation on your setup? Good Viewing, Steve Sosensky Vice President www.Optics4Birding.com 19 Hammond Suite 506 N 33.65926 Irvine CA 92618 W 117.70305 877.OP4.BIRD (877.674.2473) Toll Free 818.522.5261 Cell 949.360.OPTX (949.360.6789) Local Subject: Re: Cable release for nikon p6000 From: Yew Hoo <missyewhoo AT yahoo.com> Date: Mon, 8 Mar 2010 09:55:47 -0800 (PST) Hi Dave I use a similar device made for the Nikon p5100.  The cable release does a better job of reducing camera movement than I can do with my fingers, but it does cause a little movement initially.  I usually set the camera to shoot continuously while the cable pressed which eliminates the effects of the slight movement on the pictures taken after the first picture. Lisa --- On Sun, 3/7/10, dalston27 wrote: From: dalston27 Subject: [digiscopingbirds] Cable release for nikon p6000 To: digiscopingbirds AT yahoogroups.com Date: Sunday, March 7, 2010, 9:27 AM   After reading the postings in this group and hearing about the experiences of a few members I have decided to buy a Nikon P6000 camera whilst there are still a few left in UK.. I was looking on the SRB Gritum website and they do a cable release which clips into the p6000 cameras flash shoe. I cannot see this being a very rigid fixing and I would guess likely to cause some camera movement when the cable is pressed. Any experience of using this cable release in the group or is there any better equipment out there? Dave Subject: Re : Re : Canon S90 and Sw 20 -60 zoom eyepiece From: Michel Gonthier <michel.gonthier AT yahoo.ca> Date: Mon, 8 Mar 2010 10:12:36 -0800 (PST) Neil, Can you use whitout vignetting the 25x50 Zoom the S90 at 6mm ? If no, when the vignetting dissapears ? The S90 it's a great digiscoping camera. Thank you Michel ________________________________ De : Neil Fifer À : digiscopingbirds AT yahoogroups.com Envoyé le : Lun 8 mars 2010, 10 h 34 min 37 s Objet : Re : [digiscopingbirds] Canon S90 and Sw 20 -60 zoom eyepiece   Michel,              I haven't tested it with the 30x yet.  I would work well with this eyepiece due to the longer ER than the zoom.   If the sun ever comes out here I will test it in the field. The 30x is a great digiscoping eyepiece but it's nice to have the extra reach of the zoom.  For waders out on the mudflats I need to be around 50x most of the time. Last year I used the 45x for this but this year it will be the new zoom. Neil Neil,   Do you try the Canon S90 with the Swarovski 30w eyepiece ?  I'd like to change my 20-60 zoom for eyepiece more compatible with my new S90. Do you have a recommandation between the 25-50 zoom and the 30w ?   Michel, Québec > > ________________________________ De : neilfif11 >À : digiscopingbirds AT yahoogroups. com >Envoyé le : Dim 7 mars 2010, 3 h 05 min 16 s >Objet : [digiscopingbirds] Canon S90 and Sw 20 -60 zoom eyepiece > >  > I setup the Canon S90 on the Swarovski UCA adapter ( universal type ) >as it doesn't have a filter thread for an adapter. With the 20 - 60 >zoom vignetting disappears at about half zoom (12 mm ) ( lens f2 - >4.9 / 6 - 22.5 mm ). Slightly less at 60x . >It does better with the 25 - 50 zoom you could use it at wide zoom >for larger birds or group action. >Neil > >Canon S90 on Swarovski STS80HD scope and Sw 20 - 60 zoom eyepiece and >UCA adapter and Telescope Rail > >Hong Kong, >China. >March 2010 > > ________________________________ Offrez un compte Flickr Pro à vos amis et à votre famille.Allez-y! > Découvrez les photos les plus intéressantes du jour. http://www.flickr.com/explore/interesting/7days/ Subject: Re : Canon S90 and Sw 20 -60 zoom eyepiece From: Neil Fifer <neilfif11 AT yahoo.com.au> Date: Mon, 8 Mar 2010 23:34:37 +0800 Michel, I haven't tested it with the 30x yet. I would work well with this eyepiece due to the longer ER than the zoom. If the sun ever comes out here I will test it in the field. The 30x is a great digiscoping eyepiece but it's nice to have the extra reach of the zoom. For waders out on the mudflats I need to be around 50x most of the time. Last year I used the 45x for this but this year it will be the new zoom. Neil >Neil, > >Do you try the Canon S90 with the Swarovski 30w >eyepiece ? I'd like to change my 20-60 zoom for >eyepiece more compatible with my new S90. Do you >have a recommandation between the 25-50 zoom and >the 30w ? > >Michel, Québec > > > >De : neilfif11 >À : digiscopingbirds AT yahoogroups.com >Envoyé le : Dim 7 mars 2010, 3 h 05 min 16 s >Objet : [digiscopingbirds] Canon S90 and Sw 20 -60 zoom eyepiece > > > >I setup the Canon S90 on the Swarovski UCA adapter ( universal type ) >as it doesn't have a filter thread for an adapter. With the 20 - 60 >zoom vignetting disappears at about half zoom (12 mm ) ( lens f2 - >4.9 / 6 - 22.5 mm ). Slightly less at 60x . >It does better with the 25 - 50 zoom you could use it at wide zoom >for larger birds or group action. >Neil > >Canon S90 on Swarovski STS80HD scope and Sw 20 - 60 zoom eyepiece and >UCA adapter and Telescope Rail > >Hong Kong, >China. >March 2010 > > > >Offrez un compte Flickr Pro à vos amis et à >votre famille. >Allez-y! > > Subject: Re : Canon S90 and Sw 20 -60 zoom eyepiece From: Michel Gonthier <michel.gonthier AT yahoo.ca> Date: Mon, 8 Mar 2010 06:03:56 -0800 (PST) Neil, Do you try the Canon S90 with the Swarovski 30w eyepiece ?  