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Digiscoping - Comparison between the Nikon Coolpix cameras
Which camera is best for digiscoping ? This question arrives me almost every week. And I really
can't give an objective answer. I only can say, that for me the Nikon Coolpix 990 is best.
Other digiscopers have made totally different experiences.
I've seen so many fantastic shots taken with a Nikon Coolpix 4500 in the web, but I was not able
to get many good shots with this camera.
Also I've seen so many fantastic pictures taken with a Nikon Coolpix 995. Ok, my pics were not bad, but
for me the 990 works much better. So please take this comparison not as an objective competition
between these cameras. It's totally subjectice, and all pics shown here are all made under
different conditions and circumstances.
So please, form your own opinion.
Some pictures for comparison. I used average results :
As you can see, the Coolpix 990 brings out details perfectly. The focus works good in most situations. Colours come out very authentic.
In bad light colours often comes out a little bit cold.
The Coolpix 995 is ok for digiscoping. Sharpness can be good, but focus misses
the subject quite often. The 990 is the better choice. In backlight chromatic abberations
appear heavily.
All my images taken with the Coolpix 4500 came out a little bit soft. The focus failed very often. I was not very happy
with this camera.
Great colours, almost no details when the distance is too great. At low distance (for example when you photograph
out of a hide, with the bird about 7 metres far away) the results are good, and the pics show great details.
I've heard of other digiscopers, that didn't have that kind of problem, and again others only get worse shots, equal from which distance. I don't know why.
Just for comparison : This photo is not digiscoped, it is taken with a digital SLR camera, Canon EOS D60, an 1,4x teleconverter and
a 300mm L IS USM lens. The resulting focal length is 672mm. The details come out great, the focus works
very fast and precise. To name a disadvantage : In bad light conditions the vibrations of the
SLR-mechanism cause vibration-blur to the pics. So, this one's only good for perfect light... But then it works
great.
All pics shown here are just resized. There's no photoshop work done to them. The crops in the
pictures are just from the original pic. No resizing, no optimizing.
For me, the Coolpix 990 is the winner. But I recommend you, to read other articles about the
differnet cameras, cause my experiences are often a bit different from others. Don't ask
me why.
So make your own choice...
... and happy digiscoping...
By the way, my choice for the future will be a Canon EOS 10D.
Regards,
Gerd Rossen
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