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My Video Equipment
Created on 11 May 2003. Copyright Dr Chan Kai Soon.
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This page keeps track of my purchase of equipment and optics for bird videography. Typically for a person who started out new and without the benefit of guidance from someone else who had done it before, one would have bought or done many things which are useless or not cost effective. Hope that relating my experiences below can help others avoid making the same mistakes that I did. 

The major mistakes I made was in buying eyepieces which are either inappropriate due to vignetting or not sharp enough. It is very difficult to find an eyepiece that is free from the above shortcomings, especially the vignetting part. The next biggest mistake was probably in buying tripods and heads which are not heavy duty enough to take the weigh of the camcorder and scope combination. Fortunately, I bought an appropriate scope with good optics which allowed me to experiment with different eyepieces without having to buy a new scope each time. Forget about any teleconverter, even if they have more than 2x power. These just do not provide adequate resolution. When used for close shots, they also have poor close focus capability. 
 
 
Equipment Date  Comments
TRV900 Camcorder (3CCD) & SLIK 1250 tripod Jan 1999 Inadequate zoom despite 2x tele and later 3x tele. Tripod grossly unstable for video setup. Saving video into VHS tape. Discontinued in 2002. Vignetting with all eyepieces. Now used mainly for night videos and family events.
2x, Raynox 3.3x, Sakar 5x and Kenko 3x teleconverter Mar 1999 - Nov 1999 All teleconverters produces inadequate zoom and resolution. Poor close focussing. 
Tasco 8x monocular Apr 1999 Inadequate resolution and bad vignetting. Useless.
Russion 8-24x scope May 1999 Very cheap. Used to test feasibility of taking video through eyepiece of a scope. Encouraging result but sharpness limited by poor optics. Concluded that a high quality scope with small zoom (8-10x) will be appropriate for videoscoping.
Swarovski 80ATHD scope with 20-60 zoom. May 1999 Unable to take video with 20x eyepiece zoom. Looking for an eyepiece with the smallest zoom possible. SLIK tripod obviously not stable enough for video and scope setup.
Unbranded 40mm plossl 
& Swarovski 1.25" adaptor ring.		 Aug 1999 About 12x zoom. Good value for money but vignetting due to deeply recessed glass at front of EP. Quite sharp but not as sharp as I wished for. Unable to video larger birds due to vignetting (see below for modification). Bad chromatic aberration. Could not find a commercial video bracket and videos taken with camcorder handheld.
Manfrotto 128 RC and legs 1999 This head is still not stable enough. 
First generation custom made video bracket 1999 Bracket is too thick, angled at back, bulky and cumbersome to put inside car. Used a small tripod head for camcorder bar. Difficulty in aligning EP. Fishing weighs used for counter balance. Getting some quality video with the unbranded 40mm plossl.
LE adaptor 1999 Helps tremendously in alignment of the unbranded 40mm EP but not strong enough to take weigh of camcorder.
Paul Rini 52 mm and 30 mm plossl Dec 1999 52mm EP enables vignet free video at wider zoom range but inadequate sharpness. Very poor peripheral sharpness as well. Using these eyepieces more often than the unbranded 40mm plossl.
SONY TRV20 camcorder (1CCD) 16 Jun 2000 Bought as a backup (less vignetting with unbranded 40mm EP) as well as for video editing. Saving edited footage in DV format. Much less vignetting than TRV900 but 1CCD color quality..
Second generation video bracket Aug 2000 Using a thinner and flat plate. Plate is too broad. Changed to a sturdier tripod head for camcorder bar. Still having difficulty in aligning camcorder to EP.
Kenko KLUT300Hi 3x converter 4 Aug 2000 The only teleconverter that I still use occasionally. Sharp but bad chromatic aberration.
Manfrotto 501 head 30 May 2001 Much improved stability and quicker dampening of vibration. Able to start recording much earlier than previous 128RC head. Much smoother fluid head allows easier framing of bird. No need for counter balancing weighs.
Raynox 0.66 Wideangle lens 22 Jul 2001 Good wideangle lens with little barrel distortion. A must for all TRV900 users.
SONY DCR-TRV230E D8 camcorder 17 Aug 2001 Used for editing and saving videos in D8 format.
Surplus Shed 40mm plossl 20 Oct 2001 Able to closely couple (without any modification) eyepiece to camcorder to reduce vignetting. Slightly sharper than Paul Rini EP but still not sharp enough.
Modification to Paul Rini 52 mm and 30 mm plossl 27 Oct 2001 Cut short the plastic in front of eyepiece. Much reduced vignetting. 30mm plossl becomes the favourite but videos are not sharp.
Televue 40 and 32 mm plossl  25 Nov 2001 Unmodified EP are virtually useless with TRV900 due to vignetting.
Third generation video bracket Feb 2002 Using narrower bar. Use midi ball head and later a tilt lever for camcorder bar. Added U-bracket, horizontal scope support and mic mount. Much more compact unit. Much easier to align camcorder and hence shorter setup time.
Modification to unbranded 40mm plossl 24 Mar 2002 Trimmed off excess metal at front of EP. Much reduced vignetting with TRV900 and this had become my favourite EP again. A significant improvement in video quality over all earlier videos taken with Paul Rini and Surplus Shed 40 mm EP.
Modification to Televue 40 mm plossl Mar 2002 Modified 40 mm EP has some vignet free zoom range but 32 mm is still quite useless. Both EP seldom used due to limited vignet free zoom range. Much sharper than unbranded 40mm plossl.
Second Swarovski 80 ATHD (body only) &1.25" adaptor ring. Mar 2002 Fogging inside body of first scope.
Manfrotto 503 head Jul 2002 Further improvement to 501 head. Extensible handle helps in taking flight videos.
SONY TRV950 Camcorder 16 Sep 2002 Better stills and less vignetting in video mode. Shorter than TRV900. More manual features and better color saturation than TRV900. Poorer than TRV900 in low light but still good enough for daylight recording. Not sensitive enough for night videos.
William Optics DCL4337 40 mm plossl 2 Jan 2003 Includes 37 mm thread to ensure proper alignment and reduce vigetting. As sharp as Televue. Another significant improvement in video quality over unbranded 40mm plossl. Still has vignetting near telephoto end of camcorder zoom. Chromatic aberration still is a problem.
Surplus Shed 50 mm plossl 8 Jan 2003 Not used until trimmed excess metal in front and remounted into 1.25" housing in May 2003. Sharp and good contrast but like the DCL4337, still has some vignetting near telephoto end. Combining with TRV900 should be better than DCL4337 for night videoscoping. Intended for shooting birds in flight because of its lesser degree vignetting with sky background and a smaller magnification.
Minor improvement to camcorder bar May 2003 Narrower bar and slightly longer slit. Allows better access to camcorder controls and easier changing of eyepiece.
Surplus Shed 80 mm plossl Aug 2003 Bought this eyepiece with the hope of further minimizing vignetting paricularly with TRV900. Remounted into 1.25" barrel in Aug 2003 but the barrel is too long to be practical. Reserved for taking videos of birds in flight.
SONY RDR-GX7 DVD Recorder Oct 2003 At last, I have switched from archiving on tape to DVD disc. This recorder allows me to do digital editing direct from the camcorder to the recorder, making the process of archiving very easy. The quality in the HQ (60 minutes per disc) and HSP (90 minutes per disc) modes are indistinguishable from the DV original. The machine also has a tuner for recording TV programmes.
 
