2 bird images captured at Swan Lake today

harlequin2902 · Post by **harlequin2902** » Wed Dec 17, 2003 11:23 pm

My very first attempt with the Nikon Coolpix 995. Hm, is there really a noticeable difference vs those I posted last time (taken with a Canon A70) ?

LITTLE HERON

STORKBILLED KINGFISHER

addy · Post by **addy** » Thu Dec 18, 2003 12:44 am

Sam these are beautiful pictures.. You are making good use of your pronto during the cloudy skies..

cheers
Addy

harlequin2902 · Post by **harlequin2902** » Thu Dec 18, 2003 1:03 am

addy wrote:Sam these are beautiful pictures.. You are making good use of your pronto during the cloudy skies..

cheers
Addy

Hi,

Thanks, but somehow IMHO, that tad of razor sharpness is still lacking. More practice !

Yeah, I don't really like seeing it sitting around doing nothing in the dry cab, so off it goes for digiscoping sessions with me

I'm going to visit a different part of botanical gardens tomorrow (Eco Lake - all the way at the other end) and I hope to image other species of birds other than these which I've posted quite a few times already.

harlequin2902 · Post by **harlequin2902** » Thu Dec 18, 2003 1:11 am

Here's another one.

The main difference I noticed so far is the ability of the Nikon 995 to resolve the feathers properly. Those I used to capture with the Canon A70 in the past seemed pretty mushed up. Compare the 2 pictures below. Though different species of Kingfishers, take a look at and compare the feathers area. The one captured with the Nikon 995 is definately sharper.

Camera settings are about the same for both shots and were taken in the same general area on seperate occasions.

STORKBILLED KINGFISHER PIC 2 (Nikon 995)

WHITE THROATED KINGFISHER (Canon A70)

jasonkid · Post by **jasonkid** » Thu Dec 18, 2003 1:18 am

Hi Samuel,
Did u take them free hand or with tripod?i do agree tt e images can b sharper.I'm using a Minolta S414,recently bought in e Suntec Fair n a Bushnell Bino.Quite surprise 2 c these birds around...

harlequin2902 · Post by **harlequin2902** » Thu Dec 18, 2003 1:25 am

jasonkid wrote:Hi Samuel,
Did u take them free hand or with tripod?i do agree tt e images can b sharper.I'm using a Minolta S414,recently bought in e Suntec Fair n a Bushnell Bino.Quite surprise 2 c these birds around...

These were imaged using an imaging eyepiece attached to the Nikon 995 and the entire camera-imaging eyepiece-scope setup was mounted on a Manfrotto 190D-700RC combination.

I had to make use of the 3 sec self timer to capture each picture, and I realize that even with that, it is still quite difficult because a lot can happen during these 3 sec ! *Sigh*, seems like I'll still need to lay down $ to get that Nikon cable release afterall...

These birds you see above are actually very common. They are the resident species at botanical garden's swan lake. So the challenge for me tomorrow is not only to work on improving the sharpness but also to image some other species whch I've never captured before

kayheem · Post by **kayheem** » Thu Dec 18, 2003 1:55 pm

harlequin2902 wrote:
These were imaged using an imaging eyepiece attached to the Nikon 995 and the entire camera-imaging eyepiece-scope setup was mounted on a Manfrotto 190D-700RC combination.

I had to make use of the 3 sec self timer to capture each picture, and I realize that even with that, it is still quite difficult because a lot can happen during these 3 sec ! *Sigh*, seems like I'll still need to lay down $ to get that Nikon cable release afterall...

These birds you see above are actually very common. They are the resident species at botanical garden's swan lake. So the challenge for me tomorrow is not only to work on improving the sharpness but also to image some other species whch I've never captured before

Hi Sam,

Just a personal preference, but the shots may look a bit better if you increase the exposure by another 1/2 stop.

Kay Heem

Post by **Airconvent** » Fri Dec 19, 2003 12:17 am

Hi Sam,
I've been calling the Lucky Plaza shop every week and it seems the remore control module for the Nikon 4300 is sold out island wide!

Anyway, back to your pic, the difference could be due to your resolution settings. Also, the compression ratio used to store the photos on the camera also play a part. My 4MP 4300 camera at max resolution and fine setting have files sizes only slightly larger than those taken by my 2.1MP Fuji2400...goes to show the Nikon compress more....so loose detail.

Could it also be the lens for the 995 is bigger than that for the A70?

I noticed that the pic by your 995 seems to display lesser colour fringing which is odd since its the Pronto that contributes to the colour, so changing camera should not affect this property.....

rich

harlequin2902 · Post by **harlequin2902** » Fri Dec 19, 2003 12:37 am

Airconvent wrote:Hi Sam,
I've been calling the Lucky Plaza shop every week and it seems the remore control module for the Nikon 4300 is sold out island wide!

Anyway, back to your pic, the difference could be due to your resolution settings. Also, the compression ratio used to store the photos on the camera also play a part. My 4MP 4300 camera at max resolution and fine setting have files sizes only slightly larger than those taken by my 2.1MP Fuji2400...goes to show the Nikon compress more....so loose detail.

Could it also be the lens for the 995 is bigger than that for the A70?

I noticed that the pic by your 995 seems to display lesser colour fringing which is odd since its the Pronto that contributes to the colour, so changing camera should not affect this property.....

rich

The resolution settings are similar. I kept it that way so that it is easier to see if there is any difference in pure quality. The absence of colour fringing is probably because those pictures you see above (by the 995) are taken when the sky was slightly overcast and the birds were in the shaded area. But when I was there again today at botanical gardens, most of the pics I took with the 995 were of birds against a bright background (e.g perched on a high branch with the sky as a background), the colour is still there. Will upload one or two of those pics later.