Nikon P5100 (1 Viewer)

[Paul Corfield]

Which is faster, the SD or SDHC card?

It's not so much which is faster between the two formats, you need to look at the class rating of the card. As an example -

Class 2: 2 MB/s
Class 4: 4 MB/s
Class 6: 6 MB/s

I recently changed from a 1GB SD card to a pair of Class 6 4GB SDHC cards. I didn't notice any real difference in performance in the camera but copying the images to the PC was way quicker. I shoot in RAW all the time so the bigger cards are a worthwhile investment although I prefer to buy them in 4GB size which gives me about 250 RAW images per card. I'd rather do that than have all my photos on one really big card for the same reasons Andrew mentioned.

Paul.

 

[Upland Birder]

Thanks for the info Andrew and I agree with you.

Thanks also to Paul.

Cheers

Dean:t:

 

[Sleeper]

SD and SDHC does not refer to speed of the card as Andrew kindly mention this means "SD=Secure Digital" and "SDHC=Secure Digital High Capacity"

The read and write sppeds are card specific and each card should give the info of the "speed".

The extreme III cards are excellent and also very good in DSLR if the camera has the ability to shoot X amount of frames per second. In digiscoping with the P5100 the read and write speeds are not particularly important as the camera is the slowest factor in the chain. But I still use the extreme III.

 

[pinussen]

I just had a look at one of the price comparison sites and it seems Sandisk Extreme III wins in writespeed, both SD and SDHC is rated at 20 MB/s. If that data is correct they are way ahead of other makes at only 2-12 MB/s max.

Would be interresting to know how fast the bus in the camera can write, if there is any point in buying the fastest cards.

 

[Paul Corfield]

I got a couple of the Class 6 Transcend 4GB SDHC cards for about £8 each and they are rated at 20mb read and 13mb write which has been plenty fast enough for shooting on my Canon 450D and really quick for transferring loads of RAW images to the computer.

Paul.

 

[Dark Wolf]

Hoodman LCD Sun screen

Well Bill, I received my Hoodman H-200 LCD (almost put LSD, Freudian slip or flashback?) today. Unfortunately I was out trying to take pictures of Buff-breasted Sandpipers, where I could really have used it, but it was stuck in my mailbox.

The hood folds into a box, so goes up or down quickly.

You have two options with this hood: apply Velcro strips (2) or use the attached elastic that goes around any 2 inch LCD screen and attach's back on the hood.

I personally don't like to put Velcro on unless necessary, so I just stretched the band around the 5100 and the hood covers the screen fairly well.

So if this is what your purchasing, then you really don't need any other attachment.

I'll try it tomorrow and report on results.
sMeyer

 

[Icklesal]

Nikon Lens advice

Hi all, :hi:

New to birdwatching in general, I recently purchased the Nikon Digiscoping Kit - The Nikon RA III 65A Spotting Scope with a 20x wide-angle digital eyepiece, stay-on case, a Nikon FSB6 mount, a Nikon Coolpix P5100 12.1 megapixel camera offered by In Focus/Nikon stand at the recent Bird Fair.

Lovely as this is, I'm a complete novice and virgin to digiscoping and to start with will look to practice using the kit close to home before venturing out into the reserves, but was just wondering from the Nikon range of eyepiece lenses, what is worth buying.

I don't always want to rely on using the Nikon P5100's digital Zoom for viewing and would like to be able to use the RA III 65A Spotting Scope independently, so if I'm looking to zoom in on my subjects using just the scope, what do you suggest I buy?.....any preferences?

Any help is appreciated

 

[Neil]

Nikon Lens advice

Hi all, :hi:

New to birdwatching in general, I recently purchased the Nikon Digiscoping Kit - The Nikon RA III 65A Spotting Scope with a 20x wide-angle digital eyepiece, stay-on case, a Nikon FSB6 mount, a Nikon Coolpix P5100 12.1 megapixel camera offered by In Focus/Nikon stand at the recent Bird Fair.

