Ultimate Nikon Coolpix Telephoto setup

Anthony,

That is why the Williams NIKON adapter DCL28 is a must in this application. I would also suggest a Remote shutter release and a STURDY tripod. This is definately not a hand held setup. ;-)

Here's the adapter ... It's available separately for $99 - Might work with your existing scopes. ;-)



W.R.Sterling
The US site is at http://www.williamoptics.com/ and it did get a
good review at

http://www.skypub.com/resources/testreports/telescopes/0110william.html as a telescope.

I have several scopes including a 400mm, 500mm and 1250mm scope.
Taking digital pictures through an eyepiece is difficult at best.
There are focusing problems, vinetting problems, and vibration
issues.

This type of setup is definately not for every day use.
 
Lin,

That's where the Nikon swivel could come into play ... You also do not have to use the 45 degree diagonal. Images do not HAVE to be right side up - or even correct right to left. They are easily rotated or flipped with the simplest digital image editing software.

There are also optical solutions using mirrors in the optical path that send the image to a separate eyepiece for sighting then flip out of the way for image taking with the camera.

W.R.Sterling
The output on these images looks very good, but there may be a
hitch which I would want to check out before getting to serious
about this combination.

In the picture, the camera is mounted perpendicular to the scope.
If this is the only way it mounts, and if there is no other way to
see the target when it's mounted other than through the camera's
LCD, then "finding" the bird is going to be REALLY difficult.
Generally, when digiscoping, or even birding with a powerful scope,
it's much easier if the eyepiece is in-line with the barrel of the
telescope. When it is, you can sight over the top and approximate
the location of the target. When it's mounted at 45 degrees or 90
degrees as in the sample, it's darned near impossible to find a
bird and very exasperating trying.

Scopes like the Swarovski come in both 45 degree and straight
configurations and the straight configuration works MUCH
better......

Lin

Lin
 
Lin,

That's where the Nikon swivel could come into play ... You also do
not have to use the 45 degree diagonal. Images do not HAVE to be
right side up - or even correct right to left. They are easily
rotated or flipped with the simplest digital image editing software.

There are also optical solutions using mirrors in the optical path
that send the image to a separate eyepiece for sighting then flip
out of the way for image taking with the camera.

W.R.Sterling
Hi William,

I don't think I made my point very clearly. It's not "seeing" the target in the LCD which is the problem (I do lots of birding and digiscoping with a wide variety of telescopes and cameras), It's FINDING the target with a tiny field of view when using a telescope with either a 45 degree eyepiece or with the eyepiece or camera mounted other than straight on the end of the scope. Think of it this way. If you were hunting and preparing to shoot your game with a rifle, do you think you could aim by pointing the barrel in the general direction of your target while looking down at the sights from above them rather than behind them?? By sighting over the tube like it was a rifle barrel, you can approxomate the position of the bird and more easily find it in the telescope. The higher the power, the smaller the field of view. Add to this the vignetting which occurs when shooting through the eyepiece of a relatively powerful scope and you effectively narrow the field of view to sllightly more than the target size itself.

Celestial telescopes address this problem by having a low powered telescope mounted above or beside the main telescope. These "sighting" aids have a cross-hair which is adjusted so that it "sees" exactly wher the identical center of the main lens is pointed. It's pretty easy to find the moon, for example, with a six power scope. Once you find it and lock the tripod and azimuth to the center view of the sighting scope, the target will be centered on the main scope. The same problem exists when trying to find a tiny area at a distance with a relatively powerful telescope. You can "aim" by sighting over the top of the barrel of the telescope and get reasonably close to your "bird" or other "target" if the eyepiece is in a direct line with the scope's barrel. If it's at a 45 degree or other angle, it's exceedingly difficult to "find" the target. By the time you've located where the bird was, it's no longer there! Believe me, it's MUCH easier if the camera is mounted on the end of the barrel rather than at an angle.

My point is that IF this telescope has no means of allowing the camera to be mounted so that the lens of the CP990, etc., is pointed AT the target - that is in the direction of the target, it's going to be very, very difficult to FIND the target to take the picture.

