Camcorder as a spotting scope?

[ashiha]

It started with this video of a GAP 7wsm being shot at 2k which I'm sure most of you have seen (2:01 in video):
Gap 7wsm at 2000 yards - YouTube

I linked the moment where he tells us that he's recording that not through a spotting scope, but with an HD camera. I'm pretty impressed by how much zoom it has.

Then I found that there are some stuff like the Panasonic HC-V520 with 50x optical zoom (http://shop.panasonic.com/shop/model/HC-V520K):

Here are a couple example videos demonstrating the zoom:

Panasonic hc v520 Amazing Zoom! - YouTube (1:00 in video)

PANASONIC HC-V520 AMAZNIG DZOOM @ 3000X LOCATION IS 6KM AWAY - YouTube


Considering we are looking at something that costs around $350, is this not a viable way to spot before buying something like a Swarovski? If so, we would also have the added bonus of actually recording the shots.

 

[scudzuki]

Pretty impressive.
Please let us know if you can see .22 holes at 400 yards when you get one, thanks.

Joe

 

[ashiha]

Pretty impressive.
Please let us know if you can see .22 holes at 400 yards when you get one, thanks.

Joe

I can't tell if that is sarcasm or not, but I will assume it isn't. I just want to see if this is a realistic notion or if I'm just being a dumbass.

I would obviously look into which camera would be the best option, but this one looks even more promising than the last due to having a Carl Zeiss 50x optical lens as well as having a MUCH higher megapixel rating.
http://store.sony.com/cyber-shot-di...l-Cyber-shot-H-Series-Cameras?_t=pfm=category

All I would hope for is to see 6mm and 308 holes at up to 700 and hits/misses beyond that. Anything else and I would be kidding myself. But it does look promising.

 

[scudzuki]

I can't tell if that is sarcasm or not, but I will assume it isn't. I just want to see if this is a realistic notion or if I'm just being a dumbass.

I would obviously look into which camera would be the best option, but this one looks even more promising than the last due to having a Carl Zeiss 50x optical lens as well as having a MUCH higher megapixel rating.
Cyber-shot Digital Camera HX300 - DSCHX300/B Review | Sony Store U.S - Sony US

All I would hope for is to see 6mm and 308 holes at up to 700 and hits/misses beyond that. Anything else and I would be kidding myself. But it does look promising.

Half sarcasm and half hoping you're going to be our test mule.
See holes on paper at 700? Not likely.

Joe

 

[Centuriator]

This is really intriguing. I have a professional level camcorder, the Canon XA20, with a x20 optical zoom and a x400 digital zoom.

I am not sure how well it would do simply using it to view through the lens, but I'll give it a go.

Recording the bullet flight path using the digital zoom x400 should prove interesting. Thanks for this.

 

[RobertB]

I would never try to replace my spotter with a Camcorder but I'm not saying that you cant do it with it. When we shoot we always spot but when we record I have seen trace and impact at 1K easily. Personally I would rather have both as electronics like that in the field cant be trusted and you have batteries. Spotter doesn't face those issues. Again that's just me and I think both are the way to go but spotter deff.

 

[Six Feet Under]

I would never try to replace my spotter with a Camcorder but I'm not saying that you cant do it with it. When we shoot we always spot but when we record I have seen trace and impact at 1K easily. Personally I would rather have both as electronics like that in the field cant be trusted and you have batteries. Spotter doesn't face those issues. Again that's just me and I think both are the way to go but spotter deff.

I agree with RobertB....

It does look like a damn nice camera!... Too bad it doesn't have a FFP reticle in it.. haha
How much is the camera?

 

[ashiha]

The camera I believe I would go with if I wanted to try this out would be the Panasonic FZ70 (aka FZ72) which has 60x optical and runs ~$350 new. Maybe the holes @ 700 was a little far off considering mirage, but who knows?

I'm a little worried that the camera itself can pick up all of this detail, but that you won't be able to see it through the little 3" screen or the viewfinder. You can always go back to replay, but again, 3" screen is very limiting. Also I wanted to mention that if you were the type of person that will be trusting your life or someone else's life with the quality of your gear, you shouldn't be trying to save money like this. I would shell out the money for a quality optic like a Kowa or Swarovski if that were the case, but it isn't. I'm just a kid who wants to shoot far.

 

[ashiha]

This video was recorded with the FZ70:
Panasonic LUMIX DMC-FZ70 20?1200?2400mm ZOOMING TEST - YouTube
How far away would you say the crosswalk is at 0:35? If I knew (Japanese I think) I would likely be able to read the small sign on the left.

