“This Digiscoping subject is easy, just stick a camcorder to a scope, point and press record and you get great footage and photos no problem”... That is a comment I overheard a few months ago whilst out birding, well yes it is that simple but if you want to attain some level of quality and sharp images, then it requires a little more effort. I will try to explain in layman terms some of the aspects of this form of instant gratification. But not to upset the purists amongst us, we dont want to call them photos, so we will stick to calling them Digital Images!!”.

The Basics - what do I want to achieve?

Firstly you have to decide what you want to achieve, do you want to have good video footage, or quality stills or possibly both ? This decision greatly influences the cost.

When I was looking into this subject just over two years ago I decided on a camcorder and what I wanted to achieve and the following are my reasons for choosing a camcorder and maybe they can guide you to what you want out of it.

Firstly I wanted to have a camcorder to record video footage of all the resident birds, common migrants plus any rarities seen in the UK and to copy them onto video to keep a library built up over time for my personal collection. My aim and still is, is to record video of adults in summer/winter plumage and juveniles with general behaviour which fascinates me. This obviously will take a life time because most of us have to work in the week and earn a living, to pay the mortgage!!.

But I am still undecided upon the method of storing the video footage and stills, and I am also looking into record able DVD at the moment for a long term solution.The cost needs to come down and in time it will, although generally VHS tape is used.

People are now recording on recordable CD or computer hard disk with the advent of so many home PC’s bought now and as a CD Writer is part of the standard package, you still need to buy software/hardware in most instances to transfer from camcorder to computer and be warned !! Video files take an enormous amount of disk space.

Secondly, as a relative newcomer to birding (just under 3 years) I wanted to identify species in the field that were not instantly familiar to me, the video footage is invaluable because you can play the footage over and over again to identify the birds and the magnification you can achieve gives you detailed images/features of the bird which is not seen in detail as with a scope, even with a zoom lens and the ability to freeze on a frame to study is even better.

Thirdly, producing stills from the camcorder was not my immediate intention and my first camcorder was in Hi 8 mm format which did not have this facility readily accessible. I seemed to stumble across stills when i was learning the basic features of my digital camcorder and now concentrate more on this aspect for the rarities and the fact that there are more pixels in a still image than a video grab which produces a better image and this method is proving very popular with many people now if their camcorder has a stills facility.

And lastly, one aspect which most people dont think about and can prove invaluable is recording bird sound on a camcorder, most models of camcorders have a built in microphone and the quality of the built in microphones have improved dramatically and most are stereo quality anyway. How many times have you come across a bird hidden from view which is singing in front of you which you could not identify ? I have recorded birdsong on a number of occasions recently in an effort to improve my birdsong ID, i just point the built in microphone on the camcorder to the sound source and record the sound, then i can drop it down from the digital video cassette onto a VHS video cassette or a cassette tape through my nicam video recorder attached to my hi fi system or even onto a record able CD through the computer then playback and try to identify the bird from tapes or cd’s and then reuse that particular length of digital video footage again.

Which format of Camcorder should I use?

Camcorders come in a number of formats and the better quality the format, the higher in price, sounds familiar for most electrical products these days, and camcorders are no exception ! This decision will influence your budget greatly. The main formats are listed below:
A) Hi 8mm - This tape format is still analogue and has proved and still is very popular, With the right software/hardware you can download the footage/take stills and store onto a hard disk or CD. This is the format I started off with.

B) Digital8 - Sony have produced this format and it promises the same image and audio quality of DV but uses an analogue Hi8 tape for recording. The format is fully backwards - compatible so D8 cams can play Hi8 and 8mm recordings. However Hi8 tape running times are reduced by a third when used to make D8 recordings.

C) Digital Video (Mini DV or Micro DV) - This is undisputedly the best format to choose if you can afford it, with some of the more expensive digital camcorders you are looking at near TV quality dependant on how many lines of resolution your camcorder has, 500 lines is considered to be of high quality. You can also take videograbs from the tape or stills from the memory stick and the quality will vary with how many pixels the camcorder has to offer. Camcorders are now available with 3 million pixel stills ( the new Panasonic MX500 ) or the Sony IP 220 with 2 million pixel stills.
The choice is yours but most people are now using Digital format. It is down to what level of quality you want with what price you can afford.

