Digiscoping
First Off!
Before I begin with a brief intro to digiscoping I will start with the settings I find are imperative, although not exhaustive, for attaining a good image. I will give this first as I know most people will not want to read all about digiscoping, rather you will just want to get the settings and get clicking so here goes.
1) Camera Menu set on "Aperture priority"
2) Metering to "Spot"
3)Auto Focus area "centre" This is my preference
4) Auto focus mode "Single"
5) Image quality " Always choose the best"
6) Image size ie megapixels " Highest" :- this is up to you depending on card size and how quick the image can be written to card.
7) White Balance "Auto" is a good setting to leave it on as most cameras do a good job in the auto function.
8) Auto Bracketing "Off" I never use this feature
9) Shutter "continuous" as the better image can come later in a series when the shutter is kept depressed.
10) Flash "Always Off"
11) F Stop As Low as the camera will allow ie F2.7 is better that F6.7. Depth of field is not required in digiscoping but plenty of light is essential.
12) Exposure. This needs to be adjusted as the situation changes so get your self familiar with exposure.
13) ISO Setting This changes as light permits but I like to use nothing over 200 iso although sometimes you are forced to go up to 400.
The last two points (12 & 13) constantly need to be evaluated as this makes the pictures good or bad. Most of the other settings are mostly dialed in only once on the day so no need to worry about those just keep updating the ISO and exposure to suit the light as this is very important.
Once set up focus your scope on the subject first then half press the shutter on the camera to allow the camera to focus then fully depress to take the shot. You can refocus the scope if needed after you have put the camera up to the eyepiece but often this is down to camera and scope combination used.
If you are using a zoom eyepiece then try to leave it on it's widest setting although you can try out different zoom changes but again I find the best images are those on the least zoom setting. You will notice that once the camera is put against the eyepiece you will have a black circle on the outer edges of the screen. This is called vignetting and it's not really a problem as you can get rid of this circle in photo editing suite after or I like to click the camera zoom a couple of times which normally gets rid of this altogether. A word of warning here as the first thing you will want to do is zoom in as far as the camera will allow....don't, you will find that the more zoom you apply the worse the image becomes due to many factors which I won't bore you with. Don't get confused with more zoom on eyepiece or camera is best, it is not it is quite the opposite. The biggest thing to give you the best shots are getting as close to the subject as you can. Whilst digiscoping can be good over longer distances it is no substitute for getting close to the subject as all optics are compromised by air pollutants, heat haze and moisture etc.
This will get you up and running but I would advise anybody to read through the next sections as it shows you the gear you require to get the most out of this setup. This includes tripods, shutter releases and camera brackets. The other greatest advice I can give is to use a coke can to practice on and to be very patient. Often taking 100 shots can only leave you with one good shot so take plenty of shots.
An Introduction
Laurence Poh is an experienced photographer and discovered the joys of digital photography with the purchase of a Nikon CoolPix 950 digital camera in 1999. He too, is an avid birdwatcher and is very active with the birdwatching group of the Malaysian Nature Society (MNS). A spotting scope is often used to observe birds from a distance without alerting them of your presence. It didn’t take him long to realize that his 2 interests could be combined, and digiscoping was born. Laurence pioneered the technique now known as digiscoping which basically involves the attachment of a digital camera to the eyepiece of a spotting scope, using a homemade adapter or mount and shooting through the lens of the spotting scope. Over the years he has gone through several cameras and taken photographs of over a hundred species of birds in Malaysia using this technique.
What is 'Digiscoping?
It was by accident that I discovered that I could shoot through my spotting scope in February 1999. This was soon after I had just bought a digital camera. I did that in desperation to record a raptor perched on a distant tree which I could not identify. At that time, I had a Olympus C-900 Zoom camera. My early photos suffered from strong vignettes (darkening at the corners) due to the difficulty in positioning the telescoping camera lens to the Leica eyepiece. When Nikon 950came out later that same year with internal focusing, aperture priority, swivel body, plus a host of other features, I had found the perfect camera. Since that time, I am determined to introduce this unusual yet fascinating method of bird photography to birders and bird photographers around the world. Actually, it was a member of birds-pix@yahoogroups.com Mr. Alain Fosse from France who coined a new name for this method of photography by calling it 'digiscoping' which stands for digital camera scope photography. There are now more than 50 members of birds-pix from all walks of life all over the world using this novel way of shooting birds.
Why?
