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All images included on the site are resampled to a screen resolution of 640 x 480,
and have been jpg compressed to 25%, and saved at 200 dpi using Paint Shop Pro 4.12.
This only very slightly reduces image quality and allows the presentation of images of
reasonable detail that can be easily downloaded by dial-up modems.
A very small number of images have been sharpened, and their
brightness / contrast enhanced using Adobe Photoshop or Paint Shop Pro.
The Fuji F610 Digital Camera
Most images have been taken using a Fuji Finepix F610 6.3 - 12 megapixel digital
camera and most images are taken on the 6 megapixel setting. This is a small, very tough,
compact camera, which is carried around 24/7. This camera has four extremely good
features for this type of photography, the camera is ready to take a photograph in just a
few seconds, the auto focus is superb, Fuji have almost eliminated camera shake, and it
stores single shot images very quickly. This is a very versatile sturdy little camera.
Fortunately this camera hasn't been given the acclaim of the Nikon 4500 and as a result can be purchased relatively cheaply, and now, for a lot less than the original recommended retail price when it was first released. Place to buy is at the Fuji Shop and refurbished cameras can be bought for a little over £100, and includes a six month warranty, so don't bother going to ebay for one.
One recommended accessory is a memory card of a minimum of 512Mb so lots of images of the subject can be taken, the best chosen and saved, and the rest discarded.
Really close-up macro shots are gained through either placing an additional
30mm hand lens or magnifying glass on the fixed lens of the Fuji F610 camera, or by reducing the megapixel setting to 3 megapixel, or both. The Fuji F610 is 'always' used in AUTO mode and the only other setting change is perhaps to change the ISO to 400 if required.
Recommended use, plant and insect photography,
insects seeming to like a small silver camera rather than a large black one..
The Fuji Finepix S9500 Digital Camera
Another camera being used is the nine megapixel Fuji Finepix S9500 and this is
proving to be a very good camera and unlike the Fuji F610 allows a range of accessories
to be fitted e.g. polarising filters, so the camera can be used in environments
or in areas where there is naturally a lot of glare or reflection.
This camera is very easy to use, it has both 'macro' and 'supermacro' settings,
which both work very well indeed with its x2 digital zoom. Minimum object distance
in supermacro mode is just one centimetre so extremely good close-ups can be obtained even in auto mode, as the cameras auto-focus is really second to none. It is a 28-300mm camera, focussing from 1cm to infinity and carries a massive 10.7X optical zoom lens with x2 digital zoom.
Unlike most other cameras the zoom isn't motorised and this is a great plus as it allows the user to setup shots more quickly, and with a simple twist of its fixed lens. Another bonus is that this
camera takes both compact flash and Fuji XD media, ideal for people like me who have both to hand and they can both be used at the same time, using the cameras settings to switch between one and the other. Like the F610, another great benefit is in its speed of operation, it's quick, there's no waiting around for the camera to save shots, and this means more time for composing and less frustration. At £400 it is approximately £100 cheaper than the 8M Nikon Coolpix 8800, a similar style of camera, and in my opinion 100% better, for it is far easier to use and lighter.
Recommended use, plant close-up in bright light, pondlife,
rockpooling and fungi photography where flash is required.
Hyundai Camerascope HO-CS580
In September 2005 a Hyundai Camerascope HO-CS580 was purchased from ebay and an
adapter for the Fuji F610 designed and made by G.M.D. Eurotool Ltd., Plymouth.
This Hyundai scope is more like a traditional telescope to look at, it has a 80mm objective lens, 500mm focal length and comes with PL10 and PL25mm Plossl eyepieces. It also comes with T2 mounts for both Nikon and Canon EOS SLR / DSLR cameras.
The Fuji F610 may not be the best camera for digiscoping with, but it works
fine if used in conjunction with a 25mm Plossl eyepiece and an aluminium collar
measured to fit both the camera lens and scope eyepiece.
Strangely the best images are gained using the cameras 'macro' facility.
The collar on the eyepiece is left on whilst viewing the subject to get the subject in focus, the camera is placed on the collar, and a series of shots taken, the process is the repeated, in case the subject has moved or the scope has itself become out of focus.
When digiscoping the cameras POWER SAVE has to be OFF in SETUP.
The biggest drawback with this setup is that the Hyundai Camerascope HO-CS580 is
quite heavy and bulky to carry with its tripod, and because of its weight a sturdier
tripod is needed than normal. It's obviously fine if you don't intend travelling large
distances by foot, but it gets very heavy otherwise. To get the maximum benefit from
time spent in the field, a scope needs to be as versatile as the camera and be tailored to
suit the intended use. It's OK to set up a heavy scope in a hide or under camouflage and
wait for wildlife to come to you, but not OK if you're intent on doing a few miles, and
actively seeking wildlife to photograph. Of course at the end of the day scopes are
not cheap and finding something lightweight and that will work well with any
particular camera may take some time and research.
Recommended use, bird and mammal photography.
Night Detective Zodiac-8 Spotting Scope
A Zoom Telescope with 8x to 24x magnification with 40mm objective lens.
The ND-ZT824X40 is designed for observation of animate nature and terrain at an
ambient skylight or faint artificial lighting. Its visibility range depends on the intensity
of ambient light and nature of objects being observed, contrast between the object
and background, transparency of atmosphere. This scope weighs just 1.2lb and can
therefore be carried around all day, along with its F610 digiscoping sleeve and
mini-tripod, and with minimal effort. OK it's not high powered but used in
conjuction with a bit of stealth it'll produce images of reasonable quality.
Recommended use, bird and mammal photography.
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