I began digiscoping in January 2001. I already owned the spotting scope and tripod, which I have not upgraded as yet. The scope lacks the HD glass, which would reduce chromatic aberration.
The cameras I have used are:
Nikon CP 990
Nikon CP 5000
Nikon CP 5400
Nikon CP 8400
My spotting scope is:
Swarovski AT80 w/ 20 ~ 60mm eyepiece
My tripod and head are:
Bogen 3221 w/ a 3130 video panning fluid head
My current shutter release is the Digisnap 2000, which will be adapted for the CP 8400 to operate as an infared trigger.
Here are some pictures of my Nikon CP 990 rig:
Here is my Nikon CP 5000 rig:
And, my current Nikon CP 8400 rig:
Some of my adapters and other equipment:
The CP990 is attached to the Swarovski spotting scope, with a Digimount adapter made by Eagle Eye Optics. I use the adapter because it steadies the camera to the scope, it centers the camera lens with the scope occular and it frees up my hands for the numerous other tasks that accompany photography. I have been focusing on the birds through the 2x magnifier and sun shade. It is very difficult, but I do not believe I could focus the scope first, and then attach the Digimount and still have a bird to photograph. I began digiscoping by hand-holding the camera to the scope. Photographs appearing on the first three pages of my site were made by hand-holding. The fourth page is where I begin to display my work using the Digimount.
The CP 5000 uses an adapter over its lens to step down to Dr. Cheang's adapter, which is 28mm.
The CP 8400 uses the Nikon UR-E15 step down adapter (pictured below) to couple with Dr. Cheang's adapter.
I have since sold it, but I got some great digipix with my Nikon CP 5400. It required a different eyepiece to avoid vignetting, so I got the Scopetronix Maxview 40 eyepiece, which worked very well with the CP 5400.
The LCD can be very difficult to read outdoors, especially in the sun. I found this to be true for the CP 990 and the CP 5000. The Extend-a-view shade worked very well for me. It is a 2x magnifier, which caused the image in the LCD to pixilate. I could make it work, but some folks hated it.
This is Eagle Optics 5x extender works well for those shots too close for the 20x of a spotting scope.
DEDICATION
Digiscoping is a relatively new approach to bird photography. It was pioneered by Laurence Poh of Ipoh, Malaysia in the late 1990s. Laurence died in 2004, and he is sorely missed by the international digiscoping community. Pictured with him below is Dr. Cheang Kum Seng, who also lives in Ipoh, and who designed and made my UDC adapter. I dedicate my digiscoping to the memory of our brother Laurence.
