lwingkay

Digiscoping using Konica Minolta's A2 on Swarovski ATS80HD

I saw quite a number of excellent shots here in this portal about using Swarovski ATS80HD for avian digiscoping.

I haven't any telescope but am very interested in looking into the matter to see if it is a good investment to make to expand photographic possibility via digiscoping.

Swarovski's has really excellent glass this far I read in the Internet. If I am to do something about it, I will nail down on Swarovski's.

But the thing is: I have a Konica Minolta A2 and this far I do not read a single piece of article about its use in digiscoping.

I do feel that A2 will be a good choice as it has a flexi-spot focusing function with it, meaning that the user can move the focusing spot to the desired position for doing focusing before shooting. If pin-point accuracy in focusing is what that makes a shot successful, then this flexi-spot focusing system will be very helpful, especially in the realm of digiscoping where the depth of view is miserably shallow.

So. would be grateful if digiscoping enthusiasts here would share their expert views about that. Thanks in advance.

Peter Leung

cwchan

Peter,

Don't confine your choice  to Swar. Leica(77), Zeiss(80) and even Nikon ED(82) are all very good scope for digiscopic shooting.

In respect of DC, I don't think the Minolta A2 DC is good for that purpose due to its 7X power zoom . I sauggest choosing those DC equipped with a 3X zoom and not more than 4X.

Wing

lwingkay

Thanks for your advice.

fneil

Peter,
        Many cameras have the flexible focusing system , including the new Nikon P5100 which has good features for digiscoping.
Neil

lwingkay

Thanks, Neil.
I learned that P5100 does not have an EVF with it. Despite the fact that its LCD is big and bright, I have the feeling that the sophisticated focusing required of in digiscoping may make it difficult for details to be discerned in the LCD when shooting in good weather.
With an EVF, perhaps, the effect of ambient light on the LCD can be done away with.
Along this line of thinking, is it a good idea to consider prosumers provided with an additional high-pixel EVF than one with the optical viewfinder?
Regarads,
Peter Leung

lwingkay

    Sorry for this wrong entry.

wcaptain

Hi Peter Leung,

About the brand name of telescope, pls be aware that some warranty service of "L" brand is in question.

The 30-yr warranty is in fact not very reliable. I had a bad experience with the agent of L brand here of which they considered some optical failure as a result of "not appropriate use" (not clearly defined in the warranty card).

In my case, they said there was a dent on the body and this dent caused the optical problem (cannot focus sharply). So they said the repairing service must be charged! The interesting pt is that this problem had happened before, the dent had been there as well and they did not charge me in the first time.   

So, do question more about the warranty. For me the service of L brand is totally frustrated.

Captain

lwingkay

Re: About the brand name of telescope, pls be aware that some warranty service of "L" brand is in question.

Thanks for the information, Captain. By the way, how is the optics for this L brand fieldscope?

Peter

wcaptain

My 10x42 (old version) is excellent: sharp, very 3-D but very heavy. can't comment on the quality of telescope.

BTW, I was told that the contact between eye-piece and the telescope body (APO) is not very good, at least for those in the late 1990s - early 2000. Some are very tight and but some very loose. It is so loose that the eye piece can be fallen down during birding.

Any comments from other L-brand users?

Captain

njimmy

I bought a used L-APO77 straight view spotting scope about three years ago. After some time, maybe too heavy field use, the focuser failed: the coarse focusing knob failed, left only the fine focuser was working

I am now using Z-85T*FL spotting scope.

Regards from Jimmy Ng

lwingkay

Thanks, Jimmy and Captain. I think both of the pieces you guys are using are terrific in optics.

I surfed the Internet about Swarovski's and this article must pop up frontmost each time among the search: http://www.alula.fi/gb/swarovskiATS80HDGB.htm, which said that Swar is just wonderful compared to other fieldscopes of the same class.

A friend of mind who endeavors in birding for years also rated Swar ATS80 highly and said that nowadays, most of the local digiscoping fans are in favor of it than others.

However, how is the situation for Nikon's, which obviously has a good and comprehensive system to support its fieldscopes?

