28.01.11
The new telephoto: Noel Davvers speaks to Andy Holt
The recent rise of high spec compact system cameras has sent a new wave of excitement through the international bird-watching community. Many ‘twitchers’ own a powerful scope to enable them to watch their quarry from a distance, but as camera technology improves, they are now able to capture their subjects as both high-quality stills and video. Noel davvers spoke to enthusiast Andy Holt to find out more.
Digiscoping is a technique that combines a digital camera with a spotting scope to deliver extreme telephoto images. It is a simple and relatively inexpensive way to photograph wildlife when compared to the expensive lenses and DSLRs used by both professional and amateur photographers alike.
Andy Holt, who lives near Cannock Chase in Staffordshire, is a keen bird-watcher and had always wanted to try wildlife photography but found the cost prohibitive. In 2004 he bought his first digital camera and soon afterwards was introduced to digiscoping on a local wildlife reserve when he saw a man with a spotting scope hooked up to a camera. They started chatting and Andy was shown some of the images. After doing some research onthe internet and seeing more images, he bought his first scope.
Spotting scopes start at around £50, but a high-end model, which costs around £1,000, is a prerequisite for capturing images of a high quality. Andy shoots on a Nikon Coolpix 995 and a Kyocera SL400. He’s also keen to try out the Panasonic G1 Micro Four Thirds cameras. All of these have been chosen for their size of lens, which enables users to marry up the camera with the scope and reduce the vignetting effect that results from lining up disparate optics. You can hand-hold the camera in front of the scope, but using an adaptor to link the two will give higher-quality images.
The scope has a small eyepiece, so you have to choose a compact with lower focal lengths. The dynamics of super-zoom lenses mean you get massive vignetting when you put it against the scope and the centre of the image is encased in a circle and surrounded by black. This is the reason compact system cameras are proving interesting.
To get better images you also need to improve your field craft, which includes studying animal behaviour. Andy has bought a hide so he can get closer and spend more time observing the animals he shoots without disturbing them. His shots of kingfishers on the river Trent would have been unobtainable if he hadn’t been using a hide. “This was a truly rewarding experience. I realised the birds patrolled a specific area every hour, so I would sit still in a hide until the animals returned. Then I would shoot frantically for around 30 seconds hoping I was zoomed in on the perched birds.”
Scopes come in a range of focal lengths from x20 to x60 zooms or as primes. With the kingfishers Andy got as close as he could to the birds, about 15-20ft, which enabled him to keep the zoom right down at the lowest end to improve his chances of sharp images. To put this in perspective, the equivalent length on a DSLR camera would be 800-1,000mm.
Andy says: “One of my favourite images is of a rare woodpecker known as a wryneck. This was a golden opportunity both to see the animal and capture its image. Another is the redstart in the Cannock Chase valley where the birds nest. I was watching one bird in particular that kept returning to an old oak tree, when I saw five or six chicks fly from the nest. This was a good example of beingin the right place at the right time.”
Using this technique, Andy is able to print sharp images at 8x10 and one of his photographs has been used by a wildlife trust for a 3ft x 3ft poster campaign. He has found that it is focus and not pixel count that affects the size of image to be blown up. Any slight blur is made worse the larger the image gets. To counter this, Andy will regularly go out and take 200 shots. If he’s got one or two good images, he’s happy. He also uses a sturdy tripod and manual shutter release. For him, the more stability he has the better.
“If you have the patience and persistence to get the set-up right you can achieve some incredible images. The most important thing is to have good glass with the scope.”
Andy’s shots have earned him money. Companies have enquired about using his images and a few years ago a shot of a grey squirrel was used on a packet of squirrel food. The top competition for this style is Digiscoper of the Year from Swarovski, which accepts admissions only from amateur photographers. Andy has yet to enter, but it is only a matter of time before he does.
Andy's advice
1.Understand both the capacity and limitations of the equipment you are using. Don’t be unrealistic about what you can actually achieve.
2.Improve your field craft and get as close to the animals as possible. Spend time out in the field observing behaviour. Andy has got his best shots this way, observing and sitting patiently. If you move towards an animal it is naturally going to move away from you. If you can predict where the animal is going to be at any one time you can get yourself set up before hand. Spend time working out the animal’s routine, then sit quietly and wait patiently.
3.Bear in mind, depending on the time of year and species of animal, that you may need a licence to photograph in the wild, especially if it is the nesting season for birds such as kingfishers.
4.Take good insect repellent.
5.Buy the best scope you can afford. It is more important than the camera.
Technique
1.Shoot in continuous mode to give you the best chance of capturing your subject, but bear in mind it will take time to write these images to the memory.
2.Keep the resolution at its maximum size and the image quality to Jpeg fine. Shooting in RAW will again cause a delay while the images are recorded to the memory.
3.To capture movement you will need a high shutter speed, which requires good light conditions. There is some room to manoeuvre when shooting digital, however, because under exposed images can be brightened in post production. Shutter speed is far more important than aperture when digiscoping, as the depth of focus is limited shooting through a scope. Set the camera to aperture priority to enable the highest shutter speeds.
4.Set the camera to the Single AF (auto focus) mode. This way it will take justa single reading rather than continually searching for focus.
5.Try sharpening the images afterwards in an image editor.
How to get sharp images
At the focal length being used, the slightest movement is greatly amplified, so it is important that the camera and scope are kept absolutely still. A remote shutter release will help. Heat haze can become a problem as well as light reflecting off water or birds with white plumage.
These factors will interfere with the camera’s ability to record a true image. Don’t over zoom; Andy’s images are taken at x20 magnification with a 20x60 zoom. At this setting you are getting the equivalent of a 1,200-1,600mm lenson a DSLR.
