fneil

Inspired by Bob after some testing I did last year on the 45x eyepiece I wanted to have one.  With the help of a digiscoping mate in the US I now have the Swarovski 45x eyepiece (18mm of Eye Relief ). It needs a little adjustment on the DCA adapter to keep out the vignetting but is very useful for small , perched birds or at great distance , like at Mai Po. Here are a couple of images I got on my recent trip to the US. Neil

Nikon CP 8400 plus Swarovski STS80HD scope and Sw 45x eyepiece and DCA adapter

fneil

[quote:3a179e65e0="cchakwing"]Neil,

Extremely sharp and with good detail . Did  you take it in RAW?[/quote]

I wish I did but the RAW processing in the Nikon CP8400 is a bit slow so I only use it when the bird is going to be sitting around for a long time. 90% of my photos are taken in JPEG. Neil.

fneil

Wing,
        I only bought mine about 3 months ago and it was the best decision I ever made.  I had been very happy with the Olympus 7070wz (also RAW and Continuous remote control ) which had been much better than my previous cameras, but the Autofocus in the 8400 seems better and the lens about 5% sharper. The Electronic Viewfinder is a real bonus and works like a DSLR on a straight scope.  Bob and I are very happy with the 8400.
Neil.

fneil

Wing,
        There is a DCA for the fixed eyepieces as well.  I have the DCA Zoom which I use on the fixed eypieces.  I use 3 toothpicks around the eyepiece to keep the eyepiece centered when I tighten the collar screw.  You can also use tennis racket tape wrapped around. Neil.

fneil

Wing,
        Very nice job. Would it be difficult to fit an angled bracket to take a cable release. I'm about to replace my broken F30 and would like something like this.  Do you want to sell me one?  Neil.

fneil

Wing,
        Thanks. I got a quote of $2800 today for the F31fd.  I'll  try and get an F30 at a cheaper price.
        This adaptor should fit other cameras of a similar size , like the Sony W100.  All you would have to do is move the hole for the screw. As Bob says , a small business opportunity here.
Neil.

fneil

Wing,
        I picked up my F31fd and it was good to be using it again.  I was at Mai Po yesterday and used it up to iso 3200 as the sun went down. Neil.

fneil

I got the 45x out of the bag for the night heron on Lamma and here is a closeup at full zoom on the Nikon 8400 (5000 mm ). Neil

Lamma Island,
Hong Kong,
China.

23/01/07


Nikon CP 8400 plus Swarovski STS80HD scope and Sw 45x eyepiece and DCA adapter[/quote]

fneil

Mandy,
          For quality the 8400 is better ( the Olympus 7070wz is better too ). Both these cameras have a high quality lens ( the 8400 has Nikon's ED glass ).  They also have RAW which gives a level of quality which can't be achieved by little digicams. If I was going to rate them out of 10 -
Nikon 8400 - 9 ( let down be being a bit slow in handling RAW and only single frame with remote control )
Olympus 7070wz - 8.5 ( Auto focus not as good as 8400's  Green Macro     zone,but faster at handling RAW and Continuous remote control )
Fuji F30/31 -  8 (faster, low noise sensor up to iso 1600, no RAW,non-ED glass )
The Fuji E900 has RAW and filter thread for adapter and is still available so should be a good option for people who want more functions for digiscoping.