To shoot birds conventionally with a 35 mm camera system usually means shooting with a Single-Lens-Reflex (SLR) camera with powerful and costly and not to mention heavy lenses. The available lenses are often not powerful enough. A mirror reflex lens of 500 mm has an aperture of f8 which renders the image through the lens dark and difficult to focus. A Nikon super-telephoto 800 mm, f5.6 ED IF AIS lens alone costs US$6399.00 and even when fitted with a teleconverter is still short for small birds. With digiscoping, the integrated 3x optical zoom on the camera plus the 20 X magnifications on the spotting scope means we are getting over2800 mm magnifications 35 mm equivalent. With such magnifications, one can even use this system to photograph and identify the bands on the legs of banded birds. To illustrate the power of digiscoping, I have taken 2 photos from the same location of a Crested Honey-Buzzard nest. One taken with the Nikon 990 at the wideangle end which is equivalent to a 38 mm of the 35 mm camera system and another taken with the camera set at telephoto end which is equivalent to 115 of the 35 mm system through the Leica Apo-Televid scope set at 20X. Cost wise, total investment for digiscoping is much lower. A Nikon Coolpix 990 which replaced the Coolpix 950 is currently (November 2000) priced at US$850 and the Leica Apo-Televid 77mm with the 20 ~60X Zoom eyepiece is priced at US$1580 which adds up to a cost of US$2430. Throw in another one or two larger capacity lifetime Compact Flash storage cards and spare sets of Nickel Metal-Hydride batteries, the total cost is still much lower than a 35 mm camera system with little running cost like films and processing to worry about. It is therefore logical for a birdwatcher who owns a scope and is interested in taking photos of the birds they see, should buy a Nikon Coolpix 990 digital camera and shoot through it. In my opinion, the advantages outweighs the disadvantages of this setup. For what it is worth, through my pictures mentioned earlier of the raptor, it stirred up enough interest to bring in experts from out of town who later helped identified the raptor as a resident race of the Crested Honey-Buzzard. One major advantage of digiscoping is the ability of bringing back home the birds they see in the field so that the birds can be studied and admired once again after the sun has set.
It was by accident that I discovered that I could shoot through my spotting scope in February 1999. This was soon after I had just bought a digital camera. I did that in desperation to record a raptor perched on a distant tree which I could not identify. At that time, I had a Olympus C-900 Zoom camera. My early photos suffered from strong vignettes (darkening at the corners) due to the difficulty in positioning the telescoping camera lens to the Leica eyepiece. When Nikon 950came out later that same year with internal focusing, aperture priority, swivel body, plus a host of other features, I had found the perfect camera. Since that time, I am determined to introduce this unusual yet fascinating method of bird photography to birders and bird photographers around the world. Actually, it was a member of birds-pix@yahoogroups.com Mr. Alain Fosse from France who coined a new name for this method of photography by calling it 'digiscoping' which stands for digital camera scope photography. There are now more than 50 members of birds-pix from all walks of life all over the world using this novel way of shooting birds.
Why?
To shoot birds conventionally with a 35 mm camera system usually means shooting with a Single-Lens-Reflex (SLR) camera with powerful and costly and not to mention heavy lenses. The available lenses are often not powerful enough. A mirror reflex lens of 500 mm has an aperture of f8 which renders the image through the lens dark and difficult to focus. A Nikon super-telephoto 800 mm, f5.6 ED IF AIS lens alone costs US$6399.00 and even when fitted with a teleconverter is still short for small birds. With digiscoping, the integrated 3x optical zoom on the camera plus the 20 X magnifications on the spotting scope means we are getting over2800 mm magnifications 35 mm equivalent. With such magnifications, one can even use this system to photograph and identify the bands on the legs of banded birds. To illustrate the power of digiscoping, I have taken 2 photos from the same location of a Crested Honey-Buzzard nest. One taken with the Nikon 990 at the wideangle end which is equivalent to a 38 mm of the 35 mm camera system and another taken with the camera set at telephoto end which is equivalent to 115 of the 35 mm system through the Leica Apo-Televid scope set at 20X. Cost wise, total investment for digiscoping is much lower. A Nikon Coolpix 990 which replaced the Coolpix 950 is currently (November 2000) priced at US$850 and the Leica Apo-Televid 77mm with the 20 ~60X Zoom eyepiece is priced at US$1580 which adds up to a cost of US$2430. Throw in another one or two larger capacity lifetime Compact Flash storage cards and spare sets of Nickel Metal-Hydride batteries, the total cost is still much lower than a 35 mm camera system with little running cost like films and processing to worry about. It is therefore logical for a birdwatcher who owns a scope and is interested in taking photos of the birds they see, should buy a Nikon Coolpix 990 digital camera and shoot through it. In my opinion, the advantages outweighs the disadvantages of this setup. For what it is worth, through my pictures mentioned earlier of the raptor, it stirred up enough interest to bring in experts from out of town who later helped identified the raptor as a resident race of the Crested Honey-Buzzard. One major advantage of digiscoping is the ability of bringing back home the birds they see in the field so that the birds can be studied and admired once again after the sun has set.
