Nikon P5100 (1 Viewer)

[lachlustre]

Well the universal adapter that I was using with My Fuji F30 broke, and I took that as an excuse to buy a P5100 ... so that I could use the Nikon adapter with my ED 80 scope of course.
First impressions: the camera is a mild improvement over my Fuji. Certainly not twice the resolution the pixels promise! The focus, when using macro mode, is significantly quicker, which is a really big deal. The screen of the Nikon also seems better, which really helps with focusing. The main problem so far is the autofocus picking the wrong thing in the frame. Not sure whether this is because I have not explored all the options in the camera yet or not!
What I am really noticing so far, to be honest, is how much of a difference the really solid Nikon adapter makes! No light getting between eyepiece and camera lens any more, really quick set-up, and a really well-fitting, solid clamp onto the eyepiece. (The universal adapter I was using was the generally praised one from Baader, by the way.)
Below are some samples (cropped, smartened up in iPhoto).The turkey vultures I took from around 100-150 ft away at the bottom of the garden, on a day with pretty clear air for here. The goldfinch was on my feeder... around 15 ft away! Not as good as Neil's photos, but what did you expect, really?

 

[On-Firecrest]

Hi guys,
Some fantastic shots your getting with the p5100, I got one for my birthday, it's a cracking camera but i'm struggling to digiscope with it, does anyone know what the cheapest and easiest adapter I can get to fit a kowa tsn-3 is?
Cheers in advance
steve

 

[postcardcv]

Hi guys,
Some fantastic shots your getting with the p5100, I got one for my birthday, it's a cracking camera but i'm struggling to digiscope with it, does anyone know what the cheapest and easiest adapter I can get to fit a kowa tsn-3 is?
Cheers in advance
steve

Hi Steve

one of these will work fine with the P5100 and a TSN-3 - http://www.cleyspy.co.uk/ovl-universal-digiscoping-adapter-i643.html not the most stylish of adapters but it does work well.

 

[On-Firecrest]

Hi Steve

one of these will work fine with the P5100 and a TSN-3 - http://www.cleyspy.co.uk/ovl-universal-digiscoping-adapter-i643.html not the most stylish of adapters but it does work well.

Cheers postcardcv, i'll pick one of those up next time i'm up by Cley. Cheers!

 

[BrianInnes]

Hi Steve

one of these will work fine with the P5100 and a TSN-3 - http://www.cleyspy.co.uk/ovl-universal-digiscoping-adapter-i643.html not the most stylish of adapters but it does work well.

Thats very similar to the adaptor I use. Only modification I've done is modify an old tripods quick release plate bolted on so that I can use a q/r on the camera. Saves aligning the camera up every time.

 

[postcardcv]

Thats very similar to the adaptor I use. Only modification I've done is modify an old tripods quick release plate bolted on so that I can use a q/r on the camera. Saves aligning the camera up every time.

I've done exactly the same with mine :t:

 

[NoSpringChicken]

Thats very similar to the adaptor I use. Only modification I've done is modify an old tripods quick release plate bolted on so that I can use a q/r on the camera. Saves aligning the camera up every time.

That would help with the new Baader swing away adapter too. It's about the same price but bigger.

Ron

 

[blue185jay]

Could one of you guys post a picture of the adapter modification using the quick release plate. This looks like something I could use.

Thanks

Robert

 

[postcardcv]

Could one of you guys post a picture of the adapter modification using the quick release plate. This looks like something I could use.

Thanks

Robert

Here's a shot of my set up - the Qr adpter attaches where the camera normally would, you then put a QR plate on the camera. It does make switching between digiscoping and taking landscapes/snaps much easier.

 

[NoSpringChicken]

Here's a shot of my set up - the Qr adpter attaches where the camera normally would, you then put a QR plate on the camera. It does make switching between digiscoping and taking landscapes/snaps much easier.

Those are really useful photos, Peter. That looks a very worthwhile modification.

I shall have a look for Cullmann quick release platforms now as there is a great choice of QR plates but not many complete assemblies.

Ron

 

[postcardcv]

Both Cullmann (£17) and Manfrotto (£22) make quick release platforms like this, I went for the Cullmann as it is lighter than the Manfrotto (and I had one lying around).

 

[barryj]

Hi John
The thread on the P5100 is M44 X 0.75mm pitch.
Just had an adaptor made for one.
Regards
Barry

 

[blue185jay]

Postcardcv

Thanks so much for the pictures! I see what you are talking about now.

Thanks again,

Robert

 

[pinussen]

Hi,

Really like this camera, great for a newbie like me

One of the problems I have though is when tracking birds while shooting. The camera displays the exposed picture a few seconds making me loose the bird. Is there any setting to get around this problem which I have missed? Perhaps using multishot mode to prevent it from showing the pictures?

Attached two pics from today at Sandemar, Sweden. My third real digiscoping outing. Pics taken with Nikon P5100, home made "slide over ocular" adapter and a Kowa 883 with 20x-60x zoom, great scope.

First is two canada goose which I managed to track quite close. Unfortunally a bit out of fockus and with distracting background.

Second is just an ID-pic of a white tailed eagle. All I got before the battery died. Of course I had forgot the replacement battery in the car :C

Regards Björn
Stockholm, Sweden

 

[Neil]

First is two canada goose which I managed to track quite close. Unfortunally a bit out of fockus and with distracting background.

Björn,
The geese is a good attempt. You should be happy with that as digiscoping flying birds is very hit and miss ( mostly miss ). You might try this crop and if you wanted more space around the birds you could Clone the background onto a bigger Canvas. Neil.

 

[pinussen]

Wow, what a differance withouth the far shorline, didn't think about removing that.

I'll just have to keep trying and test the other shooting modes, didn't think about that until last night.

Regards Björn

 

[rachk116]

Hi there!
I hope this is the right place to put this post. I am new to digiscoping and looking at buying the P5100 (Amazon £178). I have an Opticron HR66 and was wondering what equipment I would need to attach the camera to the telescope.

 

[BrianInnes]

Hi there!
I hope this is the right place to put this post. I am new to digiscoping and looking at buying the P5100 (Amazon £178). I have an Opticron HR66 and was wondering what equipment I would need to attach the camera to the telescope.

I've had quite good results with an adaptor similar to this:

http://www.cleyspy.co.uk/ovl-universal-digiscoping-adapter-i643.html

Not very pretty, but it does the trick especially once you add a q/r plate.

The only 2 things which are holding me back from buying the P5100 is it's lack of RAW (or at least uncompressed TIFF) as then it would be an ideal lightweight camera for hillwalking / cycling rather than my DSLR gear. AA batteries would be nice..

 

[Kalispera]

Have a look at www.pennineonline.com and go to 'digiscoping'.
There is a very similar adapter (Pennine Universal Digital Adapter) to the Cleyspy one and its £10 cheaper!!
Also, SRB Griturn make a swing-away adapter, but this will be much more expensive.

 

[rockfowl]

Hi Folks,

Just to add, I'm very impressed with this camera, it seems to do the job very well. I've been testing it quite alot recently against the Fuji F30 and my original Coolpix 4500 (which I still rate highly). For recent results and my setup, have a look at my site http://www.smandrews.com the Spoon-billed Sandpipers are all P5100, it seemed to take on the challenge remarkably well - harsh light, heathaze and high temperatures

Regards

Mark