ShareThis19 January 2011
I was birding at the Cairns botanical gardens, tripod slung over my shoulders. Atop this was my companion Swarovski 80HD spotting scope, which I have used extensively now for several years.
Swarovski scope with TLS 800 and Canon 550D attached. This setup provides the equivalent of a 1200mm lens. For most beginners, the Universal Camera Adaptor (UCA) is a cheaper and more flexible alternative.
Digiscoping is a term which I am familiar with as it pops up here and there but for some reason I never took it serious enough to actually try it. Well, that was up until recently.
Affordable cameras nowadays sport High Definition (HD) Video capabilities and capture high megapixel pictures. A few years ago, the sort of long lens that enables close up bird photography and video, was regarded as professional gear. Now, a combination of scope and a relatively inexpensive camera fulfills requirements for any amateur. I couldn’t resist the temptation to give it a shot.
Since I already had the scope and eyepiece, the only things left to get was a digiscoping adapter and camera.
After a bit of research on the net I decided to go with the Canon EOS 550D digital SLR – though with the Swarovski Universal Camera Adapter (UCA), almost any camera would do. The 550D is light-weight and inexpensive, plus I already own lenses which can be used with it. Next thing to do was to convince the boss! If anyone of is struggling to come up with a plausible and sound argumentation to get the formal approval, this is what worked for me: “honey, this is an essential and worthwhile investment, no, it is a necessity because we can (also) take beautiful family videos and pictures, …”
This picture of a Galah was taken using a Swarovski spotting scope at 25-30m using a 25-50x eyepiece, Canon 7D camera with remote release at 1/25s. CLICK TO ENLARGE
Back to where we started. I’d just shot HD video of a Little Kingfisher at Cairns Botanical Garden – it was my first successful use of the gear. Fantastic! I was walking away with tripod, scope, Universal Camera Adapter (UCA) and camera on my shoulders. A woman walked past and exclaimed “do you think that’s big enough?” I replied, “I’m a bloke, the lens is never big enough!”
Isn’t it true though? It doesn’t matter how big the lens is, we always seem to want to get that little bit closer and most of us at some point, will have been disappointed by how small a bird appears in the final image taken.
But I digress. Fact is, bird and wildlife photography in general is very difficult in particular without a long lens. The price for say a 600-800mm lens is upwards of US $10,000 and that does not include the top of the range camera to go along with it in order to tickle out all capabilities it has to offer.
If it is not the price, which is well out of reach for any ordinary birder here in Australia, it is the pure thought of having to carry several additional kilos of glass around in the field that daunts people.
Some examples
This video of Little Kingfisher was taken at as distance of about 30m. The great thing about the UCA is the ability to take shots as you see them through the scope. This can mean zooming up to 20x!
For more examples of digiscoping adventures, check out Dale Forbes’ blogs: http://birdingblogs.com/2010/daleforbes/digiscoping-vultures
Find out more
Swarovski digiscoping gear and advice from the starter to the expert is available from staff of the Bintel stores in Melbourne and Sydney. Bintel stocks a full range of spotting scopes and accessories. Visit the website http://www.bintel.com.au or call (02) 9518 7255.
Dear Alastair,
I hope you get this message as i was not able to signup to birding-aus for some reason. Maybe someone could kindly post it on my behalf.
Anyway, The scope you have is great for digiscoping. What would be important to know is what eyepiece you are using or indent on using and the model no / description of your camera.
In general the DCB-A (A stands for angled Telescope – there is also a DCB-S which is for the straight telescopes) is a nice and practical adapter with the drawback that it is only suitable for point and shoot cameras. It is not designed to be used in combination with DSLRs. Setting it up can also be a bit cumbersome.
My personal preference is clearly the UCA which works very well with all our variable zoom eyepieces (it does not work with the fixed zoom eyepieces !). Whilst it might not look as sophisticated as the DCB, in practical terms it is very easy to use. Once setup correctly for your camera, it is a matter of sliding the adapter + camera on and off the eyepiece and it allows you to quickly and quietly change from observing to digiscoping and the other way around. An additional advantage of this bracket in my opinion is that chances are you will change your camera prior you will change your scope. Since the UCA can accommodate both, many DSLR’s (with a fixed 50mm lens) and many Point and shoot cameras (with optical zoom up to x4), my recommendation to you would be to look at the UCA.
