Nova Del 2013

I finally got out to observe this nova. It's been a very cloudy and rainy here in Georgia much of the year. It's an easy star hop from the head of Delphinus, even with full moon and high thin clouds. I try to stay unbiased and avoid looking at recent estimates at least 12 hours before observing. I used binoculars 15X70mm and the chart 12522Q. Using the "out of focus" technique tends to help make mag differences more obvious to me. My comp star was 5.7. While in focus the Nova and the 57 star looked identical in brightness. After unfocusing the Nova, it appeared slightly brighter than the 5.7 comp. I believe my visual precision is not better than 0.2 mag, so that is where I came up with my 5.5 estimate. I also checked the 48 star and the Nova was obviously much fainter. After posting the observation online, I pulled up other observations. It appears that the trend is fainter than my estimate for that time. Most estimates for that time are fainter than the 57 comp. My first thought is that everyone else is wrong (Just kidding). My thought is that perhaps a star in the field near the nova went out of focus and flux added to the Nova's light. There is an 8th mag star pretty close to the Nova and while out of focus it could have blended in a bit with the nova's light. Things may look very different when the sky is clearer and the moon is not a factor.  Star color could also come into play. The 5.7 comp looks pretty red in the Wikisky image. I was just wondering if any other visual observers have had similar circumstances or any tips. Anyhow , I look forward to revisiting the field soon with my binocs.