Lin

Lin
 
Lin,

What part of "you do not have to use the 45 degree diagonal" did you not understand? The 45 degree diagonal is not part of the Megrez scope but a removeeable accessory. Yes, you can remove it and mount the camera in line with the optics. You can also add on a finder scope if you like. the Megrez 80mm is an OTA with a 2 inch focuser. Includes 2" Star Mirror, 2" Photo Adapter, 1.25" eyepiece adapter, soft carrying case, and mounting rings
Here's a pic ...



here's the business end ... no built-in 45 eyepiece here ;-)



W.R.Sterling
Hi William,
I don't think I made my point very clearly. It's not "seeing" the
target in the LCD which is the problem (I do lots of birding and
digiscoping with a wide variety of telescopes and cameras), It's
FINDING the target with a tiny field of view when using a telescope
with either a 45 degree eyepiece or with the eyepiece or camera
mounted other than straight on the end of the scope. Think of it
this way. If you were hunting and preparing to shoot your game with
a rifle, do you think you could aim by pointing the barrel in the
general direction of your target while looking down at the sights
from above them rather than behind them?? By sighting over the
tube like it was a rifle barrel, you can approxomate the position
of the bird and more easily find it in the telescope. The higher
the power, the smaller the field of view. Add to this the
vignetting which occurs when shooting through the eyepiece of a
relatively powerful scope and you effectively narrow the field of
view to sllightly more than the target size itself.

Celestial telescopes address this problem by having a low powered
telescope mounted above or beside the main telescope. These
"sighting" aids have a cross-hair which is adjusted so that it
"sees" exactly wher the identical center of the main lens is
pointed. It's pretty easy to find the moon, for example, with a six
power scope. Once you find it and lock the tripod and azimuth to
the center view of the sighting scope, the target will be centered
on the main scope. The same problem exists when trying to find a
tiny area at a distance with a relatively powerful telescope. You
can "aim" by sighting over the top of the barrel of the telescope
and get reasonably close to your "bird" or other "target" if the
eyepiece is in a direct line with the scope's barrel. If it's at a
45 degree or other angle, it's exceedingly difficult to "find" the
target. By the time you've located where the bird was, it's no
longer there! Believe me, it's MUCH easier if the camera is mounted
on the end of the barrel rather than at an angle.

My point is that IF this telescope has no means of allowing the
camera to be mounted so that the lens of the CP990, etc., is
pointed AT the target - that is in the direction of the target,
it's going to be very, very difficult to FIND the target to take
the picture.

Lin

Lin
 
Can I use my Nikon 300 mm refractor for a film camera on my 885?

Newbie!!

Bob
Check out this link to the folks at Williams Optics in Taiwan ... I
had been drooling over their Megrez 80 for some months ... now it
turns out they have a specific Nikon 28mm adapter for their
telescopes. You can see the results here ... Check out the
equivalent focal lengths!!

See the Test1 Test2 and TEST3 links mid page.

http://www.optics.com.tw/E/Telescope/MEGREZ.html

I have no relationship with these people other than as a potential
customer for the telescope. sigh.

W.R.Sterling
 
Lin,

What part of "you do not have to use the 45 degree diagonal" did
you not understand? >
Here's a pic ...

Maybe this part.....



When the only picture of a mounted scope looks like this, I have no way of determining whether or not it can be mounted otherwise :-)

Lin
 
Lin,

What part of "you do not have to use the 45 degree diagonal" did
you not understand? >
Here's a pic ...


I don't mean to be argumentative William, but you didn't make your case with a tremendous amount of explanation. You apparently have some inside knowledge about this combination which isn't available on their web site. If that's the case, it would be helpful if you said so. I find their web information a bit confusing, partly because of their poor command of the English language, and partly because their picture of the mounted camera doesn't imply that it can be mounted in other ways. If you read all their text, you get the impression that they have specialized lenses for use with the CoolPix cameras and do not function as most spotting scopes where the camera is actually shooting directly through a standard eyepiece with a mount.

The text in the picture above clearly states that the 45 degree prism (DCL-28) which I assume means Digital Camera "L" mount 28mm (Nikon's lens size) comes in the Digital Camera package. Now, when you say "what part of you do not need to use the 45 degree..... do you not understand?" I have only your word for it, and you have already said that you don't, as yet, own the scope - so......... Where DID you get the information that the scope can be mounted in other ways? I'm not saying it can't - if you read my post carefully you would see the emphasized "IF". I'm just saying that before I consider seriously spending over six hundred dollars, I would like to be sure.....

