George Wyth State Park. Still working on some focusing issues with this set-up... (aperture priority (wide open), iso 64, 1/30, exp comp
plus 2.0)
This set-up has an effective 35mm equivalent of about 2525mm. This is about 4 times my 400mm lens with 1.4 extender....
These point and shoot cameras can be handheld to a spotting scope or attached by various types of adaptors. For extra stability a cable release can be rigged to push down the shutter.
Nikon Coolpix p5100
Swarovski 80HD/30x SW WA eyepiece
Swarovski DCA adaptor with Nikon UR-E20 (28mm)
cable release
Hi Kent,
Am glad you are taking up digiscopy to supplement your DSLR.
The background, fore ground subjects are not in focus.
this is due to 3 reasons
1.: camera shake
2. Light level too low for the autofocus to work
3.You make have pressed the remote release cable's trigger too hard.
To find out the cause:
shoot a stationary subject under similar lighting conditione as your shot and similar settings.:
To exclude 1 & 3 as the cause, use autofocus and use the 10 sec timer to fire the shot. If picture is still blurred,then
the autofocus is not working well cos of the poor light. Repeat with a subject in good light. If the picture is sharp then you know the autofocus is working and the problem is camera shake.
Camera shake
The commonest cause is pressing the cable too hard. The P5100 shutter button is not designed for a cable release so if you press too hard you will cause the whole unit to shake, Hold the cable with i=one hand and slowing press the remote's relase plunger until the shuuter is tripped. Once taht happens stop pressing any forther. It takes a lot of practice to get this right. Sometimes when I seee al ifer I get too excited and press too hard to get a shot and of course it will be blurred! You can see it for yourself- stand and look at the unit from the side. Press the plunger hard all the way and you can see the unit will shake.
WE normally use ASA 100 for digiscopy. and with the P5100 ASA 200 is OK too Higher than 200 would be grainy unless you want to take an ID shot.for the record.
If the Autofucos is not working you can do manual focus using the scope. The 230,000 pixel LCD is good for focusing. Using your remote release just half press the shutter hold it there and use the scope focusing ring to get a sharp pic on the screen.
My two cents worth,
Hope this helps
Regards
ALChan , Malaysia-where digiscopy was born!