After having gone through all the above experiences and if I were to start from fresh all over again, the following will be my consideration: 
  1. Scope: Pentax PF-80EDA or Zeiss Diascope 85mm or Swarovski 80 ATHD with adaptor ring for 1.25" eyepieces. The William-Optics Megrez 80 mm refractor also seems promising for those who wish to use 2" barrel eyepieces. All scopes should be angled body version. Avoid mirror lens due to central mirror causing obstruction.
  2. Eyepiece: William Optics DCL4337 or Scopetronix Maxview 40 or Eagleeye UK Digiscoping eyepiece or Surplus Shed 50 or 80 mm plossl (to be remounted into 1.25" barrel). More choices available if the scope can accept 2" barrel eyepieces.
  3. Camcorders: 3CCD models: Choice is limited because few models are small enough. SONY TRV950 or Panasonic NV-MX350. 1CCD models: Wider choice in this category. SONY TRV50 (uses same battery as TRV950) or SONY PC100 series (uses smaller battery) or Canon MV series (seems to produce less vignetting).
  4. Adaptor/bracket: Latest version of my custom made video bracket. 
  5. Tripod/head: Manfrotto 503 or 501 video head and a suitable tripod leg
Note added 12 Sep 2003: Pentax had announced a scope with 100mm objective, 540mm focal length and ED glass. Theoretically, this seems to provide added advantages over 80mm scopes in terms of increased brightness and increased resolution limits. Unfortunately, this scope is available only in the straight tube version. If used for videoscoping, the setup may turn out to be very long. See url below for details. 

