Leica digiscoping

[nevil_lazarus]

I am taking bird pics using a Leica Televid 77 and a Leica Digilux 1

camera.

I am intersted in sharing techniques with other users.

Also the subject of Chromatic aberration and how to eliminate.

 

Nevil Lazarus

lazz@bigpond.com

[fotografz]

Navil, post some of your photos if you could please. Love to see

some.

[skip_williams]

The only way to eliminate chromatic aberration is to spend the extra bucks for an Apo scope. There isn't any other solution. If you're getting purple fringing at the edges of the field with your Digilux, that's a different issue and is caused by the angle of the light rays striking the CCD sensor "wells". The only way to address that issue is some fancy Photoshop work that manipulates the different color channels to move the red/blue channels back towards the center, thereby removing the purple fringing. I belive that there are plug-ins to address this issue. Check threads over on www.dpreview.com's forums.

 

Skip

[david_smith12]

Nevil,

 

I use the Swarovski 80mm scope with my Casio QV4000 (3xzoom). Essentially the same type/quality/aperature as you. You have a very fine spotting scope.

 

Jordan Blessing's site at Scopetronix (www.scopetronix.com) has all the necessary adapters and gadjets. His products are great. He also has several pages of commentary and tips for getting the most out of your arrangement. I also did a google search and found a website of a different user. He was using a Televid like you with a coolpix for his digiscoping. Do a google search for digiscope or digiscoping and you wil find his site. It was pretty good.

 

The previous poster's experiences are the same as mine. I use a 26mm eyepiece and a 17mm eyepiece on my swarovski HT 80. The focal length of my scope is 452mm. There is quite a bit of vignetting with the 17mm eyepiece and some but much less with my 26mm eyepiece. Jordan Blessing recommends a 40mm eyepiece. You will not get vignetting with a 40mm eyepiece.

 

You will get better shots with prime eyepieces rather than a zoom eyepiece. I can't use a barlow lens with my scope. Can't get things to focus with a barlow.

 

There is aberation and distortion on the outer 15% of my shots. I just crop this out using photoelements. I too get some color fringing and do not know how to eliminate this.

 

All in all I find digiscoping fun and very productive. I don't think I will need to purchase 400mm or longer lenses for my SLR now that I have my digiscope arrangement. I took a bunch of head shots of the Heron in the park. Cropped and enlarged them with photoelements. The people at work went gaga over them and I spent the next several days making copies for numerous people. They would take them home and mount and frame them.

 

I use the 2sec timer to trip the shutter. Shake stops by then and you get pretty steady pictures. Birds and critters just don't wait around for the 10sec timer. I also have a cable shutter release that's handy.

 

Another fun use for the digiscope is for teleshots of buildings, signs, logo's and other remote objects. You can take pictures of things in the most inaccessable places. Very interesting perspectives.

 

I also digiscope via my Celestron C8 and Takahashi 128 (5" refracter)

I have wonderful lunar and planetary shots. Do a waxing or waning gibbous moon. I enlarged mine to 10X15 inches at my local Costco. Guaranteed to be dramatic. With your arrangement, try to capture a rising moon just above the horizon at moonrise. See if you can capture foreground trees against background moon all focus. A real stunner and harder to time than you think. The moon is really moving and you will have less than two minutes to blast off as many shots as you can. Adds real meaning to the "be there" in F8 and be there.

 

The beauty of the digital camera is that you can bracket the heck out of your shots and take as many frames as your critter will allow. You won't waste film and can easily delete the losers.

 

What do you use to adapt the digilux to the eyepiece?

[nevil_lazarus]

David,

 

Thanks for your comprehensive response.

I have the Leica adaptor. The local bird club has a special offer on the package, comprising Televid 77, Digilux 1 + adaptor.

I am getting used to looking through the scope, focussing, then joining the camera, and clicking. I too use the 2 sec timer. According to Leica agent in Australia, they do not have a remote cable for the Digilux 1. I would love to get one. I too use elements, crop and enlarge, and I am getting improved images. My aim is also to modify the joining system, camera with adaptor to scope so that it easily slips onto the scope. I have the 20-60 zoom, which I tend to use at around 30X - anything more becomes very shaky and sensitive.

I will have a look at the site you suggest.

 

Attached a couple of recent shots for comment;

 

Regards,

 

Nevil Lazarus<div></div>

[david_smith12]

Nevil,

 

I'll try to send you some of my pictures direct. I haven't bothered to learn how to post to Photonet and should do that to share with everyone. Since none of my digiscope stuff is leica I don't think it would be appropriate.

 

Jordan Blessing has a gallery at his scopetronix site. Nice pictures of birds, macro, solar, planets, etc. You should check out his eyepieces and Digi-T adapters. For under $150US you will have a very good prime eyepiece and adapter that makes your camera a one piece unit.

 

Your zoom is a very nice lens and your best results will likely be between 15X and 30X.

 

Nice bird shots BTW.