More on Digiscoping
I’ve pretty much figured out what I’m going to need to put this digiscoping rig together. It will not be the fanciest or most expensive in the world. It won’t have Nikon or Carl Zeiss or Swarovski optics. But, the scope and the camera attachments will be under $300, tax included. That money will net me an Alpen #728 15-45X60 spotting scope and the Alpen #706 Digital Camera Adapter kit. And, that’s good enough to get started, I think.
The Alpen scope is nice and small and light (only 28 ounces!), but still quite sharp and brite.
If you do the wonky math to figure out what kind of lens this would be (assuming 50mm to be “normal” or “1X”), it works out to be a 750-2250mm lens. On a DSLR, it has a field of view equivalent to a 1200-3600mm zoom on a 35mm camera.
The beauty is that this rig can be set up to work with most point & shoot or SLR cameras, just by adjusting the camera adapter. Another nice thing is that all of the required toys are in stock at local businesses. So, while we might pay a few dollars more than mail-order, we can do our part to keep some local folks in business.
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Get thee behind me, Geren.
But while I’m here … am I right in thinking that this setup wouldn’t work for your Canon Rebel XTi/400D but would work - for the sake of argument - with a Canon 850Is?
Emrys,
There are people who are using a scope with a D-SLR in a couple of different ways. Some are using scopes with permanently attached eyepieces, and putting a 50mm f/1.8 lens on the camera. Others are using scopes with special camera adapters that replace the eyepiece.
The problem with the latter approach, for me, is that I want to be able to use the scope for just plain viewing as well.
The other option is, of course, to use a good digital point-and-shoot. I don’t think I’d choose the Canon SD850IS, because it doesn’t have exposure modes that give you control of the camera. One of the A-series Powershots would be a better choice. The G7 would be ideal, but it’s real expensive!
Thanks (and for the update post).
Having given digiscoping a try (albeit handheld with the 850 and a pair on binoculars) I’m also not sure that the 850 is up to the task … and there’s no way I can justify getting yet another P&S.
I’ll explore that XTi/400D site and pray that I won’t find myself regretting buying that Tamrom 200-500 zoom …
That’s how I dropped and broke my little Panasonic. I needed a third hand, and it just wasn’t there.
When I got things lined up right, the picture quality was decent. But, that particular combination produced too much vignetting, and not enough “reach” (the binoculars are 8×42s).
People are having good success with both P&S cameras, and with DSLR cameras. It just takes some time and patience to get the particulars worked out.
I found an interesting digiscoping calculator but my maths must be wonkier than yours (or I’ve misunderstood the aperture of your scope) as I get 1200-3600mm as the effective focal length of your setup.
The effective focal length is 750-2250mm. The effective field of view is that of a 1200-3600mm lens. Remember that the digital sensor does not change or multiply the focal length, but rather, crops the image projected by the lens, thus altering the angle of view.
Ah yes. Of course. Thanks for reminding me of that.
How would a fuji finepix S9000 work with this setup?
Not a clue, Theresa.