I'd like to change my 20-60 zoom for eyepiece more compatible with my new S90. Do you have a recommandation between the 25-50 zoom and the 30w ? Michel, Québec ________________________________ De : neilfif11 À : digiscopingbirds AT yahoogroups.com Envoyé le : Dim 7 mars 2010, 3 h 05 min 16 s Objet : [digiscopingbirds] Canon S90 and Sw 20 -60 zoom eyepiece   I setup the Canon S90 on the Swarovski UCA adapter ( universal type ) as it doesn't have a filter thread for an adapter. With the 20 - 60 zoom vignetting disappears at about half zoom (12 mm ) ( lens f2 - 4.9 / 6 - 22.5 mm ). Slightly less at 60x . It does better with the 25 - 50 zoom you could use it at wide zoom for larger birds or group action. Neil Canon S90 on Swarovski STS80HD scope and Sw 20 - 60 zoom eyepiece and UCA adapter and Telescope Rail Hong Kong, China. March 2010 Découvrez les styles qui font sensation sur Yahoo! Québec Avatars. http://cf.avatars.yahoo.com/ Subject: RE: Nikon ED82 or Kowa 773 Prominar From: "Blake Murphy" <blakemurph AT bellsouth.net> Date: Sun, 7 Mar 2010 22:06:13 -0500 Fernando, I have a Nikon D300 that I use digiscoping (along with a Canon 570IS). I have handheld the Nikon using the kit lens (18mm-200mm) with a little success and with a 50mm. My best photos are when I use the DSLR Zeiss adaptor on my Zeiss FL85 scope. Attached are a few samples with the Nikon attached to the adaptor (using remote release) and with the Canon handheld. I could not locate any of the Nikon handhelds. When and if I do, I will send samples (the problem with getting old AND putting photos on five different hard drives). Note the photos are unaltered originals (no post processing) EXCEPT I reduced the file size using Irfanview for e-mailing. Blake Murphy From: digiscopingbirds AT yahoogroups.com [mailto:digiscopingbirds AT yahoogroups.com] On Behalf Of fcorrada Sent: Sunday, March 07, 2010 1:06 PM To: digiscopingbirds AT yahoogroups.com Subject: [digiscopingbirds] Nikon ED82 or Kowa 773 Prominar I have been reading many posts about digiscoping gear recommendations. Now I am getting ready to get into digiscoping. Currently I use a Nikon D300 DSLR with a 300mm F4 and a 1.4X or 1.7X teleconverter. Most of the time I get good images but my current optics do not have enough reach to image raptors. Very skittish creatures! I would like to complement my gear with a digiscoping rig. I am looking at a Nikon ED82 or a Kowa 773 Prominar. My question relates to digital adapters and compact digicams. Which scope has an advantage in terms of propietary adapters and off-brand adapters for a compact digicam like a Canon S90 or a Panasonic/Oly 4/3 or one of the new Nikon compact cameras? Thank you in advance for your pearls of wisdom. Fernando B. Corrada Subject: visual comparison From: Roy Halpin <royhalpin AT yahoo.com> Date: Sun, 7 Mar 2010 19:41:02 -0800 (PST) At 30 meters these are four shots of this White Ibis using different lenses and photo adapter for the Panasonic G1. A picture is worth a thousand words. Camera Panasonic G1 Kowa 884 Eyepiece: Kowa 20-60x set at 20 times Kowa Photo adapter TSN PZ (680 to 1000mm) Dumb adapter for Micro 4/3 to Pentax lens Pentax SMC 40mm f/2.8 Limited Pentax SMC 28mm f/3.5 This is a great visual. These are just photos from the flash card no editing other than resizing. http://www.flickr.com/photos/royhalpin/4416028514/ Roy Halpin Subject: Re: Cable release for nikon p6000 From: "dalston27" <davehickson_1 AT hotmail.com> Date: Mon, 08 Mar 2010 02:04:54 -0000 Thanks for everyones input and information. It haas been very helpful. Dave --- In digiscopingbirds AT yahoogroups.com, neilfif11 wrote: > > Dave, > This is the remote to use > http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/207373-USA/Nikon_4730_ML_L3_Remote_Control.html > > Neil > > > >After reading the postings in this group and hearing about the > >experiences of a few members I have decided to buy a Nikon P6000 > >camera whilst there are still a few left in UK.. I was looking on > >the SRB Gritum website and they do a cable release which clips into > >the p6000 cameras flash shoe. I cannot see this being a very rigid > >fixing and I would guess likely to cause some camera movement when > >the cable is pressed. Any experience of using this cable release in > >the group or is there any better equipment out there? > >Dave > > > > > Subject: Re: Cable release for nikon p6000 From: h2otara AT comcast.net Date: Mon, 8 Mar 2010 02:38:07 +0000 (UTC) Hi Dave, I started with the Vixen and it is very well made and sturdy, but found it a nuisance to change the battery or card (especially in the field) and it also has to be moved just to charge the battery or download photos.  I recently got the SRB Griturn bracket and have only briefly tested it, but I think I'm going to like it a lot better. I also have a Hoodman attached w/bungie, and moving the Vixen usually managed to get the Hoodman out of alignment too.    My Nikon bracket that I had for my P5100 came with some little peel and stick thin rubber "dots" that go on the shutter button to keep the cable from slipping on the metal surface, but in addition to using one of those it is good to take the time to center it perfectly.  I second the recommendation to use a 20-24" cable release.  I didn't get the one that comes with the SRB, however it looks like a good one.  Where can we see your photos from Costa Rica? Tara ----- Original Message ----- From: "dalston27" To: digiscopingbirds AT yahoogroups .com Sent: Sunday, March 7, 2010 8:27:28 AM GMT -06:00 Central America Subject: [ digiscopingbirds ] Cable release for nikon  p6000   After reading the postings in this group and hearing about the experiences of a few members I have decided to buy a Nikon P6000 camera whilst there are still a few left in UK.. I was looking on the SRB Gritum website and they do a cable release which clips into the p6000 cameras flash shoe. I cannot see this being a very rigid fixing and I would guess likely to cause some camera movement when the cable is pressed. Any experience of using this cable release in the group or is there any better equipment out there? Dave __ ._,_. __ _ Reply to sender | Reply to group | Reply via web post | Start a New Topic Messages in this topic ( 1 ) Recent Activity: • New Members 8 Visit Your Group Please post bird photos to our other group birds-pix AT yahoogroups .com. MARKETPLACE Hobbies & Activities Zone: Find others who share your passions! Explore new interests. Yahoo! Groups Switch to: Text-Only , Daily Digest • Unsubscribe • Terms of Use . __ ,_._, __ _ Subject: RE: Re: [birds-pix] Digiscoping Survey - Eyepieces From: "Claudia" <claudiamayfield AT comcast.net> Date: Sun, 7 Mar 2010 17:02:56 -0800 After I sent this I realized that the magnification is not different between the scopes which differ in diameter i.e. 663 vs. 773. (The larger diameter size collects more light for better image. I think I am correct on this.) So my concern is whether to go to the 30X wide angle with my small scope- or do I get better results with the zoom? I actually am a fair weather birder so typically have sunny or bright conditions. Claudia -----Original Message----- From: digiscopingbirds AT yahoogroups.com [mailto:digiscopingbirds AT yahoogroups.com] On Behalf Of Claudia Sent: Sunday, March 07, 2010 3:31 PM To: digiscopingbirds AT yahoogroups.com Subject: RE: [digiscopingbirds] Re: [birds-pix] Digiscoping Survey - Eyepieces Hi, Your comments interested me in terms of eyepiece selection. I am thinking of getting the 30XWA. I have the 20-60X zoom eyepiece and have had similar experience with the zoom. Plus I have some challenges with digiscoping as the 6.5 mm eye relief doesn't work so well with the adaptor set up I just purchased (TSN DA1 etc). My Kowa scope is the 663. So it concerns me that I might lose magnification and I wonder how much magnification difference there is between the two scopes- 663 and 773. Does anyone happen to know? Claudia -----Original Message----- From: digiscopingbirds AT yahoogroups.com [mailto:digiscopingbirds AT yahoogroups.com ] On Behalf Of Richard Stern Sent: Friday, March 05, 2010 5:28 PM To: Len Blumin Cc: digiscopingbirds AT yahoogroups.com ; Birds-Pix Subject: [digiscopingbirds] Re: [birds-pix] Digiscoping Survey - Eyepieces Hi, Congratulations on doing the survey - fascinating info (and I did fill it out). Perhaps I can explain why I use a fixed eyepiece , and I suspect it may be why others do. ......... When I bought my current scope (Kowa 773), I bought it with the 20-60x zoom. But I found that compared to my old Nikon, and compared to my binoculars, the field of view was terrible, and I really didn't enjoy the overall viewing experience. I found that any zoom greater than about 30X degraded the image and magnified haze, movement etc. more than the bird. So I bought the 30XWA, and it was like looking through a whole new instrument. So it stays on my scope all the time, and the zoom is relegated to a drawer at home, and one day I may even sell it. But as I can't be bothered to carry around 2 eyepieces, I use the 30X for both birding and digiscoping, and it suits me very nicely for both. Hope this helps. Richard On Fri, Mar 5, 2010 at 8:04 PM, Len Blumin > > wrote: I realized that simply listing the favorite eyepiece, second favorite, etc., did not tell the whole story. Analyzed the data again from a different perspective.The majority of folks buy a scope with a single eyepiece (Clay has told me that over 90% of Swarovski buyers opt for one of the zoom eyepieces. Likely the same for Kowa, etc.). If a user has only a single eyepiece, then it is not his or her "favorite", but rather his/her only choice, and thus the use of a certain type of eyepiece can not be taken as the expression of preference for one type eyepiece over another for digiscoping. It follows then, if we look at the survey results where the user employs only one type of eyepiece, then we might expect the distribution to follow roughly the 90/10 ratio of zoom vs. fixed. What the survey found was quite different. (Results based on 100 entries) To whit, 61% of digiscopers said they are using only a single eyepiece for digiscoping. They may of course possess other eyepieces, but they have not indicated that they are using them to take photos. Here is the breakdown of those 61: Zoom eyepieces: 20-60x (35), 25-50x (7). Zoom eyepiece total (42). Fixed eyepieces: 30X (14), 20X (3), Other (2). Fixed eyepiece total (19). Thus, among digiscopers using only a single eyepiece for all their work, a zoom eyepiece is used a bit more that twice as often as a fixed (42 compared to 19). If the eyepieces (zoom vs. fixed) worked equally well for digiscoping, then we might have expected the ratio of use to be more like 9:1, rather than 2:1. I'm guessing that some users have a fixed eyepiece that they use exclusively for digiscoping, but also have a zoom eyepiece that they purchased with the scope (like ME!) and use their zoom for other purposes such as general birding, bird surveys, etc. There are other good explanations for the unexpected high number of fixed eyepiece usage. For instance, many spotting scope owners attempt digiscoping and abandon the effort in frustration. If zoom eyepiece owners gave up more quickly than fixed eyepiece owners, then that also could explain the shift. The remaining 39 digiscopers surveyed indicated that they use more than one eyepiece for digiscoping. 25 of these 39 folks used a zoom plus a fixed eyepiece. The remaining 14 used 2 or more fixed eyepieces of different powers of magnification. Here is the breakdown for the 25 using a zoom plus another: (13) use both the 20-60X and the 30X fixed. 7 preferred the zoom, 6 preferred the fixed. (4) used both 25-50x and 30X, and all 4 preferred the 25-50x. (5) used both a 20-60x and a fixed eyepiece other than the 30x, and 4 of the 5 preferred the fixed eyepiece to the zoom. Three of these users liked the 20X over the zoom, another the 25LER. One 20-60 user preferred it over a 15x fixed. With the last (3) who used a zoom plus another, the other eyepiece was another zoom! That leaves us with 14 digiscopers whose top 2 choices for digiscoping were fixed eyepieces (some indicated they used a zoom as a 3rd choice). Of the 14 fixed-user combinations, the eyepiece chosen first was 30x (6), 20x (4). 