Digiscoping

It's time for me to upgrade my 300 mm reaching power. Does digiscoping with a full size DSLR, and a high end feildscope make sense? Can't afford a Nikon 500mm.

Hi,

I do not think I have ever seen a thread on digiscoping here. However, I definitely have seen it done when I was out in Yellowstone. I think that the general consensus of folks I have spoken to has been that it is still not prime time for folks with SLRs. As I recall, the folks I saw using it had a compact digicam on it. I think that there are weight and adapter issues in terms of focus.

Having said that - I have never tired it myself, nor have I seen any results from anyone who has tried it with an SLR..so I am hardly an authority. It certainly would be wonderful if it DID work. It would save a fortune.

If you do decide to try it, I would love to see the samples.

James

Yellowstone is where I would like to have more upcloser power. I have a D3100 and Nikon sell an adaptor you put between the body and a scope. Nikon also has a scope, $2000, with an 82mm lens in front to bring in lots of light. This is all mounted on a tripod of course. From what I've been able to gather on the web there are two concerns, hard to use on fast moving objects and difficulty in focusing. I've seen some digiscoped photos on-line that were absolutely breathtaking. It's hard to find good info about this use of camera/spottingscope. I just can't justify $5 to $10 K on a telephoto lens. If I was a professional, well, maybe.
Right now my upclose power is with a 300mm zoom. I need more. An suggestions on how else to accomplish this, with fairly good quality, for under $3K

Paul:

Have you explored the possibility of a teleconverter lens. Nikon offers them in 1.4X, 1.7X, and 2X. I don't have any first hand experience with Nikon, but their teleconverters receive pretty good reviews from users at both B&H and amazon. You'll lose 1 to 2 f/stops and they are not compatible with all existing lenses, but at around $400 - $500, it would be much cheaper and easier to use than a $2,000.- scope.

I have used a Zuiko EC-20 (2X teleconverter) with my Zuiko f/2.8 - 3.5, 50-200mm zoom on an Olympus E-30. It does pretty well in good light with very negligible loss of sharpness & detail at the long end. Of course, given Oly's 2X crop factor, the resulting 800mm Effective Focal Length (in 35mm terms) makes a tripod absolutely mandatory to avoid camera shake--even with in-body image stabilization. It also tends to focus hunt quite a bit in less than optimal light.

As a result, I recently purchased the EC-14 (1.4X) and, although I haven't tried it in the field yet, so far I am pretty happy with it based on my backyard tests. Tack sharp with no loss of detail and I can hand hold it at the long end without having problems with camera shake. No problems with focusing even in poor light.

Legacy glass is another low cost alternative. There are a lot of excellent quality prime telephoto lenses out there for quite reasonable prices. Of course you'll sacrifice some or all of your auto-focus & auto-exposure capability, which may or may not be a significant problem for you. I've played around with some legacy glass and it has been fun, but . . .

I'd be interested to hear what the Nikon shooters here recommend.

Jim

Me too Jim! Another obstacle is that ZOOM Nikon lenes can not be used with teleconverters, so once again you're up against the very high cost of a Nikon telephoto in 400, 500, 600mm? So confused as to which direction to go to get closer to that loon or bear, or whatever.

Hey Paul,

Have you considered going 3rd party for your telephoto? You can get a Sigma 500 pretty affordably (at least compared to the big boys).... I have not used one, but I am incredibly impressed with the Sigma 120-300, which cost less than half of a Canon 300 F2.8.

This is the review I wrote on it:
http://www.nwpphotoforum.com/ubbthreads/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=37426

James