Digiscoping News: Panasonic DMW-GF1 & 14-45 mm/ f3.5 - 5.6

Bronze-winged Jacana

Metopidius indicus

นกพริก

Ratchaburi  16.03.12

I must say that it is very unlikely that I would have made any progress whatsoever with digiscoping were it not for subscribing to Digiscoping Birds. Members have been generous in their support and help and it is a good place to learn about the craft and what actually works. If you are interested in digiscoping I strongly recommend you to subscribe and lurk! 

It is now recognised that an Electronic View Finder (EVF)  is an absolutely indispensable tool in the digiscoper's box. I have used a loupe to view the LCD since I started and they have limitations. A further factor is my camera of the choice, the Nikon P6000, has comparatively low LCD resolution, at 230,000 dots on its 2.7 inch screen. These factors really govern what you see when you are composing your image and are critical to focus; moreover the birds are rarely up close so getting tack sharp focus is challenging.

When a second-hand Panasonic GF1 kit came up for sale in Thailand a few days ago with an EVF I had to get it. No matter that the model is obsolete, no matter that there are higher specification cameras out there, this appeared to be a perfect camera and having checked with Tara Tanaka, 2011 Digiscoper of the Year and a major Panasonic 4/3 advocate, I didn't need any more encouragement.  The camera has a 3 inch LCD with 460,000 dot resolution. However it has an EVF and while the resolution here is less than the LCD and less than the Nikon P600 at 200,000 dots, the key is it allows the user to magnify focus.

My reading of the reviews was the GF1 was seen as a great improvement on the much lauded G1. It has been replaced by the new GX1. I had a look at the latter's specifications and to be honest I don't need a top of the range specification. The GF1's spec will be perfectly adequate for my needs and will get me started in the 4/3 camera world. I can wait for the much lauded Nikon V1 and the Panasonic GX1.

So the above shot of  a Bronze-winged Jacana would have been difficult at best with the Nikon P6000: I would have lost a lot of the detail and I doubt whether I would have managed to get sharp focus. This is the nub of the matter: the EVF enables you to zoom in for fine focus, no loupe needed. This shot is the result of fine focussing using the EVF, it's been cropped and tweaked a little; it won't win any competitions but there is enough there for me to think I am heading in the right direction. The bird was probably about 40 yards' distant. I used the 14-45 mm/f3.5 - 5.6 Lens attached to the Kowa 25x LER using the Kowa DA-10 adaptor. The lens's adaptor thread is 52 mm so it screws directly onto the DA-10 adaptor without any step rings. Vignetting disappears about 20 mm and the shot was taken at 26 mm.

A further factor in persuading me was the transaction would not attract customs duty which sometimes can add a further 20% to the total cost. Plus it included a 20 mm pancake lense, a spare battery and a release cable. I'll need to get a step-up ring to use the pancake lens; I am told this is a great lens.

So watch this space and hopefully you'll see better quality images as I get to know my way around this new system. But let me just say this set-up works and potentially works very well for digiscoping birds.

My 'New' Nikon P6000

Common Snipe

Ratchaburi

24.11.11

I have to say I am getting a really good feel about my 'new' digiscoping camera, a used Nikon P6000 I bought off a fellow digiscoper in the US. In fact it feels better than the one that died and caused me so much grief. It's been a little bit frustrating this week because the light at the moment is usually on the wane from about 17:00h and gone completely by about 17:40h. Far from ideal for digiscoping. However this snipe in the local rice paddy in Ratchaburi was in the setting sun tonight with me in between. I am quite pleased with the shot. I used a sun shade which came with the camera. Normally I use a loupe with a diopter. I don't think the focus is perfect in this shot but I think it is better than when using the diopter. A little bit too early to say for sure. Hopefully this weekend I'll get out into some decent light and see what the results are. But I am really encouraged by this.

Thick-billed Warbler

Streak-eared Bulbul

Ratchaburi

12.11.11

I have finally shaken off the trots I am happy to report which means I was able to go out birding for a few hours in the local rice paddy this afternoon in Ratchaburi. A frustrating sort of afternoon as the light was really poor so no decent shots. Pity because the weather, especially the light, has been good all week with lots of decent sunshine. Not today!

On arrival lots of Common Snipe in their usual spot. I decided to seek out raptors and the Thick-billed Warbler. So I took a walk along the side of the railway and stumbled upon a male Pied Harrier at a good distance, too far away for photographing but a feast for the eyes as he lorded it up: "fit for purpose" sprung to my mind. He didn't hang around for long. Good however to note his continued presence in the rice paddy.

I then sat out in a small sala, in effect a DIY sun shade, but nothing of interest came out or appeared. A male Pied Harrier flew in briefly but headed off  almost immediately. I then managed to sight a pair of distant Greater Racket-tailed Drongos; not very common in this area. All the usual suspects. I decided to head back to the car after a pretty fruitless 90 minutes.

As I was walking back along the side of the railway a small brown bird flew into the foliage on the railway embankment. I managed to pick it up in my bins from the movement of the foliage and I got enough of a view to be able to say it was a Thick-billed Warbler. Head above the bill all dark, throat buffer than the rest of the breast, bill distinct, I would say the  upper mandible is very broad. However a real skulker and not a perfoprmer, a very different looking bird from the Oriental Reed Warbler. Nearby I could hear the distinct tak tak tak call of another Thick-billed. So a lifer, no less and one to be pleased about. I wouldn't be calling this one had I not asked for help with a difficult Oriental Reed Warbler ID last week. That got me looking at the field guides and listening to sound recordings of its call so when the bird did show I knew what I was looking for.