As mentioned initially, please let me know about your eyepiece & camera specifications.
I hope that the above helped you a bit and please, if you have any questions or need any further informtion, dont hesitate to contact me
happy birding and kind regards,
Hannes
I read Simon’s article with interest as I have a Swarovski 65HD ATS scope.
Does anyone have experience with the two different types of digiscoping attachments for the Swarovski; the universal camera attachment (UCA)
and/or the digital camera base (DCB) and can offer a recommendation. I have a bog standard panasonic lumix digital camera and would love to be
able to give digiscoping a try.
Originally posted to birding-aus
Q. I notice the photo of your setup has the DSLR connected directly to the scope (of course). Is there any glass between the DSLR’s CCD and the scope itself? That is, when you put the adaptor onto the DSLR, do you have to remove the lens? I can see kilograms of dust coming in at this point.
A. You are right, the image is the TLS 800. It’s essentially an 800mm lens attachment. The article was more about the UCA, which fits over the top of the telescope eye piece. Using the TLS800 is similar to the way you change a lens on a Canon camera. There’s an inexpensive adaptor you use to make the TLS800 fit into the bayonet mount on the Canon. Hence, the dust issue you talk about would be a risk for the TLS 800 but not the UCA. Though I figure it’s the same problem any photographer has when swapping from a wide angle to telephoto lens.
The TLS800 is andapter for DSLR’s only. It connects the scope body directly via a T-mount (you can get T2 adapter for all major camera brands – nikon, canon, pentax, …) to the camera body. To my knowledge, it contains 7 glas elements and is, like the scope, waterproof to 4 meters and weights approx. 240g. The scope (regardless whether it is a 65 or 80) and TLS800 combination will act like an 800mm telephotolens on a full frame DSLR. For an APS-C with a crop of say, 1.6 it will act as a 1280mm (referenced to full-frame) telephoto lens (f/10 for an 80mm and f/12 for a 65mm scope).
When i use this setup and want to change from observing to digiscoping, I have the TLS800 permanently on the camera and never detach it.
The image quality is naturally better as there are less glass elements inbetween the objective and the sensor. Further, if you have a DSLR with fairly good high ISO performance, good photos handholding the setup can be taken.
Johannes,
I have a 20-60 zoom eye piece for the scope.
I have two cameras: a Panasonic lumix DMC FZ8 12 X optical zoom. I also nave a Canon Powershot S3 IS 12X
Interestingly a colleague has just loaned me a DCB. It is problematic with the telescope’s zoom lens (keeps wanting to twist) and also the panasonic camera thinks the lens cap is on.
Regards
Alastair
Dear Alastair,
the eyepiece is good and the UCA would fit nicely on it – (if your eyepiece is older than a 1 1/2 years, we will have to change the eyecup in order for the UCA to slide on nicely. if you end up getting one, please make sure to tell the retailer or let me know (eyecup is free of charge) – the older eyecups are slightly bigger in diameter, which makes it harder to slide the UCA on to it).
Both cameras seem to be good cameras and got good reviews on various forums. Unfortunately they are so called super-zooms or bridge-cameras and these usually dont work for digiscoping as they require a longer eye-relief and the lens elements extend too far forward. You can try holding them behind the eyepiece at various distances and see whether you get a picture, but i suspect even then you would get quite a bit of vignetting.
p&s cameras with a zoom of x4 usually work
http://www.swarovskioptik.com/en/digiscoping
http://www.swarovskioptik.com/en/digiscoping_cameras
http://digiscoperoftheyear.com/
Have a look at the above links. They contain some good general information and recommendations.
Please let me know in case you need any further information or help.
happy birding and digiscoping,
Hannes
Hi,
I am interested in commencing digiscoping. Where in Australia can I purchase the Swarovski scopes etc?
Many thanks,
John
Dear John,
where in Australia are you located ? If you want to have a chat about digiscoping, call me on 0429 155 106 or send me your tel. number ( hannes.nothdurfter@swarovski.com ) and i will call you back.
looking forward to hearing from you and kind regards,
Hannes