Lovely as this is, I'm a complete novice and virgin to digiscoping and to start with will look to practice using the kit close to home before venturing out into the reserves, but was just wondering from the Nikon range of eyepiece lenses, what is worth buying.

I don't always want to rely on using the Nikon P5100's digital Zoom for viewing and would like to be able to use the RA III 65A Spotting Scope independently, so if I'm looking to zoom in on my subjects using just the scope, what do you suggest I buy?.....any preferences?

Any help is appreciated

Well done on your purchase and joining the digiscoping world.
For general viewing and digiscoping many people use a 30x eyepiece to maximise the potential from the camera zoom ( up to 60x total magnification with an 80 mm scope ). The Eye Relief of the zoom eyepiece may not be enough. For digiscoping cameras they like at least 18 mm of Eye Relief in the eyepiece.
You will lose light gathering with higher magnification eyepieces so don't be too ambitious.
Good luck and let's see some of your photos here.
Neil.

 

[Icklesal]

Thank you Neil for the advice.

I just hope that I've made the right choice with the scope. Getting an "all-in-one" kit so to speak always concerns me a little as they do tend to go for slightly cheaper models to keep the price down.

I've been experimenting today with trying to take photos of Butterflies, I tried the Garden birds but the neighbours cat keeps gatecrashing the patio!

Are there any threads on here that are specific to the The Nikon RA III 65A Spotting Scope with a Nikon Coolpix P5100 - or any members on the forum here that own the same kit.

It would be interesting to compare results and see what the best set up is for getting decent shots. It's very difficult to compare when most of the pics seem to be aided by the very nice Swarovski Scopes!

 

[Icklesal]

Very nice first images. You should be very pleased.
The battery of the P5100 never runs out so don't worry about that. You may never see the low battery indicator as you should get a full days shooting on one battery (at least 2 gigs).
I use an external card reader and copy and paste from the desktop with the SD card. No problem.
Neil.

Was reading up on all the tips today and noted this comment made by yourself Neil. It's got me slightly concerned now as I have only being using the P5100 for a few hours on what I assumed was a fully charged battery. I charged it before using it in the Nikon charger.

Yet after trying a few hours digiscoping (I admit it has been switched on and off a few times and I now have set the Autoswith off to 5m instead of 1m) it's told me I have low battery and I'm having to recharge it already - I expected at least 2 days out of it, much like you would a mobile phone given that it is a lithium battery.

Bit puzzled... do you think it could be faulty....?

 

[Icklesal]

First Attempts - The Nikon RA III 65A Spotting Scope with a Nikon Coolpix P5100

Thought I'd just share my very first digiscoping efforts with you using the Nikon P5100 Digiscoping Kit.

They aren't photographic works of art and there's heaps of room for improvement but I have to say I am pretty pleased with the results.

None of the images have had any correction at all and I only shot them at 2mb mainly using the Auto settings on the P5100 as I wanted to see how the camera faired in the 'just point and shoot mode'. The second Blue Tit was taken through a window, hence the lightness.

If I'm going to be critical then personally the sharpness and noise is a problem for me on alot of my efforts today. And there are a few colouration issues that I noticed when taking a pic of a flower. However that could well be the scope and not the camera.

But with the aid of this forum I'm hoping to improve and adjust the camera settings to get the best results I can from it. I'm certainly no photographer but enjoying the challenge. :gh:

 

[BillB]

Overall, I think a very nice set of pictures. Note that the camera focuses on the center of the image, so it preferable to preset the focus on the bird, if off-center (the two Tits). I would suggest experimenting with another setting, such as Aperture Priority, where you are able to set the f-stop (to improve the depth of field) and the ISO setting (to prevent excessive noise).

Regards,
Bill

 

[Icklesal]

Hi Bill,

thanks for the positive words.

Please can you explain Aperture Priority...It's mentioned several times on here. Sorry to sound dense but my knowledge of cameras and photography quite ignorantly don't go beyond point and shoot and I guess I am expecting too much from the camera/scope to produce amazing results on the Auto settings alone.

