Date: Fri, 30 Jan 2004 11:17:47 -0500 Reply-To: Maryland Birds & Birding Sender: Maryland Birds & Birding From: Fred Pierce Subject: Re: Digiscoping - an alternative (LONG) In-Reply-To: <1a3.1fb921fc.2d4ba7b8@aol.com> MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="US-ASCII" Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Interesting! I've been pondering a replacement for my trusty Minolta X700 not only for birds but for my airshow work. I didn't realize there was any long lens capability at a reasonable price. Still wondering about speed though. Thanks very much for the information - I'll pursue the leads you provided and research further. fdp -------------------------------------------------------------------- Fred Pierce (DNRC)- fpierce@avialantic.com Mid-Atlantic Aviation on the Web - http://www.avialantic.com --------------------------------------------------------------------- > -----Original Message----- > From: Maryland Birds & Birding [mailto:MDOSPREY@HOME.EASE.LSOFT.COM]On > Behalf Of Sarah Anderson > Sent: Friday, January 30, 2004 6:28 AM > To: MDOSPREY@HOME.EASE.LSOFT.COM > Subject: Re: [MDOSPREY] Digiscoping - an alternative (LONG) > > > Hi everyone, > > I tried digiscoping a couple of years ago. I have a Kowa scope, a > Bogen/Manfrotto tripod, a Canon G2 and I bought all the adapters I > needed to connect the camera directly to the scope. I practiced and > practiced and practiced. And > that was just in the comfort of my home! I was never satisfied with the > process or the results - it was cumbersome getting the camera > connected to the > scope, difficult to find the subject and just about impossible to > take the photo > without introducing some jitter. After struggling along I decided that it > would be a better option (for me) to use the scope and camera as they were > intended rather than trying to turn the scope into a big zoom > lens for my camera, so > the search ensued for a camera with a longer zoom. > > The good news is that the "long zoom" segment of the digital camera > market is growing, and there are already cameras available with long > zoom AND with built in image stabilization (eliminating the need for a > tripod at full zoom) AND > these cameras do not cost a fortune. I tried and rejected both > the Panasonic > FZ10 and the Minolta A1 before settling VERY HAPPILY with a used Olympus > c2100uz (affectionately known as the "uzi" in some of the online > photography > forums). The Oly has a 10x zoom and image stabilization. Yes, > it's only 2 > megapixels BUT as anyone who is shopping for a digital camera > should know, more > megapixels do not necessarily translate into a better quality > image. The most > single important piece of the camera is the lens. The Oly > camera's lens was > actually a Canon lens and the thing just rocks. You can get > these cameras in the > $400 dollar range - and there seems to be a steady supply of them > on ebay. And > if 10x isn't enough there are teleconverters available to boost > that range. > (I have an Olympus tcon-17.) > > Check out my bird photos at: www.pbase.com/sarahbee (And of > course you're > welcome to look at the other shots there too.) All of the bird photos > were taken hand held (no tripod). > > Rumor has it that there are going to be more long-zoom/stabilized > cameras introduced this year, possibly from Canon and Nikon. There > are many independent web sites where digital cameras are reviewed and > online discussion forums you > can check out for more camera information. The camera reviews > usually include > sample photos and in the forums in many cases people post their > photos so you > can see what the cameras are capable of. My favorite web sites are: > > http://www.dpreview.com/ http://www.imaging-resource.com/INDEX.HTM > http://www.steves-digicams.com/default.htm > > And as others have mentioned, there is no substitute for handling the > camera you are thinking of buying. Of course that wasn't possible for > my purchase of > the Oly c2100 because it's no longer manufactured - so before I > purchased I > made sure I could return the camera if I didn't like it. But you > would have to > pry this camera out of my cold fingers to get it away from me!! > > Sorry for the long post but I have done a lot of research and > experimentation in hopes of capturing good bird photos so I wanted to > share the benefit of my > experience with like-minded folks. If anyone has specific > questions about my > camera (or the other ones I tried but didn't like) please feel free to > contact me. > > Good luck!! You won't regret your foray into digital photography > although you should be forewarned that it is highly addictive! :-) > > Sarah > Cabin John, MD > BirdNerd3@aol.com > www.pbase.com/sarahbee > > ====================================================================== > = > To leave the MDOsprey list, send e-mail to listserv@home.ease.lsoft.com > with the following message in line 1: signoff mdosprey > ======================================================================= > ---------------------------------------------------- > This message has been processed by Firetrust Benign. > ======================================================================= To leave the MDOsprey list, send e-mail to listserv@home.ease.lsoft.com with the following message in line 1: signoff mdosprey ======================================================================= =========================================================================