25xLER (2) and Other (2). By now your eyes are likely glazed over. This information is provided mainly because it was collected, and I owe it to those who completed the survey to provide as much information as possible. Not sure what conclusions, if any, can be drawn, but I think the data can be interpreted as showing that a significant number of digiscopers have made the decision to supplement their initial spotting scope kit with a fixed eyepiece, and are using the fixed eyepiece in situations where they feel it outperforms the zoom. One might predict that increased use of fixed focal length camera lenses by digiscopers with DSLR's and Micro 4/3's cameras will shift the choice of eyepiece back towards the zooms, especially the newer 25-50 WA types. -- Cheers, Len Blumin, Mill Valley, California len.blumin AT gmail.com > Swaro 80 HD, 30X, DCA, CoolPix 8400 http://www.flickriver.com/photos/lenblumin/sets/72157614994688364/ > -- ################# Dr.R.B.Stern, P.O. Box 300, Port Williams, N.S., Canada, B0P 1T0 Richard Stern, 317 Middle Dyke Rd. Port Williams, NS, Canada B0P 1T0 sternrichard AT gmail.com > ################### Subject: Re: Cable release for nikon p6000 From: Alec Earnshaw <aearnshaw AT sinectis.com.ar> Date: Sun, 07 Mar 2010 21:40:57 -0200 Dave, I use the Vixen bracket - Vixen P/N 39191-2 It's quite sturdy, and as it is in 2 parts, it allows to tilt the top part so that the "camera" end of the cable will press exactly perpendicular to the tilted shutter button. Also, the actual fixture where the cable release attaches can slide, and be set permanently at the right position such that there is only one knob left to adjust (the one that fits into the tripod thread) every time you have to take the bracket off (eg, for storage, or for taking out the SD module or battery). I've set the cable fixture such that all I need to do is mount the bracket flush against the right side of the camera, make sure it's parallel to the camera body line, and turn the tripd screw down hard. This avoids any fussing about to get the tip of the cable squarely onto the firing button. I also have the top half slightly raised so that my finger can more easily access the zoom lever, which is concentric to the shutter button. Hope this helps! Alec Kevin Bolton wrote: > Dave > Vixen makes a decent cable release that that would work with the > P6000, just do a search on the B&H site. > Kevin Bolton > > ----- Original Message ----- > *From:* dalston27 > *To:* digiscopingbirds AT yahoogroups. com > > *Sent:* Sunday, March 07, 2010 9:27 AM > *Subject:* [digiscopingbirds] Cable release for nikon p6000 > > After reading the postings in this group and hearing about the > experiences of a few members I have decided to buy a Nikon P6000 > camera whilst there are still a few left in UK.. I was looking on > the SRB Gritum website and they do a cable release which clips > into the p6000 cameras flash shoe. I cannot see this being a very > rigid fixing and I would guess likely to cause some camera > movement when the cable is pressed. Any experience of using this > cable release in the group or is there any better equipment out there? > Dave > > ------------------------------------ Please post bird photos to our other group birds-pix AT yahoogroups.com.Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/digiscopingbirds/ <*> Your email settings: Individual Email | Traditional <*> To change settings online go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/digiscopingbirds/join (Yahoo! ID required) <*> To change settings via email: digiscopingbirds-digest AT yahoogroups.com digiscopingbirds-fullfeatured AT yahoogroups.com <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: digiscopingbirds-unsubscribe AT yahoogroups.com <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/ Subject: RE: Re: [birds-pix] Digiscoping Survey - Eyepieces From: "Claudia" <claudiamayfield AT comcast.net> Date: Sun, 7 Mar 2010 15:30:54 -0800 Hi, Your comments interested me in terms of eyepiece selection. I am thinking of getting the 30XWA. I have the 20-60X zoom eyepiece and have had similar experience with the zoom. Plus I have some challenges with digiscoping as the 6.5 mm eye relief doesn't work so well with the adaptor set up I just purchased (TSN DA1 etc). My Kowa scope is the 663. So it concerns me that I might lose magnification and I wonder how much magnification difference there is between the two scopes- 663 and 773. Does anyone happen to know? Claudia -----Original Message----- From: digiscopingbirds AT yahoogroups.com [mailto:digiscopingbirds AT yahoogroups.com] On Behalf Of Richard Stern Sent: Friday, March 05, 2010 5:28 PM To: Len Blumin Cc: digiscopingbirds AT yahoogroups.com; Birds-Pix Subject: [digiscopingbirds] Re: [birds-pix] Digiscoping Survey - Eyepieces Hi, Congratulations on doing the survey - fascinating info (and I did fill it out). Perhaps I can explain why I use a fixed eyepiece , and I suspect it may be why others do. ......... When I bought my current scope (Kowa 773), I bought it with the 20-60x zoom. But I found that compared to my old Nikon, and compared to my binoculars, the field of view was terrible, and I really didn't enjoy the overall viewing experience. I found that any zoom greater than about 30X degraded the image and magnified haze, movement etc. more than the bird. So I bought the 30XWA, and it was like looking through a whole new instrument. So it stays on my scope all the time, and the zoom is relegated to a drawer at home, and one day I may even sell it. But as I can't be bothered to carry around 2 eyepieces, I use the 30X for both birding and digiscoping, and it suits me very nicely for both. Hope this helps. Richard On Fri, Mar 5, 2010 at 8:04 PM, Len Blumin > wrote: I realized that simply listing the favorite eyepiece, second favorite, etc., did not tell the whole story. Analyzed the data again from a different perspective.The majority of folks buy a scope with a single eyepiece (Clay has told me that over 90% of Swarovski buyers opt for one of the zoom eyepieces. Likely the same for Kowa, etc.). If a user has only a single eyepiece, then it is not his or her "favorite", but rather his/her only choice, and thus the use of a certain type of eyepiece can not be taken as the