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OpticsBlog – Thoughts and reviews of binoculars, telescopes, scopes, sights, and much more - birdwatching, astronomy, target shooting - pretty much anything related to optics, nature, and life!Thursday, September 30, 2010North country binoculars and digital camerasFall is spectacular in the north country and a great time to be out in the woods. If you are lucky enough to make a trip, up north, this time of year, don’t leave the digital cameras or the binoculars behind. The need to carry digital cameras or even film cameras (I carry both) in the north woods in the fall is obvious. This is prime color country, with the red, yellows and golds of maple, poplar and birch punctuated by the dark green of conifers and the brilliant white of birch trunks. Some folks prefer all hardwoods forests for color, but I prefer to have some conifers to add a bit of contrast. Each to their own, but bring plenty of film and spare batteries and make sure you have enough room on your memory card – you will be doing a lot of shooting. Bring the binoculars, too. Fall is a very active time for wildlife and there are many opportunities not only for birdwatching, but also for seeing deer, squirrels, chipmunks and, if you are very fortunate, maybe a wolf or a black bear. No guarantees, of course, but having binoculars, even compact binoculars, gets you in the wildlife game. Yes, autumn is gold. Just come up north for a visit and I’ll prove it. Wednesday, September 29, 2010Digiscoping birdsand headaches I’ve been trying to do some digiscoping, lately, for Red-breasted Nuthatches, but, so far, the little guys just won’t cooperate. This little bird is almost as fidgety as the Chickadee, which I rate as one of the world’s worst photographic subjects. Neither species can seem to sit still for even a few seconds and that is a real headache for a photographer. What’s a gal to do? Keep trying, of course. Bird photography of any kind is no place for the impatient or a drive up window mentality. I spend a lot of time behind the spotting scope and tripod, digital camera at the ready and when a bird does appear, for every good shot you take, you’ll take many a bad shot. It’s a numbers game; in fact, I can’t remember the last time I got a good pic of a bird on the first try, despite all the technology wrapped up in today’s digital cameras. This is one place where there is no technical fix. All the clever menus and convenience on today’s digital cameras features won’t help you to get that bird to sit still. You just have to wait and then you just have to keep shooting. Tuesday, September 28, 2010Film or digital, again We are going up a bit farther north, this week, to photograph and enjoy some of the waterfalls along the shore of Lake Superior in northern Wisconsin and Michigan. Fall colors are about prime, this week and the waterfalls should be going great guns with the wet summer we have enjoyed. We will be using both film cameras and digital cameras or, maybe I should say, my friends and my Bill will be using digital cameras and I will be the one with the film cameras, though I plan to sneak a digital shot or two, as well. My goal is to come up with photos that I can enlarge and hang on the wall in our home and, for that kind of work, I’ll take a good film camera with the right lens, of course. Of course, I also get a real kick out of using my film equipment, so it’s not like I am trying to punish myself, even though I will be carrying a tripod to handle all the weight. Just seems more like photography when I have a good film SLR in my hands, given that I started taking pics so many years, ago, long before the word digital crept into our language. Not sure my friends understand my fascination with film cameras, but when they see what I get with the old cameras, they may at least give film a bit more respect. We’ll see. Monday, September 27, 2010Fall color cameras Lost a filling in a tooth, so back to Milwaukee to see our dentist, who is covered on our insurance. Hate to leave our home in the north country, now, for even a day, but no way can anyone afford a dentist without insurance, these days. During the drive, though, we were treated to some fall colors along the highway and I even took a couple of pics with one of our digital cameras when we stopped for gas and lunch. That’s the beauty of small digital point and shoot cameras – always with you and they do just fine for informal fall color shots. Of course, I’ve also been busy with my serious film cameras and lenses, but it’s much more work to carry DSLRs and digital camera accessories, especially when you opt for a tripod for stability. Something to be said for keeping things small. Wouldn’t think that living 250 miles north would make such a difference in fall colors, but it does. This next week, up in the Rhinelander area where our new home is located, will be prime for