Canon Power Shot S120 for digiscoping?

[GurrCentral]

Thinking about picking this camera for digiscoping video and stills... any experience with this? advice? going to be using it with a Vortex Razor HD 16-48x65  thanks!!  I like the fact that it is small and wouldn't take up too much room in the pack for the backcountry.

[Bean Counter]

That's a hell  of a lot of money for a point-n-shoot IMHO.  Do you take your cell phone with you anyway when you're running the spotter? I would be tempted to just get a phone adapter, if so. I'm addicted to my DSLRs but those are big and beastly.

[GurrCentral]

I agree, it is alot of money, but i'm tired of packing my DSLR around..and still want to get high quality photo's and video..

[Bean Counter]

Well I guess it depends on what your definition of high quality is.

I don't shoot much high end video, so I can't help ya there. I've never seen a digiscoped photo of wildlife that compares to what the pros like Boneaddict shoot by doing it the good old fashioned way, which is sneaking up on them with a real camera and poppin' one off like a sniper.

There are several reasons for this, not sure if you care to know or not, but here's a few:

• When you digiscope, you're photographing through every imperfection in the spotter. I haven't used the Razor much, and I know its one of the top-of-the-line for Vortex, but I've looked through a lot of their midrange stuff and I am not a fan, putting it nicely. They're filled with tons of chromatic abberation. It may be better to add that $350 you were going to put towards a P-n-S and step up in spotter quality and use your camera phone with an appropriate adapter. 
• You're at a 1,500+mm equivalent focal length on a 35mm camera system, which provides TONS of compression. That means you don't get to see the animal in its context a lot, you just see the bush 3 feet to its left, and the one sticking out of his head. By contrast if you had a 300-400mm lens  and stalked your way up to it as if you were going for a bow shot, you'll still get a good framing of the animal, but you'll also get some context and background to where it lives.
• With smaller sensor cameras, you can't control the depth of field like you can with a DSLR, so blurring the background into creamy, blueberry cheesecake bokehliciousness isn't going to happen.
• There's something to be said for some interaction with the animal you're shooting. Just look at Bob33 & Boneaddicts avatars. To me, the wildlife photographs I like the most are where there's a hint the deer/elk kinda knows you're there, and he's either looking around or pacing back and forth, reacting to the photographers presence in his bedroom. Maybe some have achieved this look with digiscoping, but I haven't seen it.

HTH

[GurrCentral]

I'm hear what your sayin..



  ""but I've looked through a lot of their midrange stuff and I am not a fan, putting it nicely. They're filled with tons of chromatic abberation. ""

This is why I did not go with a midrange Vortex spotter, I think the Razor hd compliments my Swaro Slc 10x42's well. The reason i'm thinking this route is that I do not want to pack a huge lens set up to get decent footage of animals that I am using to scout and know the class of animals in an area. Stepping up to the lenses that the pro's use, now that is thousands of dollars that id rather spend on other things..

[toothfangclaw]

Just throwing this out there. If point and shoot size camera is the size your looking for when backpacking.  Take a look at a micro 4 thirds or simular format. At least with the m43 system you get double the crop factor. So if you use a 300 mm lense it will be a 600mm lense at 35mm equivalent. It's not a perfect system, but it could be what the compromise your looking for.

[scotsman]

I'm quite pleased with my canon sx 240. It's a glorified point and shoot with 20x zoom. Sure it doesn't have the resolution of my dslr but it fits in my pocket so I have it when I need it. This photo was taken about 100 yards from a group of nice Rams. Works for me!