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

lwingkay

Thanks for your advice.

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.

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

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

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.

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.