fall color. By contrast, the Milwaukee area is only just beginning to show some color, though, of course, some trees are quite ahead of others when it comes to color and that one tree, or even part of a tree that is ahead of the others actually makes a good subject for a pic. Friday, September 24, 2010Digiscoping to the rescue What do you do when a 420mm lens on a digital camera doesn’t get you close enough to take a pic of a bird? Nope, can’t go closer or you’ll scare the bird. Okay, add a doubler and get 800 mm plus of telephoto lens? Nope, still not close enough, nowhere near. (Drum roll.) Digiscoping to the rescue. The Pileated Woodpecker I shot in the pic, yesterday, was only about thirty-five yards, away. Now, newbies to bird photography might think that you should easily be able to fill a frame with a 420 mm telephoto lens and, for sure, an 800 mm telephoto. Not so, not even with an 800 mm camera lens or any digital camera accessory. That’s the beauty of digiscoping - placing a small point and shoot digital camera behind the eyepiece of a spotting scope – it gets you far more magnification than even the longest conventional camera lens, even something an 800 mm telephoto lens, which is a monster in conventional photography. For instance, I got the above shot at roughly 2100 mm of lens focal length on this one and could have gone much higher if needed. No, pic quality from digiscoping will never rival what you get from a high grade professional telephoto lens, but quality is still good enough for identification purposes and for sharing with others in a digital world. Most importantly, you got the pic. Thursday, September 23, 2010Retirement?There are two types of people who retire. There are those that retire and slow down and there are those that retire and get even busier. Bill and I are the later type. For sure, I can’t remember being this busy since I had young ones around the house. Much of our current activity is centered around our remodeling projects in our new home, but even when I have taken time off to pursue all my many interests, I am busier than ever. Again, our new home figures prominently in all this, since our north country setting greatly increases opportunities for me to use my birding binoculars, birding spotting scopes, digital cameras, fishing gear, canoes, kayaks and so on. Hey, if I had known it was going to be this much fun, I would have retired years, ago! Today, I have more unpacking to do and Bill will also need some help, downstairs on his wood burning stove/chimney project, but, here I sit, staring out the windows, watching the rain fall and the birds at the feeder and daydreaming, a bit, about the next time I will be able to go fishing. Winter comes early, this far north and a gal needs to get in all the fishing she can before the snow flies and, speaking of snow, can’t wait to try out those new snowshoes and, then too, this place has to be a photographer’s dream with a layer of snow. Did I mention that I have some of the best skies, ever for using my telescopes and astronomy binoculars? Back to work, for now. Wednesday, September 22, 2010Leica monocularOne thing I’ve never owned is a Leica monocular, simply because Leica hasn’t made monoculars in my lifetime, until recently, that is. Leica has now announced a monocular in their Leica 8x20 Monovid. No, haven’t had a chance to test one, as Leica has been a little slow to deliver this new item, which is typical Leica, of course. The price is also typical Leica. On the other hand, I’ve never been disappointed by any Leica product and that is also typical Leica. I’ve used and owned and loved Leica binoculars for thirty years and I confident I’ll feel the same about the new Leica Monovid monocular. Of course, a $500 monocular is not for everyone, but, hey, it is a Leica and $500 does not seem so bad when you compare that price to other Leica products, such as Leica cameras, Leica microscopes, Leica spotting scopes and so on. That darn little red ball (Leica logo) on a product is sometimes more than an optics addict like me can resist. Now I have to think of a way to convince Bill that I actually need another monocular. Wish me luck. Tuesday, September 21, 2010Which digital camera for sports?You can’t turn a compact binocular into a giant binocular, you can’t turn small telescopes into big telescopes and you can’t turn small point and shoot digital cameras into DSLRs. Big performance means big lenses and all the wishful thinking in the world won’t change that. You pay a price for going small that is dictated by some basic laws of optics. Small digital cameras are a good example. I often get asked by parents for a small camera that they can take to their son’s or daughter’s ball game to get some action shots. I tell them to save their money, get a DSLR with the proper (large aperture) camera lens and head to the sidelines to setup their shots. That advice is typically