I've been using my Pentax Optio A10 for several months now behind my Kowa 663 spotting scope and could not be happier. The interesting thing about this setup is that I use no adapter to attach the camera to the scope. When I see something I want to shoot, I just pull out the A10, hold it over the scope and fire away. How is this possible?

The A10 is one of the new breed of tiny digitals that incorporate image stabilization. Handholding at 1x to 3x optical is quite effective and as long as I don't rock the scope in the process, I get images as sharp as if I had used an adapter. There are certainly other brands of image stabilized digitals that will work, of course, but image stabilization is the key if you want to leave the adapters at home.

This technique works especially well for me since I am constantly changing from taking pics through my scope to taking close-ups of flowers and insects. This little camera gives me the freedom to do both without the need for adapters and for that I am grateful. Did I mention that it also takes great pics!

The top pic is a butterfly, taken with a 20x WA TSE-21WD, through the spotting scope and 2x optical on the camera.

Below it is a Great Egret framed nicely with two Mallards at its feet, taken at 40x with a TSE Z9B zoom eyepiece on the spotting scope and 2x optical on the camera,

I've always lusted after the Nikon 7x50 Prostar (tells you where my priorities are). I mean, this is one binocular that is made strictly with astronomy in mind as is Nikon's "no holds barred" effort at making the very finest bino of its kind. Problem is, it has been in short supply for sometime, so I've haven't been able to get my sweaty little hands on one to take it for a test ride.

Until this morning, that is. I was scanning the inventory on the computer and low and behold, there it was. Next came a trip to the warehouse, which I left later with a big smile on my face and a Nikon 7x50 Prostar snuggled tightly in my arms.

I opened the box, removed the bino from the case and inspected this jewel for fit and finish. I was not disappointed. The Prostar is flawless on the outside and construction is heavy duty throughout. It comes with two sets of eyecups; one winged for use without glasses and one flat for use with glasses. I installed the flat eyecups and took my first look.

Again, I was not disappointed. It was bright and crystal clear with edge resolution as good as I have ever seen in a binocular. I checked in daylight for distortion and could detect only the barest hint of pincushion as I scanned back and forth on a brick wall and a glance at a sunlit metal gutter revealed only the merest trace of chromatic aberration.

So, is this the perfect bino for astronomy? Well, maybe. Eye relief is listed at 16mm, but I had to squeeze the binocular against my glasses to see the entire field of view and even then I could not see the field stops. Overall, I'd rate the eye relief as an unofficial 13mm. Still, I could live with this.

Field of view was another matter. It is adequate at 51 degrees, but I was hoping for more of a picture window rather than a porthole. After all, you buy a 7x50 to scan the vast star clouds of Sagittarius or roam the nebulae of Cygnus and Perseus. If I'm going with a 7x, as the song says, "Don't fence me in."

I went birding to a local marsh this weekend and happened to come across another birder who had just setup his spotting scope. We introduced ourselves and chatted about the morning's activity. As luck would have it, Stan was out doing a breeding bird survey and was about to begin his route, so he invited me along. How could I refuse? To have my own guide on this rather large tract of marsh and prairie would be a treat.

We spent the next couple of hours on the survey and it didn't take me long to become impressed with Stan's skills as a birder. He was also very complimentary about my skills. We then talked a bit about equipment and I was not surprised to see he carried some old and quite worn, low end Bushnell binoculars as well as an old Bushnell Spacemaster. Compared to my Leica binocular and Kowa ED spotting scope, his stuff looked positively shabby. However, there was no denying Stan's skills.

I've encountered this minimalist approach to equipment with a few other top-notch birders. One of my favorite Ornithology professors in college, for instance, swore by his old Tasco binoculars and he was an excellent birder. The moral of the story here is to never judge a birder by his equipment. Fancy and expensive equipment is no substitute for experience and motivation. Take this to heart if you are on a budget and have been thinking of getting into birding.

My friend has been using her Celestron Skyscout regularly and wanted me to pass on the information that this product is a battery eater, so pack along spare batteries. When the batteries start to run low, the Skyscout loses accuracy. For the next version, I hope Celestron beefs up the battery pack for its Celestron Sky Scout. In the meantime, she also reports that she is having a lot of fun.

A friend of mine bought and paid for a Celestron Skyscout clear back last spring when we began to orders on it. (We're still trying to fill these backorders.)It arrived earlier this week, so she's had it out once for an initial test run.

She called me the other night and was very excited. "It works. This darn thing really works." She then went on to explain how it identifed several stars for her, quickly and easily. When I asked if a person could attach it to a telescope and use it as a computer assisted mount, she told me, no. Problem is the unit is sensitive to metal, probably due to a magnetic sensor in the mechanism. She even had to stand away from the car to get it to work.

Not bad, though. Should be a great unit to take out in the backyard without a scope. Be great to just lay out on the lawn chair and scan the Miky Way.

Just be sure the lawn chair is wood.

I can remember my first encounter with the fabulous Swarovski 8.5x42 EL. It was at a birding festival in Nebraska and I was on assignment at a local refuge as a tour guide for Sandhill Cranes. After a great morning in one of the blinds, we dropped our guests back at the convention center. As I was ready to leave a friend flagged me down and told me to stop by the Swarovski booth to take a look at a new model of Swarovski binocular. He assured me it quite unlike anything I had seen. I wasn't really in the market for a new binocular, but since I was known as an optics nut (some things never change)I had to have a look.

It did look different, even from the other side of the room. As I approached the counter, my curiosity continued to grow. Did they forget to add a center section to the binocular? What was going on?

I have to admit that when I picked up the binocular, I began to drool. It balanced perfectly in the hand and felt as if it had been made just for me. And the optics were ... well, all Swarovski, even better than my old Swarovski SLC 7x42.

Today, of course, this design has it imitators, but the Swarovski EL remains one of the finest handling binos ever made. Even if you don't buy one, you owe it to yourself to get one in your hands and ... drool.

I remember a time when all Steiner offered were large, military marine style porro prism binoculars. Since I was working the retail optics counter in those days, I had access to several models and used them for birding. The individual eyepiece focus (autofocus in Steiner lingo) was less than ideal for close in work, but not bad for the longer ranges I encountered on the prairie. In fact, I can still remember a beautiful Le Conte's Sparrow as seen in the field of view of the Steiner 7x50 Military Marine. Very impressive ... also very heavy, so I traded that one in for a more petite 6x30 Hunter model (now discontinued). The 6x30 Hunter was a premium grade porro and about as sweet a little bino as I have used.

Things are quite different today, of course. The Steiner Birding Store says it all. Steiner has listened to birders and we now have some excellent roof prisms for birding in the Merlin and Peregrine. Now if I had a Peregrine those many years ago ...