Lin

Lin
 
Lin,

What part of "you do not have to use the 45 degree diagonal" did
you not understand? >
Here's a pic ...


I don't mean to be argumentative William, but you didn't make your
case with a tremendous amount of explanation. You apparently have
some inside knowledge about this combination which isn't available
on their web site. If that's the case, it would be helpful if you
said so. I find their web information a bit confusing, partly
because of their poor command of the English language, and partly
because their picture of the mounted camera doesn't imply that it
can be mounted in other ways. If you read all their text, you get
the impression that they have specialized lenses for use with the
CoolPix cameras and do not function as most spotting scopes where
the camera is actually shooting directly through a standard
eyepiece with a mount.

The text in the picture above clearly states that the 45 degree
prism (DCL-28) which I assume means Digital Camera "L" mount 28mm
(Nikon's lens size) comes in the Digital Camera package. Now, when
you say "what part of you do not need to use the 45 degree..... do
you not understand?" I have only your word for it, and you have
already said that you don't, as yet, own the scope - so.........
Where DID you get the information that the scope can be mounted in
other ways? I'm not saying it can't - if you read my post carefully
you would see the emphasized "IF". I'm just saying that before I
consider seriously spending over six hundred dollars, I would like
to be sure.....

Lin

Lin
I am not sure I understand this but what is wrong with setting up your own finder. The company says 100% guarantee for high image quality, so I guess it would be worth trying to find out the value and explanation of this guarantee.

Michael
 
I am not sure I understand this but what is wrong with setting up
your own finder. The company says 100% guarantee for high image
quality, so I guess it would be worth trying to find out the value
and explanation of this guarantee.

Michael
Hi Michael,

I think that setting up a finder scope would not be too terribly difficult, once you had everything you needed (6x monocular with a crosshair - cheap rifle scope would probably work) and the necessary mounting and adjusting hardware. It must be mounted securely to the scope body and must have some means of adjusting exactly where it's pointed so that it converges with the view from the main telescope. On my celestial telescopes, there are set screws which position the finder scope so you can set up a target and center the view on the main scope then adjust the finder to synchronize exactly. It might take a little time, but it's not an impossible task.

As for the guarantee - it's only as good as the word of the company. Not being familiar with the manufacturer, I would want references from a number of people who have had dealings with them in the past before I spent my money. If the instrument is shipped to the U.S. from overseas, there will be duty charges. Though it may only amount to $25 or $30, who pays this if you have to return it? Who pays shipping and insurance? This could amount to a sizeable amount should it turn out to not be satisfactory. On the other hand, if it's distributed in your country by someone you trust, it's much less of a risk.

It certainly sounds like a bargain. My Swarovski ST80-HD spotting scope cost me over $1500 with one eyepiece. If this does equally well, it would be a major savings. On the other hand, a very good Meade ETX-90 (I have one of these too) can be purchased for about $325. The Meade is an excellent product which has a fixed 1200mm port for 35mm or digital SLR's (over 1900mm with my D30 with the 60 percent smaller than full frame sensor) at F13.8. With different eyepieces and mounting attachments, it can also be used very effectively with the CPxxx series of Nikon's. I sometimes use it with my CP950 and CP990. It comes with a finder scope, but not with an attachment to shoot through the eyepiece. The F-stop is a bit higher in general than that advertised with the MEGREZ, but I'm wondering if the advertised F-stop range is what you get using the camera attached. If you are shooting through an accessory lens as I think you must, then the advertised F-stop may be additive. For example, if the advertised F-stop is 6.4 and the full or near full zoom on the CPxxx is 4.0, the actual F-stop would be approximately 10.4 or so.

Lin
 
I'm not sure if this is the case, but it appears that the "Williams" adapter is actually an eyepiece which threads to the 28mm camera. In other words, no adapter is actually necessary to connect the camera to shoot through an eyepiece because the eyepiece itself is threaded.

