This Robin was photographed on a dull and wet day. The bird was at least 35 feet away.
All photographs © W D Curtis 2000.
I bought a Nikon Coolpix 990 in the autumn of 2000 and have used this exclusively for my bird photography since then. I am currently [22/01/02] at image number 8454 so have had lots of practice in the period since then.
Why use the Nikon Coolpix? This camera has a small lens which means less vignetting [the black area surrounding an image] when pressed against a telescope eyepiece. The lens does not move during focusing or zooming so can be firmly attached to the telescope.
I use 3 main methods for taking the photos:
The images are usually worked up using Adobe Photoshop 5.0LE which came bundled with the camera.
Here are some of my early efforts. Click on the image for a larger version.
This Robin was photographed on a dull and wet day. The bird was at least 35 feet away.
The attached photo of a Robin shows the British and Irish race, Erithacus rubecula melophilus. This race differs from the rubicela of continental Europe. BWP states "Upperparts warmer and darker tawny-brown. Chest deeper rufous-orange."
Technical details: Coolpix 990 [full details below], Kowa 613 ED, 20 - 60 zoom at 20x. This shot was hand held - the eyepiece of the telescope is ridged and seems to hold the camera fairly well. I use the zoom eyepiece which is actually designed for the larger Kowa scopes.
I am experimenting with the set up and have found that using the camera in manual mode with speed set at 400ASA, aperture priority - aperture at maximum, auto start in wide angle mode is giving me the best chance of a sharp hand held shot in overcast and dull UK conditions. I use centre weighted focusing and metering. Any shutter speed faster than 1/8 second seems to give me a chance of a sharp image - how does that work? I have also tried using continuous shooting to give me several shots which can then be edited.
DSCN0298.JPG CAMERA : E990V1.0 METERING : CENTER MODE : P SHUTTER : 1/24sec APERTURE : F2.9 EXP +/- : 0.0 FOCAL LENGTH : f12.4mm(X1.0) IMG ADJUST : AUTO SENSITIVITY : ISO400 WHITEBAL : AUTO SHARPNESS : AUTO DATE : 14.10.2000 10:57 QUALITY : FULL NORMAL
This male House Sparrow [Passer domesticus] is in fresh winter
plumage. As the spring approaches the grey fringes to the feathers on
the throat/upper breast will wear off and reveal the full black bib.
Coolpix 990 [full details below], Kowa 613 20-60 zoom. Hand-held again.
DSCN0456.JPG CAMERA : E990V1.0 METERING : CENTER MODE : A SHUTTER : 1/21sec APERTURE : F3.1 EXP +/- : 0.0 FOCAL LENGTH : f14.0mm(X1.0) IMG ADJUST : AUTO SENSITIVITY : ISO400 WHITEBAL : AUTO SHARPNESS : AUTO DATE : 14.10.2000 16:42 QUALITY : FULL NORMAL
The size of the bib is a mark of the rank of the bird so must be
influenced by his condition at the time of moulting.
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Merlin
This female Merlin was at least 1/2 mile away from the hide at the Point of Air, Dee Estuary, North Wales. Under normal circumstances there would be no way of capturing this image. OK, it is grainy but it has caught the memory for me.
I had the camera in Aperture priority mode as I found this was giving me better control in the bright conditions.
DSCN0538.JPG
CAMERA : E990V1.0
METERING : CENTER
MODE : A
SHUTTER : 1/102sec
APERTURE : F3.7
EXP +/- : 0.0
FOCAL LENGTH : f20.6mm(X1.0)
IMG ADJUST : AUTO
SENSITIVITY : ISO400
WHITEBAL : AUTO
SHARPNESS : AUTO
DATE : 15.10.2000 13:45
QUALITY : FULL NORMAL
Point of Air
Here is the view from the hide at Point of Air. The Merlin is on the far sand bank at the top right of the picture. This was taken at the equivalent of about a 38mm lens on a 35mm camera.
Despite the great distance and the magnification this shot was hand-held.