Some other advantages are:1) Immediate feedback is possible once the picture is taken through the Play mode and by zooming up to 4 X magnifications and scrolling around the captured image.
2) Exposures can be judged and corrected after the 1st shot by the LCD image as it is written to the Compact Card for storage. Bad pictures can be disposed off immediately or later on without film and development costs.
3) No waiting for third party to process film. Pictures downloaded to computer can be self-processed within minutes instead of hours or days.
4) No more film or print scanning to digitize photos and all the inherent problems such as dust marks in the scans.
Some of the disadvantages are:1) Presently, the cameras are still slow when writing to the storage card and shooting opportunities are often lost due to this.
2) One has to be computer literate to download files and manipulate the pictures taken.
3) Dim LCD can be difficult to see in bright outdoor.
4) No control of Depth-of-field.
The equipment I use now is listed below but I have used several different setups in the quest to attain better photographs.
Cameras
My first camera was a Nikon 4500.
This had some very important features including a very high quality lens and the body of the camera could be swivelled into a position where the LCD could be seen no matter what position the scope was in so in effect it allowed the scope to stay at an optimum state whilst the camera ease of body rotation allowed the user a more comfortable stance.
Advantages : a)Swivel body design b)Quality lens c)Internal focus mechanism
Disadvantages : a)Slow focus b)Size and Weight c)Size of flash card taken d)Focus lock confirmation
My second camera was a Samsung NV3.
This camera was a whole different prospect as this was tiny in comparison to the Nikon 4500 "brick". The screen size was huge at 2 1/2" and the user settings needed are easily and quickly changed.
Advantages : a)Size & Weight b) Screen size c)Easily changed user settings with program feature d) Internal Focus
Disadvantages : a)Missing some program features b)Build quality on base issue c)Watercolour feel to pictures
My current camera Nikon P5100.
A good quality lens again with lots of megapixels to use. Fully loaded compact camera.
Advantages : a)Size & Weight b)Excellent IQ c)Excellent user settings d)Battery life
Disadvantages : a)Very slow focus lock b)External zoom c)Zoom lever position
Spotting Scope
The scope is a key factor to the final image quality. The large objective lens of 85mm allows lots of very important light in and with precision glass and coatings coupled with fine engineering it is one of the best scopes around for use as my spotting scope for birding or the extended use here in digiscoping. I also use the 20-60x zoom eyepiece which allows a very good wide view even at high magnification.
Connecting Bracket
This is one piece of the jigsaw that always seems to be on the move so to speak. In the relatively short period of time I have been digiscoping I have probably had at least 4 differing brackets to conect the camera to the spotting scope. The ideal solution is still out there but for now I have found this one which is produced bySRB Griturn to be one of the best for all round usability in regards to several important factors.
The SWING OUT SYSTEM fits over the scope eyepiece. It is fully adjustable vertically and horizontally so that the camera lens can be centrally aligned to the eyepiece lens. The camera is mounted to the base bar via its tripod socket. If the camera has an extending lens mount, set up should be made with the lens fully extended so that when the power is off, and the lens retracted, there is a gap between the camera lens and the eyepiece. The vertical bar has a cam plate which is adjusted to set the 'engaged' position, and which limits the travel when the camera is swung away. The cable release bar is adjustable to position the tip of the release over the shutter button. It should be set to just 'kiss' the button, giving first pressure to set the focus and final pressure to make the exposure.
The bracket can easily be removed and replaced by undoing the nylon fixing screws The camera base bar incorporates a sliding saddle (introduced mid 2007) which is locked in position after initial set up, thereby allowing positive positioning of the camera each time. All that is required is to set the camera parallel to the top of the eyepiece.
The unit can be set up to be used with either eye, swinging either to the right of the left. In some instances, you may need a longer cable release bar - which is available as a straight exchange for the one supplied.
Pros
1) This allows the camera to be swung away when use as a spotting scope is required and swung back when a picture is to be taken.
2) The cut outs in it's design allow the zoom eyepiece remain functional.
3) The inbuilt cable release system helps in the reduction of viration (a large enemy of digiscoping)
4) By several means it remembers it's settings so little adjustment is needed in use.
5) All round ease due to it's universal ability to fit most cameras.
Cons
1) Nothing to stop the camera from moving about whilst in use or in particular whilst walking around or transit
2) The cylindrical bar attachment to the flat baseplate has a poor connection and one which I have had to araldite in position as movement was common place resulting in the setup regularly needing realignment.