If this is the case, it would be helpful to know what the diameter of the barrel on the eyepiece is to determine whether it has utility for other scope barrels. If it could be used, for instance, with a Celestron, Meade, Swarovski, etc., it might be very useful and less expensive than some eyepieces made for these cameras which still need an adapter to connect them to the camera.

Does anyone know if this "Williams" adapter is available elsewhere?

Lin
 
Lin,

Sorry about that, I didn't mean to be confusing. I guess I should have been more explicit about the fact that the Megrez 80SD is an astro telescope, not a Spotting scope with integral 45 degree diagonal. I've been looking at this puppy for a year now.

Here's some inetersting 'inside' info I got from the US importer...

Wait til after 1st of year and make sure the unit you order has fully coated primary lens ( current stock is coated on front lens element only. Also after 1st they are supposed to be switching to a much higher quality diagonal. The current one introduces some slight astigmatism. Neither of these are really important for terrestial photography ( I wouldnt use the diagonal anyway ) but will make small improvements for astronomical use with improved star images.

W.R.Sterling

p.s. The US importer/retailer is Anacortes Telescope and Wild Bird located at http://www.buytelescopes.com/
Lin,

What part of "you do not have to use the 45 degree diagonal" did
you not understand? >
Here's a pic ...

Maybe this part.....



When the only picture of a mounted scope looks like this, I have no
way of determining whether or not it can be mounted otherwise :-)

Lin
 
Lin,

Sorry about that, I didn't mean to be confusing. I guess I should
have been more explicit about the fact that the Megrez 80SD is an
astro telescope, not a Spotting scope with integral 45 degree
diagonal. I've been looking at this puppy for a year now.

Here's some inetersting 'inside' info I got from the US importer...

Wait til after 1st of year and make sure the unit you order has
fully coated primary lens ( current stock is coated on front lens
element only. Also after 1st they are supposed to be switching to a
much higher quality diagonal. The current one introduces some
slight astigmatism. Neither of these are really important for
terrestial photography ( I wouldnt use the diagonal anyway ) but
will make small improvements for astronomical use with improved
star images.

W.R.Sterling

p.s. The US importer/retailer is Anacortes Telescope and Wild Bird
located at http://www.buytelescopes.com/
William,

Thank's for the link and info. I found the link to "William Optics" site with a description of the eyepiece - it's nice to know that there is a local (U.S.) dealer. It definitely sounds like a winning combination. I've had good luck with both my Meade ETX (celestial version) and my Swarovski, but the eyepiece from "William Optics" sounds like it could make a big improvement for both when used with the CPxxx's.

The lowest power eyepiece I have for the Meade ETX is a 25x, and shooting through it is a bit marginal on light for my 990 and 950, but very clean with a little PhotoShop leveling for moon shots, etc. It's obvious that the astro scopes can be used quite effectively for birding, especially with a Nikon or DigiSnap release (I use the old DigiSnap 1000). The combo with the MEGREZ sounds ideal for terrestrial use. The sample images displayed are quite clean and I see no serious chromatic aberration - at least not beyond what is normally produced by the camera's internal lens. The coating seems fairly well compatible, though the fully coated primary will be worth waiting for.

I think I'll order the "William Optics" eyepiece and try it with my Meade and Swarovski. The additonal zoom range alone will definitely be worth the $99 price. Hope you can get the MEGREZ after the 1st and we can compare the performance - I'm always open for new technology.

Best,
Lin
 
No...

I have tried to hook reflex lenses to my digital cameras before and I have always been able to see the mirror. On a SLR, there is no lense bending the light between the mirror and the film plane. Not true for a digital camera.

Now, if you could attach a corrective lens, like the setup on a telescope where you have an eyepiece. Then the second lens corrects the focus issue and the little digital can do its thing. Now getting this 'eyepiece' attached is a problem since the lens may not have enough focus throw.

Better to stick with telescopes or spoting scope which already do this for you. Of get a interchangable lens digital SLR to mount the reflex to.

Tony
Can I use my Nikon 300 mm refractor for a film camera on my 885?

Newbie!!

Bob
 
The US site is at http://www.williamoptics.com/ and it did get a
good review at

http://www.skypub.com/resources/testreports/telescopes/0110william.html as a telescope.