expression of preference for one type eyepiece over another for digiscoping. It follows then, if we look at the survey results where the user employs only one type of eyepiece, then we might expect the distribution to follow roughly the 90/10 ratio of zoom vs. fixed. What the survey found was quite different. (Results based on 100 entries) To whit, 61% of digiscopers said they are using only a single eyepiece for digiscoping. They may of course possess other eyepieces, but they have not indicated that they are using them to take photos. Here is the breakdown of those 61: Zoom eyepieces: 20-60x (35), 25-50x (7). Zoom eyepiece total (42). Fixed eyepieces: 30X (14), 20X (3), Other (2). Fixed eyepiece total (19). Thus, among digiscopers using only a single eyepiece for all their work, a zoom eyepiece is used a bit more that twice as often as a fixed (42 compared to 19). If the eyepieces (zoom vs. fixed) worked equally well for digiscoping, then we might have expected the ratio of use to be more like 9:1, rather than 2:1. I'm guessing that some users have a fixed eyepiece that they use exclusively for digiscoping, but also have a zoom eyepiece that they purchased with the scope (like ME!) and use their zoom for other purposes such as general birding, bird surveys, etc. There are other good explanations for the unexpected high number of fixed eyepiece usage. For instance, many spotting scope owners attempt digiscoping and abandon the effort in frustration. If zoom eyepiece owners gave up more quickly than fixed eyepiece owners, then that also could explain the shift. The remaining 39 digiscopers surveyed indicated that they use more than one eyepiece for digiscoping. 25 of these 39 folks used a zoom plus a fixed eyepiece. The remaining 14 used 2 or more fixed eyepieces of different powers of magnification. Here is the breakdown for the 25 using a zoom plus another: (13) use both the 20-60X and the 30X fixed. 7 preferred the zoom, 6 preferred the fixed. (4) used both 25-50x and 30X, and all 4 preferred the 25-50x. (5) used both a 20-60x and a fixed eyepiece other than the 30x, and 4 of the 5 preferred the fixed eyepiece to the zoom. Three of these users liked the 20X over the zoom, another the 25LER. One 20-60 user preferred it over a 15x fixed. With the last (3) who used a zoom plus another, the other eyepiece was another zoom! That leaves us with 14 digiscopers whose top 2 choices for digiscoping were fixed eyepieces (some indicated they used a zoom as a 3rd choice). Of the 14 fixed-user combinations, the eyepiece chosen first was 30x (6), 20x (4). 25xLER (2) and Other (2). By now your eyes are likely glazed over. This information is provided mainly because it was collected, and I owe it to those who completed the survey to provide as much information as possible. Not sure what conclusions, if any, can be drawn, but I think the data can be interpreted as showing that a significant number of digiscopers have made the decision to supplement their initial spotting scope kit with a fixed eyepiece, and are using the fixed eyepiece in situations where they feel it outperforms the zoom. One might predict that increased use of fixed focal length camera lenses by digiscopers with DSLR's and Micro 4/3's cameras will shift the choice of eyepiece back towards the zooms, especially the newer 25-50 WA types. -- Cheers, Len Blumin, Mill Valley, California len.blumin AT gmail.com Swaro 80 HD, 30X, DCA, CoolPix 8400 http://www.flickriver.com/photos/lenblumin/sets/72157614994688364/ -- ################# Dr.R.B.Stern, P.O. Box 300, Port Williams, N.S., Canada, B0P 1T0 Richard Stern, 317 Middle Dyke Rd. Port Williams, NS, Canada B0P 1T0 sternrichard AT gmail.com ################### Subject: RE: Cable release for nikon p6000 From: "Young" <jeffandlaurettayoung AT comcast.net> Date: Sun, 7 Mar 2010 09:36:08 -0800 Hello Dave, I use the SRB Griturn cable release and bracket with my Nikon P5100. In my opinion, the bracket is very sturdy and well designed. The plastic screw on the top of the black plastic bracket which fits into the flash shoe does effectively secure the metal rod which reaches over to the exposure button. It is important to align the rod and exposure button so the metal plunger at the end of the cable which actually depresses the button is centered in the middle of the exposure button. If it is off to the side, it takes more effort to depress the cable button than otherwise necessary. When depressing the cable release, the rod which reaches over from the flash shoe to the exposure button, is slightly flexed away from the camera a millimeter or two. There is some “give” between the action of the rod and the plastic bracket which fits into the flash shoe. But since the camera is fixed in place with my Swarovski digital camera adapter (I presume the same would be true of other adapters which hold the camera firmly in place in relation to the scope), the camera itself does not move in relation to the scope when depressing the remote release. Note the instruction regarding the remote release from the SRB Griturn site: Metal braided with auto time lock. Twist and raise the knurled collar to activate lock. Twist and depress the knurled collar to disengage lock. The referred to knurled collar is useful to understand. If disengaged, you depress the cable release and hold it as long as you want, for a single or multiple exposures. When you release the cable button, it immediately stops depressing the exposure button. If you engage the lock, once you depress the release, it will lock the release in place and the camera will continue to fire until you release the locked knurled collar by pressing it down toward the camera end of the cable. Stopping the camera firing by doing this is a little tricky with one hand and you have to be careful to move the cable so much as to move the camera. It took me a while to figure out that unless you TWIST the collar as described by the website comment above, the collar will remain