Introduction

I have been digiscoping since early 2000 when I started using a video camera to record the birds I was seeing. I soon graduated to a Nikon Coolpix 4500 and since then have taken over 40,000 images using that camera. Unfortunately in the last few months the heavy use it recieved started to take its toll and the zoom in button rusted to the body! This was the signal for me to start looking for a new digiscoping camera. After a lot of looking around and research (birdforum.net is a very useful site for this) I finally decided on the new Contax U4R. Here is my review...

The review

The Contax U4R is gradually gaining a reputation for being a worthy successor to the very popular Nikon Coolpix 4500 as a digiscoping camera.

Now I have had a chance to get to grips with what the camera is capable of I have written this short review highlighting the pros and cons of this camera. First I will start with some specific comments about the U4R.

The build quality is very good over all. The only thing that lets it down is the extremely flimsy 28mm thread adapter, which enables it to connect to your digiscope adapter. Being made of plastic, it fits very snugly to the digiscope adapter and can be very hard to get off again. There is also no lens cap, which is also disappointing.

The screen is 2 inches in width (5cm) and is bright and sharp. It's not perfect however as there is some flickering in low light situations.

The quality of the lens is excellent giving sharp, accurate results. When zooming in however it seems to 'stutter' occasionally and the zooming stops. You then need to stop and press the zoom button again to make it go to the top end of its range. There are also only five zoom settings throughout the range - minimum, quarter, half, three-quarters, maximum.

The white balance is the most disappointing aspect of the whole camera. Using the 'Auto' setting gives consistently blue hued results. Changing this to a warmer setting such as 'Cloudy' then makes the images too warm - you seemingly can't win! Correcting these in Photoshop (or similar) is the only way to make them look acceptable. However, I have now resorted to constantly checking the white balance while out in the field and re-measuring if it goes slightly off. The only way to do this is to find a white (or nearly white) subject to shoot the test against. Cloud is often the best subject for this.

Operation of the U4R is very easy and I have found that the best results come from the settings below:
ISO: 50
Scene: normal
Continuous shooting mode
White-balance: Auto
Chroma: +
Sharpness: -1
Metering: center
Focusing: Spot AF
Image size: Maximum

Unfortunately using the 'Normal' scenes mode means that the aperture is automatically set by the camera. Often the camera sets this to a higher aperture than really needed for digiscoping, however you will usually get one or two good shots if you shoot enough. Alternatively use 'Sports' mode but you will have to accept the poorer results, see below.

Using the 'sports' mode manually sets the aperture to the widest setting (i.e. getting maximum light), however it also automatically sets the ISO which means that the resulting images can be very noisy indeed, especially if they are ISO 100 or above.

The most impressive feature of this model is its ability to shoot frames extremely quickly (for a digiscoping camera). The continuous shooting mode means that, if you wish, you can shoot a whole card full of images without pulling your finger off the shutter! This major leap forward in digital camera design means that if a bird is performing in front of you, keeping the shutter pressed down could easily pull that dream shot out of the bag.

The Contax U4R and Kyocera SL400R compared

Look and feel: Note the bigger (and brighter) screen of the U4R (bottom camera)

The slightly more chunky and sophisticated looking Contax also has a more solid build quality compared the cheaper Kyocera.

Connections:

The Contax docking station connection (above). Unfortunately the docking station is the only way to charge batteries (while in camera) and to view and download images direct from the camera. The Kyocera has a much more user friendly way of doing things (see below) using a universal power source connection and direct USB computer connection.

Batteries:

One early complaint with the Kyocera was the short battery life. Here you can see the difference in power between the Kyocera and the Contax, the Kyocera only offering about two thirds of the Contax. The bigger battery of the Contax certainly makes a big difference when using these cameras in the field. However, unfortunately for the Contax, the unusual docking station connection makes finding a suitable battery pack (which would prolong your shooting time) very difficult indeed. So far one hasn't been found for the U4R, but they have for the Kyocera. Definitely one up for the Kyocera!

• For an image comparison between the Contax U4R, Kyocera SL400R and a Nikon Coolpix 995 please click HERE

My verdict

Well there's certainly no doubt that this camera is going to quickly gain the hearts of many a digiscoper around the world. The easy function and set-up are definitely a plus for many users. As is the amazing rapid shooting rate of this tiny model. The image quality is very acceptable, even if it's not quite up to the standard of the Nikon Coolpix 4500. The battery life isn't fantastic either but does out-shine the cheaper Kyocera SL400R in terms of shots-to-battery.

Below are several images just to show you what this camera is capable of. However please bare in mind that these are shots all taken within the first few weeks of me having the camera. I'm sure better will come...

Steve Blain

1st May 2005

Quito

Ecuador

Crimson-mantled Woodpecker

Plate-billed Mountain-Toucan

Masked Trogon

Buff-winged Starfrontlet

page last updated 1st May 2005

All images and material © Steve Blain 2004

steve@steveblain.co.uk