I have several scopes including a 400mm, 500mm and 1250mm scope.
Taking digital pictures through an eyepiece is difficult at best.
There are focusing problems, vinetting problems, and vibration
issues.

This type of setup is definately not for every day use.
We (bird digiscopers) use it daily in our pursuit of birds using mostly Leicas and Swarovskis without problem. It is not difficult once you get used to it. Check out my site and other links there. Laurence Poh
Ipoh, Perak, Malaysia

Laurence's Digital Birds: http://www.angelfire.com/pe2/digiscoping/index.htm
 
Lin,

Did some more searching including translating Chinese to English ( fun! )

The 'adapter' is a high quality ( aspherical lens elements + full multicoating ) telescope ocular with a 24mm focal length and 52 degree apparent FOV - when used by itself you would have a 20 power telescope with the Megrez 80sd. The ocular has a 28mm thread to connect directly to a Nikon Coolpix. This gives the tightest optical coupling possible between the two lens systems.

You can use it with any optical device using a 1.25 inch barrel mount.

When used with a Nikon Coolpix you will need to use about 1.3x zoom minimum to avoid vignetting ... this gives you a 26 to 60 power range with the 990 and a 26 to 80 power range with the 995. ( equivalent 35mm would be a 1300mm to 3000mm or 4000mm telephoto !)

William Yang says he will have a 2 inch mount .65X field flattener some time soon.

I'm going to get the adapter myself from Anacortes right away. ;-)

W.R.Sterling
I'm not sure if this is the case, but it appears that the
"Williams" adapter is actually an eyepiece which threads to the
28mm camera. In other words, no adapter is actually necessary to
connect the camera to shoot through an eyepiece because the
eyepiece itself is threaded.

If this is the case, it would be helpful to know what the diameter
of the barrel on the eyepiece is to determine whether it has
utility for other scope barrels. If it could be used, for instance,
with a Celestron, Meade, Swarovski, etc., it might be very useful
and less expensive than some eyepieces made for these cameras which
still need an adapter to connect them to the camera.

Does anyone know if this "Williams" adapter is available elsewhere?

Lin
 
I'm not sure if this is the case, but it appears that the
"Williams" adapter is actually an eyepiece which threads to the
28mm camera. In other words, no adapter is actually necessary to
connect the camera to shoot through an eyepiece because the
eyepiece itself is threaded.

If this is the case, it would be helpful to know what the diameter
of the barrel on the eyepiece is to determine whether it has
utility for other scope barrels. If it could be used, for instance,
with a Celestron, Meade, Swarovski, etc., it might be very useful
and less expensive than some eyepieces made for these cameras which
still need an adapter to connect them to the camera.

Does anyone know if this "Williams" adapter is available elsewhere?

Lin
Thanks Lin, I guess it is a bit more of a minefield in the U.S then here in the U.K. I do not think I have any scopes with a 1.25 inch mount but I wonder if this scope could be adapted to the CP5000.

Michael
 
Ipoh,

I like your setup. Using a telescope designed for astronomy for this purpose can be done but it presents too many issues.

A telescope is designed to be mounted to its base via mounting rings which go around the circumverence of the tube. Usually two rings are used for balance and a plate with a 1/4-20 mounting hole is required to mount it on a standard tripod. You have to go through that effort since a telescope tripod is usually built without retracting legs and most of the time requires tools to allow the legs to come together for carrying. Also, they tend to weight 20-40 lbs to provide a more stable base for the telescope.

The williamsoptics telescope comes with a 2" focuser. Combined with its 2" mirror prism and a 2" eyepiece, it is second to none in astronomy work. But it is not good for digiscoping. The 90 degree mirror reverses the image. Since in astronomy work you tend to have to look straight up, this is a minor issue. In photography, I would rather not reverse my image. So you have to get a 45 degree prism instead and I have only seen these in 1 1/4" models so now you won't be able to use your 2" eyepieces, you need to use 1 1/4" ones.