 

[rockbox]

Interesting idea since camera sensors are more sensitive than the human eye. You could zoom in the view finder after you take a picture with the 16 mp sensor.

 

[rockbox]

The windows at 2:30 is at least 2 miles away.

 

[GardDog]

I would setup my camcorder and record my LR sessions (I usually shoot alone and can't always call hits at 1k), but I could only use about half of the zoom. With the heat and humidity in my area, the mirage was too fierce to use all of the zoom capabilities.

 

[JL]

Diameter and quality of the apereture (objective) dictates resolution. It doesent help it CMOS has gazillion pixels if input from objective is porridge.
Zeiss name on side of lens doesent guarantee actual origin...

As reference, took this today with Zeiss Diascope 85. Used camera was wifes old, crappy compact Panasonic. Image looked much better with bare eye:

 

[ashiha]

Diameter and quality of the apereture (objective) dictates resolution. It doesent help it CMOS has gazillion pixels if input from objective is porridge.
Zeiss name on side of lens doesent guarantee actual origin...

As reference, took this today with Zeiss Diascope 85. Used camera was wifes old, crappy compact Panasonic. Image looked much better with bare eye:

Thanks for the pic. Everything always seems to look better with the naked eye.

I wouldn't even dream of actually comparing any camera (unless we are talking about that gigapixel camera) to a $1500+ spotting scope. But I'm hoping that it could be a much better alternative to anything in the $300+ range.

 

[TahoeRider]

I've experimented with some cameras (digital SLRs with 300mm telephoto lenses...etc). In the end the mirage is usually the limiting factor for being able to see shots on a target.

Our TargetCam product is really the only way to see shots on a target out past about 400 yards. Remote Video Spotting System 775-852-9449 Target Camera TargetCam. When I test our units I test with targets with 22 cal holes in them. I'm able to see 22 holes from over 3 miles away by just looking over at the screen next to me.

 

[ashiha]

Well, I ordered the camera from ebay since it had a 30 day money back guarantee. I'll try taking some video when it gets here to test and I'll post the results.

 

[ashiha]

I got the camera and have been playing with the settings for a while when I have time. It takes nice pictures, but nothing super special. However, I do not think the camera has a real 60x zoom. I will test this out further when I go to the range tomorrow by comparing it with my SWFA 5-20, but the 20x on my scope seems to give a similar picture to the 60x on the camera. Personally, I believe the scope to be more accurate.

I will try to get a full write up tomorrow if everything goes according to plan.

 

[ashiha]

It seems as though the screen is just too small to be used properly in the field. Also, in a mildly cold day in Arizona (~50F) there was just too much mirage to see much at even 300 yards. Hits/misses at that range would be possible, but I'm going to just return the camera and look for a proper scope.

 

[LoneWolfUSMC]

It is doable if you attach the camera to an external field monitor and add a sunshade. Otherwise you are going to have issues when viewing in full sunlight. This is a problem I have to combat every time I am filming professional level video in daylight.

Now once you have done that, you are a slave to battery life.

At this stage of electronic evolution I would not try to replace a good field spotter with a video camera. However since much of what I do is video, I may be looking into one of these longer reach options. They are a little lighter to back than a T3i and a 800mm Tele.

 

[ashiha]

It is doable if you attach the camera to an external field monitor and add a sunshade. Otherwise you are going to have issues when viewing in full sunlight. This is a problem I have to combat every time I am filming professional level video in daylight.

Now once you have done that, you are a slave to battery life.

At this stage of electronic evolution I would not try to replace a good field spotter with a video camera. However since much of what I do is video, I may be looking into one of these longer reach options. They are a little lighter to back than a T3i and a 800mm Tele.

Whoa, hey. Big fan.

I thought about connecting the camera to a small laptop or tablet, but like you said, it would make it more awkward than necessary with all the equipment and relies too heavily on batteries (especially since you can't usually replace it on tablets and having backups for laptops is expensive).

I thought it was worth a try, and it can probably be worked out to be usable, but I will definitely be setting my sights on a spotting scope. I just need to set a budget for that and choose one.

Here is a video. The berms are 200y and 300y. The diamond is at the 300y mark. This was taken freehand (the camera has a really nice stabilizer). The point at which the zoom takes a quarter second stop before jumping forward again is where it goes from 60x optical to increase digital zoom.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b1KW61CxcD8

Here is a picture taken at the max zoom on the target at 100y (zeroed scope today. hole bottom and low left center were together. Then the 5 shot group to the right).
http://i.imgur.com/dN6oJsD.jpg