DISCLAIMER: The above list (especially the eyepiece section) is appropriate only for those using digicams or camcorders with about 8-12x optical zoom. In this category, getting rid of vignetting is a big challenge in addition to the usual problems accompanying digiscoping. For those using digicams with smaller zooms such as 3x, vignetting is less of a problem and a wider choice of scope-eyepiece combination is available. Please note that choice of equipment is a highly individual matter and is dependant on what one feels are more important factors or features. The above are just my favoured items based on my preferences and experience after trying out whatever I had bought or reading about the specs or other's experiences. I have no business interest in any of the brands mentioned.
 
Links and references: (Links to digiscoping adaptors had also been provided on this page as these may be applicable to small camcorders in some cases.) 
  1. The SONY TRV900 camcorder - John Beale's very comprehensive website on this popular 3CCD camcorder. If you need to find anything about the TRV900, check here.
  2. The SONY TRV950 camcorder - my comments and some sample photos from this 3CCD camcorder.
  3. Camcorderinfo.com - Subscribe to their enews to receive the latest developments in the camcorder industry.
  4. The Cheang UDA. Mr Cheang Kum Seng (kumseng@pd.jaring.my) makes various UDAs customized to individual eyepiece-digicam combinations. He does not have a website to illustrate his adaptors but Grande Master (Ricardo Guerreiro) had put up pictures of Cheang's adaptor at  Digiscoping Portugal.
  5. The Scandinivian adaptor. This and the Cheang UDA above have one thing in common - they enable the scope to be used for normal birding with the capability to easily and quickly couple your digicam whenever necessary. Another big advantage is the ability to use the portrait as well as the landscape modes for more flexibility in framing 'long' birds.
  6. The LE adaptor - One of the earlier adaptors for coupling a camera/camcorder to a scope. It was available even before digiscoping became popular.
  7. The Digimount adaptor for digital cameras and camcorders, from EagleEye UK.
  8. Video Camera Adaptors from Scopetronix. Commercial site.  Includes information on their Digi-T rings. Scopetronix also makes the Maxview 40 eyepiece.
  9. The Zeiss Quick Camera adaptor. Zeiss produces this arm for mounting your digicams or videocam.
  10. Swarovski Digital Camera Basis (DCB). Swarovski is coming out with a digicam/videocam adaptor for their scopes soon.
  11. CKCPower - Commercial site selling various types of adaptors, monoculars, rings and various gadgets related to digiscoping.
  12. The Pentax PF-EDA scope review  from the Betterview Desired
  13. The Pentax PF-ED 100mm scope: Press Release from UK website site and specifications at Scopecity.
  14. The Howland Pentax Gear Page.  Royce Howland uses the Pentax scope and CP5700 for digiscoping. Read about his experience and conclusion here.
  15. The Zeiss Diascope 65 and 85 mm. Specifications from the Zeiss homepage.
  16. Digiscoping with the Diascope. A review posted by Andy Bright.
  17. The Swarovski AT80HD scope from EagleOptics. This had been replaced by the more expensive ATS series which have a rounded body. I personally prefer the older scope with flat bottom and sides.
  18. Williams Optics Homepage - they have the DCL4337 and some other adaptor-eyepieces designed to reduce vignetting. 
  19. The Maxview 40 from Scopetronix. Another popular eyepiece-adaptor desinged to minimize vignetting.
  20. The digiscoping eyepiece FAQ from EagleeyeUK. Also designed to minimize vignetting. Read the review by Paul Hackett.
  21. Surplus Shed eyepieces page - scroll down the page to find info on their 50 and 80 mm 2" barrel plossls. These are much cheaper than the previous three. You would need to cut off excess metal in front of the glass to reduce vignetting, but the results may be well worth the effort and risk.
  22. Comments on the Panasonic MX300 and MX350 
  23. For videoscoping equipments used by others, please follow the links from the Bird Videography page.
 
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