So if you must have a telescope, why not one designed for terrestrial use. http://www.telescope.com/cgi-bin/OrionTel.storefront/3bed6451008a46d22719c0a80a6606cc/Catalog/AM has several scopes which directly address the issues I mentioned. They can mount on a standard tripod. They use 1 1/4" focuser and come with a 45 degree prism. They even come with an alignment view finder to ease pointing the setup. The only thing they don't come with is a way to mount your camera and you can always get the williams optics accessory or go to http://ckcpower.com/ for one of their setups.

Now back to your setup. The leica comes with a dual focuser alowing for coarse and fine adjustments. Combined with a midrange focal length (of 800mm vs 480 for the williams vs 1250 for the Orion) and a builtin photo tripod mount. Focusing is done up top, not where the camera is attached to the scope. This makes for one easy to use setup.

I would think this would be the setup of choice, not the williams. I would even pick the orion 90mm setup over the williams since it is easier to use.

Tony
The US site is at http://www.williamoptics.com

This type of setup is definately not for every day use.
We (bird digiscopers) use it daily in our pursuit of birds using
mostly Leicas and Swarovskis without problem. It is not difficult
once you get used to it. Check out my site and other links there.
Laurence Poh
Ipoh, Perak, Malaysia

Laurence's Digital Birds:
http://www.angelfire.com/pe2/digiscoping/index.htm
 
I bought this scope a few weeks ago. While it is a decent scope, I had a number of problems with it so far: the scope arrived with paint-damage to the dewshield, the coolpix-adapter had a scratch on the inside of the lens-assembly, and the diagonal produced some distortion on bright pinpoint objects such as stars. I should have insisted on returning the scope to Anacortes and get a refund, but I foolishly agreed to send everything to a US representative of William Optics to have it fixed. When I got it back, the dewshield had been fixed, but nothing had been done about the camera adapter, and furthermore the scope is now impossible to focus on "infinity" (which you need to look at the stars). I am currently waiting for Willam Optics to respond to these new problems.

Don't get me wrong: I like the scope. As the reviews say, optical quality is good and the mechanics are excellent. I just got a bad one, and the support I got in response to my problems was sub-par. Something to keep in mind when buying. Also, if you plan to use this as a telephoto lens, be aware that the scope is quite big and heavy. The scope+camera assembly will be almost 2 feet long and weigh 8 pounds. Unless you have a specific need for a telescope or 24-100x magnification, you should consider getting something like the Kenko or even the Nikon 3x converter.
 
Marco,

Sounds like you got a recycled product from Anacortes ... I'd have some words with them. I understand the currrent diagonal has some astigmatism and is to be replaced with a better one soon, you should get Anacortes commitment to replace yours when they come in. Be firm!

As I pointed out in a separate post this scope with a coolpix is a LOOOONNG lens. 26 to 60 or 80 power depending on your Nikon model. Personally I like the idea of a more massive lens when working at these powers ... the lens needs to be steady as a rock during exposure. It goes without saying that you need a very beefy and rigid tripod. A simple test is to try to push on the side of the scope at the eyepiece while it is locked down ... there should be no movement or vibration at all

W.R.Sterling

p.s. Who was the U.S. Representative?
I bought this scope a few weeks ago. While it is a decent scope, I
had a number of problems with it so far: the scope arrived with
paint-damage to the dewshield, the coolpix-adapter had a scratch on
the inside of the lens-assembly, and the diagonal produced some
distortion on bright pinpoint objects such as stars. I should have
insisted on returning the scope to Anacortes and get a refund, but
I foolishly agreed to send everything to a US representative of
William Optics to have it fixed. When I got it back, the dewshield
had been fixed, but nothing had been done about the camera adapter,
and furthermore the scope is now impossible to focus on "infinity"
(which you need to look at the stars). I am currently waiting for
Willam Optics to respond to these new problems.
Don't get me wrong:
I like the scope. As the reviews say, optical quality is good and
the mechanics are excellent. I just got a bad one, and the support
I got in response to my problems was sub-par. Something to keep in
mind when buying. Also, if you plan to use this as a telephoto
lens, be aware that the scope is quite big and heavy. The
scope+camera assembly will be almost 2 feet long and weigh 8
pounds. Unless you have a specific need for a telescope or 24-100x
magnification, you should consider getting something like the Kenko
or even the Nikon 3x converter.
 

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