greeted with a lot of moaning, but at least it’s honest. Those tiny little lenses on small digital point and shoot cameras take much more time to gather enough light for a proper pic than bigger aperture lenses. That’s why subject movement – any subject movement - with these small aperture lenses results in a blurred photo. Cranking up the optical zoom on a small camera, which we must if we are in the stands, just makes it worse, since image brightness and lens aperture decreases as magnification increases. In other words, zooming just turns our small lens into an even smaller lens. So, you want a shot of your young sports hero in action? Watch those pro photographers at a big time football or soccer game. Check the sizes of those lenses. Yes, small digital cameras have their place – I love ‘em and use them, all the time – but action photography is not one of those places. Monday, September 20, 2010Telescope choiceDecisions, for feeling folks like me who operate almost exclusively in the affective domain, are sometimes a matter of stress and anguish, but not always. Sometimes, I like to savor decisions when I'm in a win-win situation. What’s the hurry when you can’t lose, either way? Might as well take my time and have fun. A good example is my astronomy. Lately, given the incredibly dark skies we get in our new north country home, I have been thinking of buying a telescope to add to what I already own and this next telescope will be a big one, since we have the skies to match the potential of a large telescope. But how to choose the right telescope? What type of telescope? What telescope accessories should I get for it? Maybe it is time to do more astrophotography, too. On the other hand, maybe just the right telescope eyepiece or two for my small refractor is all I need. Oh, how sweet my telescope daydreams, now that I finally have a great place to observe! No hurry, though, since I have yet to see all that my small telescope can see under my new dark skies. Fishing gear is another category of catching up. Now that I have determined that there are nice bass in our lake, it's time to get serious about some casting gear. Those lily pads and good sized bass are not a good combination for the light fly rods I have been using. Be nice to feel a good Shimano or Daiwa casting reel under my thumb, again. Think I'll go online and do some more browsing. This is fun. Friday, September 17, 2010Bass on a fly rod As of yesterday, I knew, firsthand, that there were Bluegill and Yellow Crappie in our north country Wisconsin lake. I had caught a few off the dock with my fly rod and, as far as size, they were respectable, certainly worth casting a fly. I had also heard from some of the locals that there are some good Largemouth Bass in the lake, though I had yet to catch any off the dock. That changed yesterday afternoon. Just before supper, after Bill and I did some remodeling on the house, I decided to take a few casts with the fly rod. I grabbed one of the digital cameras, as I always do and also a compact binocular, just in case I saw some new birds. This time, though, instead of trying my luck off the dock, I got adventurous and waded down the outlet stream to an old beaver dam and cautiously tip-toed out a ways on the damn and started to cast. I was after bluegills, again, and fishing a sponge spider with my light 4 wt rod I had built years, ago, from a Loomis GL4 blank. It is a sweet, moderate action rod I use mostly for finesse trout work, but it also makes a fun bluegill rod. A good ‘gill can give you all you want on this rod. A big bass … ? On my third cast to the bowl in the stream that had once been a beaver pond, the #10 spider disappeared into the jaws of a nice bass. Fortunately, I had picked about the only place on the creek that was not a jungle of lily pads and arrowheads, so I knew that if I was patient, I had a chance to land the bass. I did and was all smiles to land my first 15” bass in our lake and on a light fly rod to boot! I managed to get a pic before I released the bass, though I nearly dropped the digital camera in to the stream, I was so nervous. I then switched the sponge spider for a large foam bass popper (which did not cast well on a 4 wt rod) and in one cast was into an even bigger bass, which I also landed, photographed and released. This one was a chunky 16” and is the one in the pic. By then I was so nervous I could hardly cast, but out went the popper, again. Four casts, later, I had an even bigger bass and barely managed to turn the fish and lip it out of the water. It went almost 18” and made me one very happy fly fishing gal as I released it gently back into the stream. By then I was shaking too much to continue, so I waded back to our dock and called it one very good hour’s worth of fishing. On the way I made a mental note to darn sure exchange my little Sony digital camera for a waterproof digital camera, such