AWNINGS FOR OUTDOOR WINDOWS

Nikon 8055 Matte Sunshade for 50mm Scope

Nikon Sun Shade 50mm Matte 8055

Nikon 8055 Matte Sunshade for 50mm Scope is designed to block excessive sun and glare that may effect your scope's performance in high light conditions. The sunshade is perfect for use with Nikon's wide array of rifle and object scopes. Nikon has constructed their sunshades to match the finish of their scopes. The Nikon 8055 is perfect for any Nikon 50 millimeter scope, and the matte finish means your sunshade will match your riflescope, keeping your gun looking pristine.

I've missed quite a few photo-opportunities when digiscoping due to my inability to see the camera screen clearly enough to focus the scope through it, when the need arises. So I've finally got around (January 09) to buying myself the Xtend-a-View Pro(tm) WIDE Sunshade & Viewer which will hopefully sort the problem out.

The photos show the Xtend-a-View with velco strips attached (hoops), the Nikon Coolpix P5100 camera with velcro strips attached (loops), the Xtend-a-View in position on the camera, and the camera in position on the scope. With the viewer fitted most of the camera screen can still be seen and the function buttons can still be operated - although perhaps not with gloved hands. General details of the viewer and user comments (not all of which are favourable!) can be found via Google.

Note added 10 June 09: I've used the viewer for some months now, and here are my own thoughts:

I was initially a little disappointed, as I found that focusing the scope via the viewer (with or without the camera focus locked) as opposed to focusing the scope via the scope eyepiece and then fitting the camera and relying on the auto-focus - which is my usual modus operandi - did not generally produce sharper results. This conclusion was arrived at by carrying out a number of trials involving photographing static objects at a range of distances from the scope using both methods of focus. The results showed that either there was no noticeable difference, or the use of the viewer produced slightly poorer results. (This, of course, could just be due to my lack of proficiency in using the viewer.)

However, the reason I bought the viewer was to cover the situation when the camera auto-focus gets it badly wrong and throws a perfectly well focused image out of focus. In these circumstance the viewer can be an essential aid.

In fact I use the viewer almost all of the time now when in the field, but still generally focus the scope via the eyepiece, just using the viewer to check the framing and to get the timing of the shot right. It's proved to be of particular use when videoscoping, as the framing is clearly more important as this can't later be improved upon by cropping the image. Also I've found that the P5100 quite frequently throws the image out of focus when used in video mode, and the viewer can then be used to re-focus.

For all of its deficiencies, I now find the viewer to be an essential piece of kit, and wouldn't dream of going digiscoping without it.

Note added 13 May 11: Unfortunately I lost the viewer on 10th April 11 and wasn't able to source a replacement. However, I've found that an 8x magnification Hama loupe (with the transparent sides fully taped over) pressed to the camera screen is an effective replacement - at least from the point of view of achieving focus. In fact I find it much easier to use, especially at high scope magnifications. After a period of experimentation I eventually superglued the loupe to the screen. Since then I must have taken over 1000 digiscoped photos and videos, as well as a number of scenic shots using the camera in isolation, and have been very happy with the results (see photostream post 10 April 11).

However, this arrangement would probably not suit most people, as there are a number of disadvantages: the periphery of the camera screen cannot be seen via the loupe (although the critical camera settings can still be read); the image always appears pixillated, which, for example, makes it difficult to check photos for blown highlights; the camera screen could be damaged if the loupe eyepiece is exposed to the sunlight for any length of time (I use an old binocular eyepiece cover to prevent this).

A lower magnification loupe would probably be better, but I just used what I happened to have at the time.

The best $85 I ever spent on optics. It performs as well as scopes 5x the price!

It is a 3-9X40 full size range estimating Mil-dot scope.

Features (from advertisement):
- "Revolutionary Triple S Structure (Smart Spherical Structure) for the Most Effective Telescopic Functions.
- Target Turrets with Zero Locking and Resetting.
- Mil-dot Range Estimating Reticle.
- Angled Objective with Built-in Integral Sunshade.
- SCP-394FMD1-C Pre-adjusted @ 100yds
- Flip-open Lens Caps Included"

Optional Sunshade for 40mm Obj. Scopes - Silver 8054

Nikon 8054 Silver Sunshade for 40mm scope is designed to block excessive sun and glare that may effect your scope's performance in high light conditions. The sunshade is perfect for use with Nikon's wide array of rifle and object scopes. Nikon has constructed their sunshades to match the finish of their scopes. The Nikon 8054 is perfect for any Nikon 40 millimeter scope, and the silver finish means your sunshade will match your riflescope, keeping your gun looking pristine.

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