in the engaged/will lock the remote button, mode. I like using it with the knurled knob disengaged. I found the longer (I have the 24 inch) release more convenient to handle (less likely to accidently tug on the camera when handling the cable release) than the shorter 10 inch release which I tried first. Hope this helps. Best wishes. Jeff Young, Portland, Oregon _____ From: digiscopingbirds AT yahoogroups.com [mailto:digiscopingbirds AT yahoogroups.com] On Behalf Of dalston27 Sent: Sunday, March 07, 2010 6:27 AM To: digiscopingbirds AT yahoogroups.com Subject: [digiscopingbirds] Cable release for nikon p6000 After reading the postings in this group and hearing about the experiences of a few members I have decided to buy a Nikon P6000 camera whilst there are still a few left in UK.. I was looking on the SRB Gritum website and they do a cable release which clips into the p6000 cameras flash shoe. I cannot see this being a very rigid fixing and I would guess likely to cause some camera movement when the cable is pressed. Any experience of using this cable release in the group or is there any better equipment out there? Dave Subject: RE: Question on where to find camera data From: "George Harvey" <gtbharvey AT comcast.net> Date: Sun, 7 Mar 2010 13:38:51 -0500 From: George Harvey [mailto:gtbharvey AT comcast.net] Sent: Sunday, March 07, 2010 11:17 AM To: 'George Harvey'; 'digiscopingbirds AT yahoogroups.com' Subject: RE: [digiscopingbirds] Question on where to find camera data Ken, I am trying to understand Claudia's problem because I am interested in using the S90 but would like a quick way to attach it to the scope when I see something worth photographing. The glue on filter ring with threads looked very interesting. I am a little wary that I may not be able to get the S90 close enough to my eyepiece to prevent vignetting. Jay's calculator is a great help but only has the exit pupil sizes of the scope and nothing on its location or the entrance pupil of the camera. To do a vignetting calculation, I think I need more info. I belive I am probably OK after reading Neil's posting on his use of the S90. With the Kowa TSN DA1, can you adjust the distance between the camera and the scope or is it always fixed? Thanks for the suggestion of using SRB GRITURN. I looked at their web site. Has anyone tried their custom adaptors or have any idea of how much they cost? When you use the the type that clamp on the the eyepiece, can you convienently get the camera on and off the scope? When scanning for birds, I want to be able to use my eye then put the camera on quickly when I spot something. Thanks, George -----Original Message----- From: digiscopingbirds AT yahoogroups.com [mailto:digiscopingbirds AT yahoogroups.com] On Behalf Of Ken Earnshaw Sent: Sunday, March 07, 2010 5:40 AM To: digiscopingbirds AT yahoogroups.com Subject: Re: [digiscopingbirds] Question on where to find camera data Regarding the Kowa 823 there is the Kowa TSN DA1 sleeve which screws onto the scope body over the x21 or x32 eyepeices and connects onto the camera via various adaptor ring sizes. I have used a Nikon P5100 connected to a 28mm adaptor ring via a UR E20 adaptor. This arrangement works well with both eyepeices on my 823. The Kowa sleeve and adaptor rings are quite expensive but are convenient to use. If using the 20-60 zoom there is an extension unit to fit on top of the DA1. I have never attempted to digiscope with this zoom lens, prefering the fixed eyepieces. Various retailers web-sites will have illustrations of these adaptors, acecameras.co.uk is one I use. I also use a 45.3mm sleeve from SRB GRITURN which clamps onto the x32 eyepeice via 3 screws. Various sized adaptor rings can then be used to attach to lens filter threads or to, eg, the UR E20. You may have noted Claudia Mayfield's problems using the DA1 and zoom extension with the Canon S90 reported 4 Mar 10. Not knowing anything relevant about the S90 I have not reponded to her with any thoughts. Jay Turberville's digiscoping calculator offers data on various camera lens entrance pupil sizes to match to scope exit pupil sizes. I have used it extensively to gain comparative figures for a range of scope, eyepiece and camera combinations. My thank's to Jay for this facility. Regards Ken Earnshaw --- On Sat, 6/3/10, gtharvey2000 wrote: From: gtharvey2000 Subject: [digiscopingbirds] Question on where to find camera data To: digiscopingbirds AT yahoogroups.com Date: Saturday, 6 March, 2010, 20:51 From what I gather looking at the collection of files on the optics of digiscoping, it looks like you want to get to avoid vignetting you need to get the entrance pupil of the camera on the same plane as the exit pupil of the eyepiece. The entrance pupil of the camera varies in position and size depending on the zoom setting of the camera. To match up equipment, it would be nice to know the location and size of the camera entrance pupil, not a common spec on a point and shoot. Is there any way of getting this information? If not are the optics of a typical 3 to 4X zoom fairly standard? It also seems like you should always open up your camera aperture to the max when digiscoping using aperture priority to make sure you minimize vignetting if you can not get the pupils to match up. I am still trying to find a camera and adapter rings for my Kowa TSN-823. Hopefully something small that I can quickly attach and detach. Thanks for any comments. Subject: Camera for digiscoping From: "Neil" <cmjneil AT yahoo.com> Date: Sun, 07 Mar 2010 20:00:32 -0000 I noticed the group home page photo depicts what appears to be a Coolpix 9xx series camera adapted to a Celesron spotting scope. Since this may be my initial setup as a beginner, I'm curious as to who uses this rig, and exactly how the camera is mounted to the scope. If you could reply by email, I would be thankful! Neil K Subject: Nikon ED82 or Kowa 773 Prominar From: "fcorrada" <fcorrada AT hotmail.com> Date: Sun, 07 Mar 2010 18:05:57 -0000 I have been reading many posts about digiscoping gear recommendations. Now I am getting ready to get into digiscoping. Currently I use a Nikon D300 DSLR with a 300mm F4 and a 1.4X or 1.7X teleconverter. Most of the time I get good images but my current optics do not have enough reach to image raptors. Very skittish creatures! I would like to complement my gear with a digiscoping rig. I am looking at a Nikon ED82 or a Kowa 773 Prominar. My question relates to digital adapters and compact digicams. Which scope has an advantage in terms of propietary adapters and off-brand adapters for a compact digicam like a Canon S90 or a Panasonic/Oly 4/3 or one of the new Nikon compact cameras? Thank you in advance for your pearls of wisdom. Fernando B. Corrada Subject: Re: Re: BASIC EQUIPMENT SAMPLE From: Paul Berndt <pwberndt AT yahoo.com> Date: Sun, 7 Mar 2010 10:36:02 -0800 (PST) Knud, These came out nice and I'm sure will improve with some practice. Paul > >From: Knud Christensen >To: digiscopingbirds AT yahoogroups.com >Sent: Sun, March 7, 2010 11:28:15 AM >Subject: Re: [digiscopingbirds] Re: BASIC EQUIPMENT SAMPLE > >  >Hi Paul, > > >Thanks for your answer to my post. > > >I have now uploadet  4 pictures to my iDisk. > > >I hope, that you can open them now. > > > > >files.me.com/ knudarnec/ 9z2njd > > >files.me.com/ knudarnec/ 78k80w > > >files.me.com/ knudarnec/ he9i22 > > >files.me.com/ knudarnec/ 3nanwr > > >Thanks for your interest. > > >Knud in Denmark > > > > > > > > >Den 07/03/2010 kl. 13.37 skrev Paul Berndt: > >Hi Knud, >> >>Your link took me to a log in page that would not allow me to go further. >> >>Take care, >>Paul >>Ohio, USA >> >> >> >> >>> >>From: Knud Christensen >>> >>To: digiscopingbirds AT yahoogroups. com >>> >>Sent: Sun, March 7, 2010 6:33:55 AM >>> >>Subject: Re: [digiscopingbirds] Re: BASIC EQUIPMENT SAMPLE >>> >> >>> >>  >>> >>Hi Digiscopers, >>> >> >>> >>I thought I would be the first to introduce digiscoping with an iPhone, >>> >>but a quick search in the files made it clear, that this is old news. >>> >> >>> >>Since I have prepared a few pictures to show, I will show them to you anyway. >>> >> >>> >>The bird i have digiscoped is a Parus careuleus, which is very common in Denmark. >>> >> >>> >>The distance to the feeder is 22 meters. >>> >>I am taking the picture from inside my house, so it is through double glassing. >>> >>The scope is a Swarovski 30 x 75 (A 54 cm long tube) >>> >> >>> >>Here are some pictures. http://www.me. com/gallery/ #100201 >>> >> >>> >>Only the album iPhonescoping >>> >> >>> >>Knud >>> >> >> >> >> > > Subject: Re: Cable release for nikon p6000 From: Kevin Bolton <kakebolton AT optonline.net> Date: Sun, 07 Mar 2010 17:26:46 -0500 Dave Vixen makes a decent cable release that that would work with the P6000, just do a search on the B&H site. Kevin Bolton ----- Original Message ----- From: dalston27 To: digiscopingbirds AT yahoogroups.com Sent: Sunday, March 07, 2010 9:27 AM Subject: [digiscopingbirds] Cable release for nikon p6000 After reading the postings in this group and hearing about the experiences of a few members I have decided to buy a Nikon P6000 camera whilst there are still a few left in UK.. I was looking on the SRB Gritum website and they do a cable release which clips into the p6000 cameras flash shoe. I cannot see this being a very rigid fixing and I would guess likely to cause some camera movement when the cable is pressed. Any experience of using this cable release in the group or is there any better equipment out there? Dave Subject: Re: Cable release for nikon p6000 From: neilfif11 <neilfif11 AT yahoo.com.au> Date: Mon, 8 Mar 2010 06:05:36 +0800 Dave, This is the remote to use http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/207373-USA/Nikon_4730_ML_L3_Remote_Control.html Neil >After reading the postings in this group and hearing about the >experiences of a few members I have decided to buy a Nikon P6000 >camera whilst there are still a few left in UK.. I was looking on >the SRB Gritum website and they do a cable release which clips into >the p6000 cameras flash shoe. I cannot see this being a very rigid >fixing and I would guess likely to cause some camera movement when >the cable is pressed. Any experience of using this cable release in >the group or is there any better equipment out there? >Dave > > Subject: Re: Question From: "Willem Hartholt" <wrhartholt AT telfort.nl> Date: Sun, 7 Mar 2010 21:32:50 +0100 Hi Neil, I have some, but untill now little experience with my handmade tube-form adapters and 450d, 50d and 7d Canon camera's with lenses: 1.8 50 mm and 2.8 28 mm both Canon. It is working but it is hard to avoid small vignetting with 28 mm lens and the 50 mm needs really good light and steady base to get good results. Because of the in my opinion to large magnification in combi with 30 wide eyepiece. First results with 28 mm, which I bought only recently, are rather promising though. Problem is: I only have one DSLR (D7-)body and I mostly use it for my 5.6 400 L Lens (640 mm by crop factor). So I dont want to build up with the small lens and the bulky adapter in fear of a nice bird in flight coming over. So I mostly back-up with my faithfull combination of Canon S80 and home made adapter. (which fits easily in my coats poket.) All this in combination with Kowa 883 and 30 wide eyepiece. I don't use T-rings or filter-threads to connect. Just fit the tube as close and centered as possible. Making an andapter costs me a day of work, but its a nice thing to do. with kind regards, Willem Hartholt Groningen, Netherlands www.willemhartholt.nl From: Neil Sent: Friday, March 05, 2010 11:59 PM To: digiscopingbirds AT yahoogroups.com Subject: [digiscopingbirds] Question Hi. Has anyone here used any of the Canon EOS cameras (20D, 40D, etc.)for digiscoping? I tried a few photographs through the Celestron 80F-ED yesterday, and obviously eyepiece projection (no lens in place on the camera body) is not the way to go(horrendous