Interestingly, there are not much shots posted that were labelled being taken with Nikon's, for example, the ED82 etc. I think it is good but somewhere somehow, there must be something that falls short of birders' demand that makes it less preferred.

I am not a maniac of gears and absolutely no loyalist of the need for expensive gears for shooting well. What I aim at getting is: money well spent! So, hope you don't mind my asking for comparison.

Peter

fneil

Peter,
         There is not much difference between the top brand spotting scopes. For digiscoping the eyepieces and adapters are very important. The camera you choose could be more important than whether you choose Nikon,Leica,Swarovski or Zeiss.  I have left Kowa out because they have a new range of 88mm scopes which are supposed to be very good but they are still not launched here and there are very few in the field after 1 year from launch in the USA.
The biggest difference in quality for digiscoping is the distance and the quality of light.  In Hong Kong our light is very hazy to dull for most of the year so the bigger the objective lens and the brighter the eyepiece the better.
The advantage of Nikon is that you can the full system from them and they have a wide range of eyepieces.  Their price will be a bit better than the European brands.
I'm on my second Swarovski scope ( my latest Swarovski STS80HD was donated by Swarovski USA so I'm a little biased ) and with the 30x eyepiece and their DCA adapter it's been a wonderful scope.  I've taken over 250,000 bird photos with it.
Neil.

hsteen

I have this review on the web about the Nikon fieldscope.
I compares with Leica and Swarovski.

Nikon Fieldscope review

sgeoff

Do you know what the price in HK is for this Nikon?

njimmy

I have a chance to hands-on the Kowa top-of-the-line Prominar TSN884 straight view spotting scope ( in Shangai, where I am now residing in ). It is a great scope. Sorry I did not have a chance to do a A-B comparision test in the field, with my 85T*FL.

Kowa do have a lot of accessories and adapters for use with (different brands of) DC for digiscoping purposes. The TSN884 is more expensive than the SWA spotting in Shanghai.

Lastly, I am using Zeiss these days since I was able to locate a "cheap" source of Zeiss products here in Shanghai two years ago.

Jimmy Ng
member of HKBWS and SHWBS ( shanghai wild bird society)

hsteen

The price for the Nikon fieldscope is app. HK 12,000 excl. eyepiece.
Try to call Kowloon Photo, Yau Ma Tei -  2384 9302.

lwingkay

Neil: Thank you for the sharing. Your hands-on experience is a good basis from which I can draw reference for making an informed judgment on what to choose. Evidently, Swar is a reliable product that one can depend on, be he/she a green horn or an old horse who knows the way.

hsteen: Thanks for the review for Nikon's gears. Evidently Nikon's are good enough and the mount as well as the wide range of eye pieces provided are important points that have bearing on judgment.

I frequented Nikon's showroom in Mongkok this evening and got these:
a. ED82A and EDIII priced at respectively at $26000 and $13500
b The matching eyepiece at 27X/40X/50X IS about $1950. The mount for P5100, i.e. FSB-6, is about $1600. The retail prices will be at around 80% of the above.

The FSB-6 is great, easy to mount and quick for changing from horizontal setting to the vertical one for portrait format shooting.

I was a bit surprised at the price for ED82A, a bit too expensive. Perhaps, it is really brilliant in optics and maneuvrebility. And the attraction from the ED glass is also something irresistable.

Been pondering for some time. About time to get down on something and strike out.

cbryan

"I frequented Nikon's showroom in Mongkok this evening and got these:
a. ED82A and EDIII priced at respectively at $26000 and $13500 "

:shock:
was that a typo or did u mean it?  i bought my 82ED for $13xxx (still expensive).  maybe u should ring kowloon photo and check the price before making a decision.

bryan

hsteen

I got a price for the ED82A from Kowloon photo 6 months ago and it was around HK 12,600:
The price from Nikon is not street prices.

Kowloon Photo has some of the best prices at the moment on everything.

lwingkay

I got a price for the ED82A from Kowloon photo 6 months ago and it was around HK 12,600:
The price from Nikon is not street prices.

You are right, hsteen and cbryan, that the price for ED82A was around $12600. I think the staff member at Nikon HK gave me a wrong price for my inquiry, especially the one for ED82A which stands at an amazingly high, $26000.