Andy advocates a small amount of sharpening in post production. Use the Lasso tool to select the area you want to sharpen, then apply Unsharp mask. Apply several times using the settings below rather than just once.
If you resize an image to display on the web, try one last subtle Unsharp mask to sharpen it up after you've created a smaller copy, because the resizing process introduces a slight softening of detail. The Unsharp ask settings Andy uses are:
Amount: 50% to 100%, radius: 0.6 to 1.0, threshold: 0.
Kit
If you already have a scope, then it is possible to use it with a digital camera. If you are looking to upgrade your scope or buy one for the first time to use witha camera, then there are some considerations to bear in mind. The size and quality of the eyepiece is one of the most important factors. Try to pick a scope that has a large eyepiece, which will help to reduce vignetting and allow more light to reach the camera’s sensor. This will help increase the shutter speed and minimise blur. Most manufacturers produce long-eye relief or wide-angle eye pieces, which are ideal. It is possible to use both angled and straight scopes for digiscoping. Ensure the camera you want will do the right job; find one with a front lens element that is smaller than the eyepiece lens on your scope. You will also need a sturdy tripod and a cable release. You might want to consider buying a shade or hood for the camera’s screen.
Digiscoping kit guide
scopes
Nikon Spotting Scope RAIII 82 Angled Olive Green
£339 www.nikon.com/products/sportoptics/lineup/scopes/index.htm
This scope is good value for the price. It features an 82mm lens and bayonet-type mount so you can connect eyepieces quickly and securely. It has an angled body to make it easier to see and photograph through and is waterproof (up to 2m for five minutes) and fog free with O-ring seals and nitrogen gas for added resistance. It also uses multilayer-coated lenses and prisms for the brightest possible images. The rubber casing improves shock resistance and provides a firm, comfortable grip.
Swarovski ATS 65 HD
£1,092 www.swarovskioptik.us/en_us/home
This compact and lightweight scope is made from aluminium and houses fluoride-containing HD lenses to help minimise colour fringing while at the same time providing crisp, contrast-rich images. It is ideal for digiscoping. The angled version makes it comfortable to use, no matter where the subject is situated – from ground level through to high up in the sky.
Leica APO Televid 65
£1,919 http://us.leica-camera.com/sport_optics/
This high-end scope is less than 12in long. It is both compact and lightweight and the perfect choice for anyone looking to save weight but keep performance. The magnesium body is rubber-armoured and is water, fog and dustproof. The zoom eyepiece is bayonet mounted and has a magnification of 25x to 50x.It also has a very wide angle viewing area, whichgives the user an unusually wide field view of more than 60º throughout the zoom range. The eyepiece itself is also waterproofed and filled with nitrogen to prevent fogging.
Adaptors
Nikon FSB-1A Fieldscope Digital Camera Bracket
£229 www.nikon.com/products/sportopticslineuscopes/index.htm
Nikon’s universal digital camera bracket is designed to connect a variety of Nikon Coolpix compact digital cameras to Nikon fieldscopes – the Spotting Scope RAIII and Field-microscope EZ-Micro. A hinged movement means that switching between normal observations and taking pictures is easy and the bracket does not need to be removed from the scope.
Swarovski Digital Camera Base DCB (angled)
£284 www.swarovskioptik.us/en_us/home
The new base from Swarovski has unprecedented functionality for digiscoping. With a simple up and down swinging movement, the base can switch between observation and photography in a matter of seconds. It can be fitted easily to the Swarovski Optik ATM 80/65 (HD) and ATS 80/65 (HD) scopes with 30x, 25-50x and 20-60x eyepieces.
Leica’s Digital Adaptor 3
£320 http://us.leica-camera.com/sport_optics/
Leica’s Digital Adaptor 3 is suitable for use with almost all digital compact cameras. Its adjustment mechanism ensures that the adaptor fits perfectly and several safety mechanisms ensure the camera body is protected at all times. The adaptor is connected to the spotting scope by a locking ring that securely holds and supports the camera and adaptor. Its variable distance adjustment enables mounting on all Leica spotting scopes. You can even use it to attach mobile phones with cameras on them.
Cameras
Pentax Optio W90
£270 www.pentaximaging.com/digital-camera/Optio_W90_Black/
This robust, waterproof and pocket-sized compact isa good choice for the twitcher who likes to spend time in the rain or rough terrain. At 12 megapixels the W90 features a 5x zoom lens, giving a focal range of 28-140mm and HD movie shooting at 1,280x720 pixels at 30 frames per second. This camera has everything you need to get started.
Panasonic Lumix G1 with 14-45mm lens
439 www.panasonic.co.uk
Aimed at the photographer with less experience, this camera will also meet the demands of many serious enthusiasts. At 16MP image quality is good, as is the handling. The controls are easy to use and if you want to take it off its exceptional auto functions you can. It’s not the smallest model in this line-up and doesn’t record video, but it is a good option for the bird-watcher who wants to start capturing images.
Sony NEX-5 plus 16mm and 18-55mm lens
£669 www.sony.co.uk/hub/dslr/nex5-nex3
The smallest compact system camera on the market, the NEX-5 has AVCHD video and Sweep Panorama, making it an interesting proposition for all photographers. It houses a DSLR-sized CMOS sensor that offers 14.2MP in a magnesium body. Unique to Sony, panoramic function automatically stitches together a high-speed burst of frames when you sweep the camera from side to side or up and down.
ONLINE RESOURCES
Bird Forum www.birdforum.net
Digiscoper of the Year http://digiscoperoftheyear.com/en/homeAndy
Holt’s site http://homepage.ntlworld.com/andy.holt/digiscope/
Bird Guide www.birdsofbritain.co.uk
Lawrence Poh, the father of digiscoping www.laurencepoh.com
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