Redgannet: Bittern

Friday, 27 January 2012

More digiscoped Bittern.

A Bittern is posing in the reeds about 70 meters away. It is standing completely still with a touch of weak winter sun warming it from the south east. On a crisp January morning such a sight is bound to gladden the heart and quicken the pulse of a newcomer to the art that is digiscoping.

Taken at 400mm for comparison.

“Canon fodder!” I hear some wag cry. Well, you would have thought so wouldn’t you? I struggled again to get a good focus and though I had plenty of time with the bird completely still and in plain view, I just could not seem to get it crisp.

Digiscoped at 16x magnification.

I was using live view on the Canon 50D which allows me to zoom in to 10x magnification to check the focus. The scope sports a 16x eyepiece so between them I had an image on the screen of 160x with which to judge the focus. A fine adjustment knob on the scope crisped up the reeds in front of and behind the Bittern, but sadly not the bird itself.

Am I expecting too much? Surely this situation is exactly what digiscoping is for. Any tips will be very gratefully received and I shall persevere to get it right when I get another chance.

All the photos have been posted in their original state, then cropped to the same degree for comparison.

Then I started mucking about and tried to zoom the scope in as far as I could. This one was at about 36x magnification.

Eventually, after trial, error, more error and some more trialling, but mostly error and a lot of photoshopping, I got this one. This is closer to what I was hoping for, but there is still some way to go and I have been hit by the realisation that there is more to this digiscoping lark than just poking a camera down a scope.

To those who contest that that digiscoping is not an artform, try it for yourself. If it works for you, please come back and tell me how you did it!

Thursday, 26 January 2012

Bag a better Bittern.

So I have a new scope and a T-mount and a-digiscoping we shall go. Now I haven’t yet perfected the art and of the few pictures that I took in the garden, none have been at all successful, so don’t go hoping for too much yet. I chose to go to Leybourne Lakes to see if I can find the Great Crested Grebes performing again. They were too distant for my zoom lens a couple of weeks ago and I was hoping that the digiscope set up would bring them close enough for a decent picture.

A Northern Shoveler from about 150 meters was to be my first attempt outdoors, but that proved to be a disappointment. I was surprised by how much distortion there was around a small circle of clear shot in the centre. The Grebes were conspicuous by their absence, so I tried with the Tufted Ducks instead, but I was so cack-handed and slow that by the time I had them in frame and in focus, they had dived beneath the ripples and I had to start all over again. I was beginning to develop a grudging respect for people who have mastered this discipline.

I caught a Black-headed Gull in the frame which is all we shall say about that. What I needed was something that would stay reasonably still. Bitterns are good still standers, but where are you going to find one of those when you need one? As luck would have it, I did find a Bittern but had to hurry along as time was pressing. This photo was taken using my Canon 100-400 for comparison with the digiscope.

The SLR attaches to the scope by means of a screw-in tube and a Canon-specific T-mount, so that the picture can be taken through the eye-piece with its 16x magnification. The pictures were disappointing to say the least. The subject was willing, but the technique is still weak.

I can see that there is some merit to this digiscoping lark, but it will need rather more effort on my part to master it and get a nice clear shot. The one below is the best of the rest with the head visible, but focus a bit suspect still.