Red Dot Sight

[Mike63]

Which RDS do you recommend? Is the Daisy sight that Walmart sells for 9.00 ok or should I get a 50.00+ sight that a gun shop sells.

Mike

[genece]

IMHO the Daisy sight is the best.....they actually have a 15 dollar model that may be a little better it has an adjustable brightness but I never had a problem with the cheap one.
http://kwikaim.com/

[Mike63]

I received my Daisy sight today (got the better one for 8.99:) ). What distance do you recommend for zeroing in the sight?

[JLV]

I received my Daisy sight today (got the better one for 8.99:) ). What distance do you recommend for zeroing in the sight?

I had the same question awhile ago. See this thread:
http://www.dcresource.com/forums/showthread.php?t=20873

[John_Reed]

I'd say around 100 feet, give or take. You'll discover pretty quickly when you use it whether your birds are centered or not, by reviewing a few shots afterwards.

[Luscinia]

I consider buying a UZ-cam (perhaps TZx) and a RDS for shots of fast moving objects such as flying birds an have a few questions:

1. How long does it take the calibrate/zero the RDS?

I believe the RDS must be unmounted when carrying the cam in a pocket or a camcase. When for example a nice flying bird suddenly approaches I have to mount the RDS and make both it and the camera ready for the shot. When that's done the bird is maybe already out of sight.

2. Which is most important things on a UZ-camera to be used together with RDS to get good shots of rapid objects? Is it fast autofocus, burst capabilities or someting else?

3. Do anyone know if the xtendasight-adapter between RDS and flash hot shoe could be bought in Europe / UK?

Thankful for Your answers?

[Pave]

1. How long does it take the calibrate/zero the RDS?

I have no experience with RDS on camera but I use it one on my airsoft-rifle and as far as I know, once you calibrate it, you don't have to do it again...Unles you unmount it. Then you would have to calibrate it everytime you mount it (or at least this is how it works with my rifle). It takes several shots to calibrate it right but it is not that time consuming.

2. Which is most important things on a UZ-camera to be used together with RDS to get good shots of rapid objects? Is it fast autofocus, burst capabilities or someting else?

Both fast autofocus and burst capabilities are very useful in shooting rapid moving objects such as flying birds. The fast autofocus is in fact quite essential (of course if you don't use manual focus which is sometimes better :) ) Another thing you should have a look at is the time which you have to wait between switching the camera on and taking first picture...

[genece]

Here is a link to the Kwik Aim site which will ship world wide or so they say and its a very good setup....... and the one I use.

And after the initial setup, which he includes instructions on how to do that ....if you put the sight on and off as he instructs, you will not need to zero in again........I can understand needing to do that with a rifle but the sight on a camera is not as critical nor are you using the same system to remount, that the rifle uses.

http://www.kwikaim.com/FAQs.php

[John_Reed]

I thought the Kwik-Aim would be a good thing, and I bought one. I've got two RDS cameras, needed a second mount anyway. But I dislike the fact that the Kwik-Aim has a little play in my FZ30's hot shoe bracket, such that it's "iffy" about alignment, and you basically have to re-align it everytime you start a new photo session. With Photosolve's "Xtenda-Sight," I slip the thing into the hot shoe whenever I want to do RDS, and it's always perfectly aligned, don't have to tweak it at all. I vastly prefer that convenience, myself.

[genece]

John ...he told me the adapter he was using did not fit the FZ50 so he either used a different adapter or cut the other one down ( I forget what he said).....and he said it fits the FZ50 perfectly but that there was some play with the FZ30.....so I guess he has screwed up the mount......The two mounts I have, require no adjustment when put back on the camera......I would feel your way, if I needed to adjust it every time that would be a major pain.

Maybe he sells both versions ...I do not know.
He was keeping me informed but I have not heard from him lately.

[Mike63]

I finally played with my RDS on my Michigan trip this last week. About 80 percent of the photo's are out focus. I was watching eagles fly around, and they where watching me so they did not get real close, I was at 12x zoom. I tried manual focus and focused on the far shore line which helped alot. I tried about everything and wonder what you guys recommend?

[genece]

This is just my preference and to be taken lightly as I make no claims of having a high success rate with a RDS......If the birds are going to be against nothing but sky you can use 3 or 9 pt focus.......but if there is a background or forground for that matter you need a good calibration of the sight and the 1 pt HS focus area......but that does require your zero adjustment is very close........I would think if all the birds were going to be a couple hundred ft away, MF on something near that distance would work....
BIF are so much easier with a DSLR.....that is all I use for that anymore.

[John_Reed]

I ALWAYS use one of the "H AF" modes on my FZ18, usually the single square. I never know in advance where a bird might be coming from and/or at what distance, so I let the AF figure out the distance automatically. As long as I can track the birds well enough with the red dot so that the bird actually becomes the subject of focus, my "hit rates" aren't too bad. I certainly won't claim to be perfect, far from it, but I do enjoy what I can capture when they do turn out. Here are a few from a single RDS session of a couple of weeks ago, first a Snowy Egret in flight:

http://john-reed.smugmug.com/photos/312386699_B2siE-L.jpg

I think this one is a Male Harrier? Could be wrong about that...

http://john-reed.smugmug.com/photos/312716773_nAUgM-L.jpg

And a fat Mallard Drake settling in for a landing:

http://john-reed.smugmug.com/photos/312716898_S6bh2-L.jpg

These photos were all taken with my FZ18 at full zoom in 8MP mode in high-speed burst mode, with a Nikon TC-E17ED teleconverter attached. The Harrier was cropped quite a bit for better composition.

[Mike63]

Thanks guys, I wish I had a camera that has the highspeed focus that might be part of the problem. I too had the Tcon-17, I had forgot to mention that. I have the sight set at about 75 yards. With 4 eagles flying in lazy circles further out I had to put the dot above dead center in order to see the eagles in the display. I suspect that in my hurry to get a shot off I was depressing the shutter all the way down without letting it focus. I will just have to practice, practice, and practice some more. I will have another chance for the eagles in July.

http://mike63.smugmug.com/photos/312743638_duEZf-L.jpg

http://mike63.smugmug.com/photos/312743659_cSeQ5-L.jpg

http://mike63.smugmug.com/photos/312743619_aBSaR-L.jpg