3) Needs alternative cable release setup as it's only designed to really work with shutter buttons that are flat and not ofset like some cameras (inc Nikon P5100)
The following images show how the camera can be swung away for use or swung away when used for spotting birds.
Tripod
A tripod of a decent standard is a must in my opinion as vibration from your setup is the single biggest threat to image quality. I use a manfrotto carbon fiber 3section tripod which whilst light(ish) remains stable. the only downside is that they are not as tough as metal and have heard about people snapping the legs if accidentally stood on. It's also the case that in high wind and due to it being light it can be easier for the setup to be blown over in winds. Some people report that in winds carbon fibre has a nack of allowing micro vibration to exist almost permanently through the legs which as said before can wreak havoc. I myself have not found the latter to be a problem but I have noticed the former.
Tripod Head
This is again important as the usability of a tripod head can make the job a lot easier. My opinion of the Manfrotto 128RC, Manfrotto 701RC2 and the Swarovski FH101 are formed after usage not just from a birding point of view but also with this extra hobby of digiscoping in mind so the things that may not bother a birder may bother a digiscoper and vice versa. Also the weight and size of equipment used on top of the head all have a bearing on a users opinion.
Swarovski FH 101
Weight: 540g Maximum Load Capacity: 3.5kg
It's very light, has the ability to lock both the pan and tilt seperately from the correct pressure for usage and has a safety lock feature built in so that the scopes accidental release from the head is much harder to do. It's totally judder free even when the pressure for pan and tilt is severe. The ability to lock the pan and tilt seperately is a massive bonus to me as I can now put the scope and my back without worrying about it moving around and with a flick of a catch it is ready to use with the correct pressure untouched. Down side is that the handle could do to be longer and because of the orientation of the plate I can no longer use my anti rotation plate, although at present I have not witnessed the scope trying to spin on the plate. Only time will tell with this but I hope it does not spin. The locking mechanism is not as fool proof as the 128 head with only the gentleist of nudges to release the catch, so beware. This head is made of plastic and although it feels cheap it seems like the build quality is excellent. The bumf with it also reassuringly states that the head lubricant is totally leak free.
Manfrotto 701RC2
Weight: 800g Maximum Load Capacity: 4kg
It's light, small and the ability to be able to centralise the weight due to it's sliding plate is a real bonus. The unit does not suffer as much with the "droop" like the128RC but it is not smooth in operation. It always "sticks" on the first movement up or down so much so that the extra pressure required to move it results in the scope learching forward and past your intended target. Once the initial "stutter" is passed it is fine in use until you come to tilt it again after a period of no use. I have now tested three heads and all suffer from this and to be honest I just could not do with it.
Manfrotto MN128RC
Weight: 1.0kg Maximum Load Capacity: 4kg
Manfrotto MN128RC. This is a superb head that almost fulfils the requirement. It's overall weight and bulk are it's only downfalls with a lesser problem of the head "drooping" backward when walking around. It is silky smooth in operation with no judder when panning or tilting. Again the omission of not being able to lock the pan and tilt seperatetly from the pan and tilt pressure knobs makes it annoying when carrying around as it either droops if the pan and tilt are at the best settings for use or if you tighten the knobs up to travel you then have to set it back up to find it's best presuure setting. The big plus with this is a superb safety locking mechanism that will never allow your scope to be inadvertantly released from the head..ooouucchhh!
One thing that never seems to amaze me is no matter what your opinion is regarding products this is not always one held by the next man. Strangely this is bore out in my testing of the 701RC2 head that has had a lot of excellent reviews. Personally I think it is a very poor item as it's propencity to stick when it is tensioned is unbareable and this was so annoying as I had taken this head with me to Lesvos in 2008. So far in my opinion the 701 comes last out of these three with the 128 second and the FH 101 way out in front.
Manfrotto MN200US
I would also recommend the use of a Manfrotto accessory that cured one of my headaches. Due to the length of the setup eventually the screws that hold the scope from twisting on the head start to work loose so I eventually found and bought this little addition (although it's price is quite ridiculous) Manfrotto MN200USS Universal Anti Twist Scope Plate. This simply has to screws which tighten up to the foot of your scope which stops and lateral rotation.
Shutter Release Cable
I use this one below and have found it to be of decent quality. I purchased it from HERE but wherever you decide on purchasing one make sure it's of at least18"-20" as what you find with shorter cables is that you can inadvertantly have a negative impact on the image as you can sometimes pull the cable ever so slightly due to it's shorter length which results in movement of the setup and ruining images. I recommend buying at least two as I have experienced the pain of loss of one of these when I was birding in Lanzarote and I can assure you it's annoying.
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