Subject: Digital cameras
Date: Nov 15 18:08:22 2002
From: Stuart MacKay - stuart at blarg.net


Check out the Nikon Coolpix series: 990, 995 or 4500. They are ideal
for use with a scope - the camera lens is small and matches the
eyepiece of the scope and the camera zoom mechanism is internal so you
can use an adapter to fix the camera to the scope without damaging the
lens.

The Coolpix 990 and 995 offer a resolution of 3 million pixels: 2048 x
1536 - great for 8 x 10 inch prints. The Coolpix 4500 has a resolution
of 4 million pixels: 2272 X 1704.

The 990 is probably the most popular with people taking bird photos. It
has a x3 zoom and gives superb results. The 995 and 4500 have a x4 zoom
but the general consensus is that Nikon made a mess of the optics such
that at higher magnifications the image is slightly blurred.

Having said that I have a Coolpix 995 (with a Kowa scope with 20-60
zoom) and I like it a lot. I do see the blurred images at higher
magnifications but this is rarely a problem because at higher
magnifications vibration is a real problem. With the camera at x4 and
the scope at x20 the rough magnification is x80 so the slightest
movement will blur the shot unless there is lots of light and the bird
stays still.

For more information seach the web using the key word 'digiscoping'
there are a lot of superb sites out there with lots of information.
Some astounding photographs can be found at:

www.laurencepoh.com

Technical infromation can be found at:

www.digibird.com

I've been taking digital photos of shorebirds with a scope for most of
this year. If anybody wants to see some of the photos, please email me
directly and I can send you some example images.

Stuart
--
Stuart MacKay, Seattle, WA
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