field curvature!). So from Neil's reply to my introductory post, I gather that I will need an adapter (or adapter and tube) to connect the small T-ting adapter that came with the scope to the filter threads on my camera's lens. Is that correct? Neil K Subject: Re: Re: BASIC EQUIPMENT SAMPLE From: Knud Christensen <knud.chr AT oncable.dk> Date: Sun, 7 Mar 2010 17:28:15 +0100 Hi Paul, Thanks for your answer to my post. I have now uploadet 4 pictures to my iDisk. I hope, that you can open them now. files.me.com/knudarnec/9z2njd files.me.com/knudarnec/78k80w files.me.com/knudarnec/he9i22 files.me.com/knudarnec/3nanwr Thanks for your interest. Knud in Denmark Den 07/03/2010 kl. 13.37 skrev Paul Berndt: > Hi Knud, > > Your link took me to a log in page that would not allow me to go further. > > Take care, > Paul > Ohio, USA > > >> >> From: Knud Christensen >> To: digiscopingbirds AT yahoogroups.com >> Sent: Sun, March 7, 2010 6:33:55 AM >> Subject: Re: [digiscopingbirds] Re: BASIC EQUIPMENT SAMPLE >> >> >> Hi Digiscopers, >> >> I thought I would be the first to introduce digiscoping with an iPhone, >> but a quick search in the files made it clear, that this is old news. >> >> Since I have prepared a few pictures to show, I will show them to you anyway. >> >> The bird i have digiscoped is a Parus careuleus, which is very common in Denmark. >> >> The distance to the feeder is 22 meters. >> I am taking the picture from inside my house, so it is through double glassing. >> The scope is a Swarovski 30 x 75 (A 54 cm long tube) >> >> Here are some pictures. http://www.me.com/gallery/#100201 >> >> Only the album iPhonescoping >> >> Knud > > > > Subject: Cable release for nikon p6000 From: "dalston27" <davehickson_1 AT hotmail.com> Date: Sun, 07 Mar 2010 14:27:28 -0000 After reading the postings in this group and hearing about the experiences of a few members I have decided to buy a Nikon P6000 camera whilst there are still a few left in UK.. I was looking on the SRB Gritum website and they do a cable release which clips into the p6000 cameras flash shoe. I cannot see this being a very rigid fixing and I would guess likely to cause some camera movement when the cable is pressed. Any experience of using this cable release in the group or is there any better equipment out there? Dave Subject: Re: Re: BASIC EQUIPMENT SAMPLE From: Paul Berndt <pwberndt AT yahoo.com> Date: Sun, 7 Mar 2010 04:37:48 -0800 (PST) Hi Knud, Your link took me to a log in page that would not allow me to go further. Take care, Paul Ohio, USA > >From: Knud Christensen >To: digiscopingbirds AT yahoogroups.com >Sent: Sun, March 7, 2010 6:33:55 AM >Subject: Re: [digiscopingbirds] Re: BASIC EQUIPMENT SAMPLE > >  >Hi Digiscopers, > >I thought I would be the first to introduce digiscoping with an iPhone, >but a quick search in the files made it clear, that this is old news. > >Since I have prepared a few pictures to show, I will show them to you anyway. > >The bird i have digiscoped is a Parus careuleus, which is very common in Denmark. > >The distance to the feeder is 22 meters. >I am taking the picture from inside my house, so it is through double glassing. >The scope is a Swarovski 30 x 75 (A 54 cm long tube) > >Here are some pictures. http://www.me.com/gallery/#100201 > >Only the album iPhonescoping > >Knud Subject: Re: Question on where to find camera data From: Ken Earnshaw <ken.earnshaw AT btinternet.com> Date: Sun, 7 Mar 2010 10:39:58 +0000 (GMT) Regarding the Kowa 823 there is the Kowa TSN DA1 sleeve which screws onto the scope body over the x21 or x32 eyepeices and connects onto the camera via various adaptor ring sizes. I have used a Nikon P5100 connected to a 28mm adaptor ring via a UR E20 adaptor. This arrangement works well with both eyepeices on my 823. The Kowa sleeve and adaptor rings are quite expensive but are convenient to use. If using the 20-60 zoom there is an extension unit to fit on top of the DA1. I have never attempted to digiscope with this zoom lens, prefering the fixed eyepieces. Various retailers web-sites will have illustrations of these adaptors, acecameras.co.uk is one I use. I also use a 45.3mm sleeve from SRB GRITURN which clamps onto the x32 eyepeice via 3 screws. Various sized adaptor rings can then be used to attach to lens filter threads or to, eg, the UR E20. You may have noted Claudia Mayfield's problems using the DA1 and zoom extension with the Canon S90 reported 4 Mar 10. Not knowing anything relevant about the S90 I have not reponded to her with any thoughts. Jay Turberville's digiscoping calculator offers data on various camera lens entrance pupil sizes to match to scope exit pupil sizes. I have used it extensively to gain comparative figures for a range of scope, eyepiece and camera combinations. My thank's to Jay for this facility. Regards Ken Earnshaw  --- On Sat, 6/3/10, gtharvey2000 wrote: From: gtharvey2000 Subject: [digiscopingbirds] Question on where to find camera data To: digiscopingbirds AT yahoogroups.com Date: Saturday, 6 March, 2010, 20:51   From what I gather looking at the collection of files on the optics of digiscoping, it looks like you want to get to avoid vignetting you need to get the entrance pupil of the camera on the same plane as the exit pupil of the eyepiece. The entrance pupil of the camera varies in position and size depending on the zoom setting of the camera. To match up equipment, it would be nice to know the location and size of the camera entrance pupil, not a common spec on a point and shoot. Is there any way of getting this information? If not are the optics of a typical 3 to 4X zoom fairly standard? It also seems like you should always open up your camera aperture to the max when digiscoping using aperture priority to make sure you minimize vignetting if you can not get the pupils to match up. I am still trying to find a camera and adapter rings for my Kowa TSN-823. Hopefully something small that I can quickly attach and detach. Thanks for any comments.