The TD-1 was an innovation almost immediately overtaken by other developments, but the basic idea may still see more long-lasting fruition with further technological advancements.
93 : Kowa Prominar ED TD-1 Spotting Scope and Digital Camera
2004
The TD-1 was an innovation almost immediately overtaken by other developments, but the basic idea may still see more long-lasting fruition with further technological advancements.
With the explosive boom in the birder-driven phenomenon of digiscoping in the early ‘Noughties’ (see pages 190–191), it was clearly likely that manufacturers would respond to demand by trying to answer an obvious question: ‘Why not just incorporate a camera into a telescope?’ In 2004, Kowa did just that with the TD-1.
Stylish in its day, relatively portable at 2.3kg and compact at 39cm in length, the model temporarily looked set to revolutionise the taking of bird and wildlife photographs. The unit operated both as a straightforward scope for observation and, with the flip of a switch, a digital camera with a powerful 10-30x zoom lens – equivalent to 450-1350mm in 35mm format terms.
However, once released and field tested its weaknesses became apparent. It was limited by a low 200 ISO rating, restricting use to good lighting conditions, and the aperture of f2.8 at 10x became f4 at 30x. Though an issue with many digital cameras of the day, there was noticeable shutter lag. Autofocus had an alarming tendency to drain the power out of the four A A batteries, and though mains power could be used when connected to a PC for image transfer, the AC adapter cost extra (as did other accessories). Bizarrely, the paltry 32 MB SD card provided with the TD-1 was, according to the instruction manual, the largest size permitted for use, despite much larger SD cards being available at the time. Perhaps worst of all, however, was that the focus reset itself after each shot, meaning that critical fast-fire sequences were impossible as the user had to continually refocus the TD-1 on the target bird.
These drawbacks limited the appeal of an otherwise innovative product. More fundamentally, there was a major inherent problem with this kind of hybrid device. At 3.1 MP the TD-1’s sensor was already notably undersized at release date, when many cameras boasted much bigger sensors. Technology progresses fast, but sensors are integrated components which cannot be updated, and while upgrading to a better camera might cost hundreds of pounds, upgrading a telescope is a much more expensive (and therefore rare) affair: the TD-1 retailed at a hefty £1,760 on launch in 2004, representing no small investment, and depreciation was likely to be heavy.
Effectively from the outset of production, these shortcomings meant that its days were numbered. Kowa’s TD-1 proved a relatively brief phenomenon, with manufacture ceasing by 2009 and no successor models launched. Other companies have experimented with products in the same area, including photo eyepieces for telescopes from Zeiss and Minox, and Zeiss’s impressive but expensive PhotoScope 85 T*FL – selling at a colossal £4,785 suggested retail price in 2011.
Birders, the key market for such products, are so far unconvinced by the claimed virtues of camera-telescope hybrids. Perhaps one day brave optics companies will find a way to overcome the significant design, performance and upgrading issues, but in the meantime advances in DSLR, bridge and compact cameras, not to mention digiscoping accessories, have made their job tougher.