Nikon EDG VR Fieldscope 85mm, Straight Spotting Scope with 20x-60x Zoom Eyepiece - Demo Model

2014-01-10T19:00:00

I purchased from Adorama a demo model straight scope (same as the angled version), FSA-L2 which means fieldscope adapter L2 that married the scope with my used D7000 (also from Adorama and in mint condition). I have used it on 4 all day bird shoots and taken over 1700 photos. I never digiscoped before this rig, have an amateur's experience with DSLRs. The rig came with the 20-60x zoom eyepiece which I used on several sessions before the FSA-L2 arrived. As a fieldscope this has the ability to reach out to ~2600 mm (when evaluated on 35mm format of a DX camera). It can bring in objects of interest that are difficult to resolve with the eye, but not dissimilar to other scopes with similar magnification. The VR adds a high degree of image stability. I am comfortable with using it on a sturdy monopod, even better on a tripod. It is not light. I am strong and would not contemplate using it handheld for anything but a quick view handheld or on a beanbag, window mount etc. My primary interest is photography, so I added the camera adapter and the camera (the Nikon digiscoping system using this scope with a DSLR). It is long, ~24"" from eye to end. This comes into play when trying to maneuver in a vehicle in refuges that restrict one to the vehicle. However, the lens foot offers three mount positions and I was able to mount on a monopod braced against the driver's side door, and scope out the window, drive, swinging the scope around to shoot, then swing it to drive. This worked very well. Because it does not autofocus, it is necessary to have one hand on the focus ring which is at the end of the scope. This was difficult at first but with a little practice worked. We developed a system where my wife would steer from the passenger seat (creeping on reserve road at 1 mph!) while I was focusing and shooting out the driver's side. Focusing is a problem at long focal lengths and less light. As a fieldscope, there is no reduction in the light perceived by the eye as the scope is zoomed in to 60x. Everything is crystal clear. As a camera lens (I was aware of this issue and it is discussed in the users manuel before I bought it) the light to the eye reduces greatly as the scope is zoomed in. This did not effect the final exposure of the camera, because the D700 (I use in manual mode, as the f stop is fixed by the scope, and shoot at a speed ~1000 to freeze motion, letting the camera adjust the iso sensitivity). However, the reduction in light perceived by the eye is very significant. Less a problem on bright days but an issue on gray winter days in Northern California. With reduced light to the eye it was very difficult to manually focus the lens. I adopted an "exposure bracketing" technique, starting a little short of perfect, running the camera on continuous high frames/sec which is 6 fps on the D7000, and slowly focusing in and a little beyond. This worked and I got some good photos at 2600mm, the effective focal length on a crop sensor (DX) camera (~1700mm on FX body). Photos were sharp enough to identify birds. I am posting photos using this system on natureshare.com under the username DocE. You can log on and look up without creating an account. This system is staying in the truck. I have added a Nikon f2.8 400mm AF VR for capturing scenes with lots of movement, where focus with the digiscoping system is very difficult. An autofocus digiscope would be fantastic. Hope the engineers can manage this! DocE

RICHARD E.