I've got one really good shot of my favourite little Robin today and it's hit just the right spot, (will post later if I have time) but on messing with other settings I seem to be right back to square one.

 

[BillB]

AP allows setting the F stop, then the camera sets the shutter speed for the correct exposure. I would suggest reading "Andys' Recommended Settings" (http://www.birdforum.net/showthread.php?t=3302). This is a good starting point. Also, Neil has written often on camera settings that he uses. It also might be a good idea to curl up with the camera manual, and read from the beginning through at least the section on the camera modes.

The best thing is continual experimentation. You can always erase the duds.

Bill

 

[Icklesal]

Another day scoping...

Well yet again I've been hard at it with the digiscope....results not too bad again today, although fog early this morning did have impact on some of the shots my partner chanced.

I seemed to desperately be having little luck trying to chase a Dunnock around the garden with the lense but it wasn't having any media exposure today that's for sure!

However, my one favourite little star that for some months has been rather elusive was our little Rocky - (yes I'm afraid we do name our birds - probably the subject of another discussion no doubt)! In true style he's been teasing me all day, popping up just as I'm about to walk away from the scope!

But I finally got him....and it's my favourite shot yet! It's almost as though he's saying "Well c'mon then..I'm here now!"

I sharpened it slightly in photoshop but other than that it's just been cropped and is literally in it's original state. If only I had noted the settings, although my guess is that it was Auto! - Here's hoping!

 

[BillB]

Superb shot! The focus is spot on. Since it apparently was shot on a fence at an angle, the depth of field you are working with is well illustrated. The actual settings (F stop, shutter speed, etc.) will be in the EXIF data appended to the raw photo. In my photo browser, I get the data by right clicking on the photo, then selecting "properties".

Bill

 

[Sleeper]

Hi Bill,

thanks for the positive words.

Please can you explain Aperture Priority...It's mentioned several times on here. Sorry to sound dense but my knowledge of cameras and photography quite ignorantly don't go beyond point and shoot and I guess I am expecting too much from the camera/scope to produce amazing results on the Auto settings alone.

I've got one really good shot of my favourite little Robin today and it's hit just the right spot, (will post later if I have time) but on messing with other settings I seem to be right back to square one.

Hi

I have put together a quick fire settings page on my website if this helps you in your new found challenge!

http://www.wildrossendale.co.uk/60.html

 

[Neil]

Was reading up on all the tips today and noted this comment made by yourself Neil. It's got me slightly concerned now as I have only being using the P5100 for a few hours on what I assumed was a fully charged battery. I charged it before using it in the Nikon charger.

Yet after trying a few hours digiscoping (I admit it has been switched on and off a few times and I now have set the Autoswith off to 5m instead of 1m) it's told me I have low battery and I'm having to recharge it already - I expected at least 2 days out of it, much like you would a mobile phone given that it is a lithium battery.

Bit puzzled... do you think it could be faulty....?

I normally charge the first time overnight. I usually get at least 2gigs on a battery but I have it set to switch off after 1 min.
Neil.

 

[pinussen]

The battery drains quite fast if you turn it on and off alot. One thing to remember though is that it lasts quite long after the battery symbol lights up. Unless there is a shot I really don't want to miss I keep using it until it shuts down on it's own.

 

[Icklesal]

Superb shot! The focus is spot on. Since it apparently was shot on a fence at an angle, the depth of field you are working with is well illustrated. The actual settings (F stop, shutter speed, etc.) will be in the EXIF data appended to the raw photo. In my photo browser, I get the data by right clicking on the photo, then selecting "properties".

Bill

Thank you very much - In fact I've so impressed myself that it's now appeared as my desktop wallpaper both at home and at work! :t:

As for checking what data I used. I'm on a mac so not sure the options you have told me are applicable? Maybe I could find out the same info in Photoshop or maybe my transfer photo program that the Nikon launches with. Thanks again to all though for the encouragement