Top tips for Purchasing

I would suggest you buy the latest camcorder magazines and start to study the prices/model numbers and featured articles on new products and gain the knowledge of the basic features ,some magazines will have a verdict page with which the magazines will give their verdict on all models of all formats with pictures and a basic spec and retail price of the camcorder. They also publish names, addresses, telephone numbers of distributors and website addresses, of all the major camcorder manufacturers which will have pictures/specifications of the models you are after on all the major websites so if you are online you just download the pictures.

It is amazing the difference in price for the same model can vary so much, so dont rush into buying the first camcorder you see in the first shop !!, a little research can save you money especially in the adverts in the magazines and on the internet, also many of the electrical retail shops will lower prices on camcorders which are end of line ranges or they have to clear stocks for a new range and you can pick up some bargains, coupled with the fact that they offer up to 5 year maintenance cover with these items which look to be very expensive, but in the long term they can prove their worth in repair costs which are astronomical and if the model is unrepairable and not a current item, they will replace with a model of similar if not better price and features.

Also if you are abroad check out the prices especially America, but a word of caution, check that the guarantee / repair warranty will be valid in Europe. If buying your camcorder in this country, check that the camcorder which seems to be well under priced is not a “Grey Import” which will not have a European warranty Also check out second hand camcorders on the Internet can produce some bargains at prices which will be affordable to most people.

And lastly try to speak to people in the field who are using camcorders, listen to what they have to say about the particular model they are using. Always take your scope to a shop and try out your choice of camcorder, dont just go on some body’s word this saves disappointment when using it for the first time. Take the time and trouble to study your subject, this is not a cheap piece of equipment. What equipment should I buy?

The biggest problem facing anybody is what items do i buy presuming you have a scope and tripod ? This can be prove very expensive and even more so if the items bought do not actually give the results you were expecting . This is the time to determine what you want out of it. To take just footage all you need is a camcorder and you can buy leads to plug into the TV and watch the footage or attach the leads to the VCR to take a VHS copy. To take stills from a camcorder and to email and/or print off you need as a minimum a scope, a firm steady tripod, computer, software, hardware, printer, photo paper, toner (colour & black) and of course a digital camcorder and a method of attaching the camcorder to the scope. Be warned, this can be an expensive hobby so be fully aware of cost long term before you purchase any item. Setting out a list of items with prices sometimes puts things into perspective. Here are my tips for the basic buys.
Camcorders: I would without hesitation recommend anybody to buy a Digital Camcorder, not everybody can afford them and prices are between £450 - £2000 for a domestic camcorder. Digital8 camcorders (£600 - £800) Hi 8mm camcorders are between (£350 - £650).

Your camcorder needs to fit your scope lens and what the critical point of digiscoping with a camcorder is all about is this - what you are looking for is to measure the diameter of the eyepiece you will use on your scope and then measure the diameter of your chosen camcorder and try to find a camcorder with a glass lens that is either smaller or not much bigger and sits comfortably on the lens eyepiece. Also a fixed scope lens with the smallest magnification is my recommendation ie 20X or 30X although if you only have a zoom lens it is still acceptable but the light gathering is not as much as with a small fixed lens and the zoom can prove too powerful ie 400X, or 500X magnification . My advice is that if it is possible, you need to take your scope/tripod to a local dealer and try this out otherwise you will be disappointed. Makes to look at are Sony, Canon, JVC, Samsung, Sharp and Panasonic. The smaller and lighter the camcorder, the better, due to the weight put onto the lens.

Scope Adapters: You can hand hold your camcorder against the lens of your scope but you need a more reliable method and one which is not going to give you continuous camera shake !!. The cheapest method is to attach tied loops of elastic around the tripod head and around the camcorder body, but it does become a balancing act, not to mention the chance of the camcorder falling to the floor ! Manufacturers are bringing out scope adapters for camcorders now, and there are maybe three or four different types which can fit most popular types of scopes and camcorders, shop around and look at all the available types which you feel suits your set up. Once you have bought your adaptor you will have to overcome the uneven weight distribution which with both camcorder and scope, has now moved, using a lightweight tripod with a lightweight head in turn had its problems for me with trying to align exactly on the bird, this in turn prompted me to buy a video head which allowed me far more manouverability than with the previous tripod head although some scope tripod heads are up to the job. Its a question of trial and error. Now armed with your Scope Tripod camcorder and adaptor, you are now ready to start Digiscoping
Now armed with your Scope Tripod camcorder and adaptor, you are now ready to start Digiscoping!

Spainbirds ® 2003