A good day! In fact it was a really great day because I have sourced a replacement Nikon P6000. Maybe will have it in about 10 days or so as it in the US of A.

Digiscoping Blues, Malaysia

I'm off tomorrow to Malaysia where I hope to do a little pelagic birdwatching in Kedah, north west Malaysia and spend a few days in Ulu Muda National Park on the Thai-Malay border. This is home to many exotic bird species including Plain-pouched Hornbill. I made contact with Dave Bakewell, a British birder based in Malaysia and Dave very kindly has steered me in this direction.  You can read a report of Dave's visit to Ulu Muda last month at this link. I'll hopefully tell you a lot more about it after next weekend.

I spent today in Bangkok trying to find a replacement camera following last week's debâcle. Nikon can  repair my P6000 but at a cost of 20,000 THB, about £400.00 GBP - ouch, no thanks. Unfortunately the camera is now obsolete;  but I did see a store in Bangkok selling it off brand new for 12,999 THB less than a month ago. So a replacement is the order of the day and I rather fancied the Panasonic G3 with a 14-42 mm lens. I tried it out today with the Kowa 25x LER and the 20-60x zoom eyepieces but I could not eliminate vignetting at any focal length on either lens. So I left it for today.

I think the solution is probably to use  the Kowa 30x wide angle eyepiece and then I'll be able to use the Panasonic lenses. Fortunately I have my old Nikon P5100 as backup and that will have to do for Malaysia and for the immediate future. So no pics or birdwatching but I am looking forward to my trip. Watch this space.

Digiscoping:DSLR compared with Compact

There was an eight minute difference between taking both shots. I am happy to concede both are poor shots but it is self-evident which one is the best, the upper one. As my guru Tara advised the Nikon p6000 compact will produce a better and sharper image under all circumstances than the Canon EOS Kiss x3 with a 60 mm macro lens. I would hardly describe the test as scientific however. I know what I am doing with the compact when I am digiscoping. I don't know with the Kiss x3. Even if I did I am not sure it would produce a better image. However I will try again and lock the mirror and shoot with a remote and see if I can get better results.

Some Good News

Pied Kingfisher - Canon Eos

 I am going to sleep so much better tonight as I have received confirmation that my telescope has reached its destination in Tokyo where it will be repaired. Phew! I have died a hundred deaths over the last few days. And, my Nikon P6000 kit arrived from Tara in the US of A. That means more crap photographs! It also means a short trip to Japan to collect the telescope. So I am mightily relieved.

The local bird scene has been really interesting these last few days. Yesterday evening about 750 m  from my home I had the pleasure of two Pied Kingfishers. I have to say they were close enough that had I my digiscoping rig I might have managed some cracking shots. I managed a couple of decent shots with the EF-S 55 -250 mm zoom, but had I been set up with the rig, who knows?!

The Pied Kingfisher really does it for me. Well they all do really. However the Pied is a new species for my locale.

The merit of simply getting out and looking at the birds that come along really shone through this evening. Obviously I am comparing this to twitching but as the light started to go I noticed a large dark raptor which I automatically categorised as Black Kite. It was hovering high up and came over in my direction. This was no kite but an aquila eagle. I reckon it was a Steppe Eagle but i have sent my photographs off to Tom for an opinion. If not then it will probably be an Imperial as this fellow had a big wingspan and I doubt if it was a Greater Spot. An aquila eagle will be another tick for the local patch. Not really what I was expecting.

Add in a pair of Black-shouldered Kites plus a male Pied Harrier flew over and sent everything scurrying  ........ great to be out birding on my doorstep and seeing such interesting species. Even better now that I know my gear is where it should be.

My wife said to me early this morning that it was going to be hot today. It certainly was - looks like the so called cool season is over. I am sure visitors from colder climes will have found it hot here in the middle of the day. It's now going to be uncomfortably hot.

These are also the first photographs that I have processed using Apple's Aperture software which I bought when I got my new notebook. There is a lot to learn, let's say!

The photograph above gives an idea of what the rice paddy is like right now. In a few weeks this will be all green with the latest batch of rice plants.

A Troubled Birder

There was finally enough time for me to escape for a few hours this afternoon to do a bit of birding and I headed to the local reservoir. It felt a bit strange as I have no telescope so no digiscoped photographs either. My telescope went off to Japan at lunchtime today for  a repair. I have to say I am really troubled about if it will ever arrive and if I will ever see it again. I have used a reputable courier I hasten to add, just a sense of foreboding. It wouldn't be difficult to open my package, take out the scope and replace it with something of a similar weight, and then seal it up. A further factor is I am awaiting delivery of a camera from the US. I managed to source a Nikon P6000 from a fellow digiscoper, Tara Tanaka, and it arrived in Thailand Thursday but hasn't reached me yet. Additionally I went to the Post Office yesterday to despatch my telescope thinking I had bought a product which had insurance but which I later learned had very limited insurance. The counter assistant said it did and to check out details online. I managed to read some small print later and discovered very limited insurance so I had to go back to the Post Office where I recalled the package. So I am a little on tenterhooks. I hope it's just me! In fact it has been a tough week as my son managed to kill my notebook by accidentally poring tea over it........

So it was pleasant to be out in the air, feeling a warm breeze on my face, and lots of common birds: notably some beautiful little grebes, a pair of common kingfishers, a female Siberian stonechat, lots of pied fantails, a black-shouldered kite plus the usual suspects.