as a Canon Powershot D10 . Juggling a bass and a camera over the water is no place for a conventional camera. Thursday, September 16, 2010Digiscoping works I’ve never been an “either, or” person. I just use whatever I need for the task at hand and let people on a crusade for one belief versus another have their fun. This is very much the case for my photography. I own, love and use the old 35mm film stuff, but I’m not stupid enough to pass up digital cameras with all their convenience and advantages, either. When it comes to wildlife photography, especially, that same “use whatever it takes” is my motto. I know full well that the really great wildlife photos are taken with conventional and very expensive camera gear – I’ve used the same gear, myself for years – but I also know that there are times when digiscoping will get you shots you’ll never make with conventional camera gear. Personally, I’d rather get the shot then pass it up because it isn’t wall hanging quality. Digiscoping, if you haven’t heard is simplicity in itself. You just take a small digital point and shoot camera and place it behind the eyepiece of a spotting scope and fire away. Digiscoping, then, gets you the magnification of the spotting scope and, when coupled with the optical zoom in the camera, you have far more magnification than even the longest telephoto lens in the conventional camera world. No, a spotting scope, even the best spotting scope, won’t match a dedicated and very expensive telephoto lens, such as the very powerful Canon EF 800 for photographic optics, but, on the other hand, digiscoping can get you shots that you won’t get with even that very powerful camera lens, either. Almost all of the wildlife and bird pics you see in my blogs are my own digiscoped pics, including the one of the doe I got the other morning. She was too far to fill the frame of even an 800 mm lens, but plenty close enough for the spotting scope. Hey, whatever it takes. Wednesday, September 15, 2010Storing binoculars, spotting scopes, telescopesMy Bill is working, feverishly, to get our new wood burning stove installed and the chimney work done before the weather turns really cold. Temperatures have already dipped into the 30s, so no time to waste and we still have wood to cut, split and stack. Next thing you know I will be waxing my skis. So goes life in the north woods, I guess. On a more domestic note, I am waiting for Bill to get all those tools, bags of cement, mortar, rocks and other construction materials out of my basement so I can get the furniture in, pictures hung and a place set up to store my binoculars, spotting scopes, film and digital cameras, tripods and the rest of my optical and outdoor gear. If room permits, I might even set up a bench for fly tying and I am still considering buying a telescope, a really large telescope at that, and will need that room to store it. For sure, our spare bedroom is no place to store my toys or Bill’s, either. Makes me wonder how I ever stored all those birding and astronomy binoculars, not to mention birding spotting scopes, telescopes and so on in one small, single bedroom apartment. Tuesday, September 14, 2010Fly fishing and fly tying magnifiersI have been recently getting back into fly fishing after a long absence, now that we live on a lake and have some actual trout streams in the area. Oh, how good it feels to have a fly rod in my hand and watch that line unfurl over the water! I have also managed to reacquire much of my fly tying gear or, at least, the basic tools. Makes me wonder how I survived so long without my fly gear. I am still short some basic tools, so time to do more shopping. Magnifiers are not typically what we think of when someone mentions fly fishing or fly tying, but, believe me, I consider magnifiers essential tools for both. On the stream, there is nothing more frustrating, especially with these old eyes, than trying to thread an ultra fine tippet on a small fly, especially when you are on the water and the trout are rising. Talk about a case of nerves. Clip on magnifiers, like the Carson VisorMag are a life saver. A clip on magnifier is probably the least expensive part of a fly fisher’s gear, but I wouldn’t head to the trout stream without one. I’ve made that mistake, before and don’t wish to repeat it. At the fly tying desk, these old eyes also need a bit of help. A lighted desk magnifier, such as the Carson MagniFly is my favorite or you could even go deluxe and try a lab style magnifier, such as the VWR. Even if all you tie is the big stuff, you’ll be glad you have a magnifier for those long tying sessions and if, like me, you also tie the really small stuff, you won’t be able to live without your magnifier. Once you’ve used a good lighted desk magnifier, you won’t work at the tying bench without one. Monday, September 13, 2010Things that go thump in the nightThe other night, I awoke in a panic, after hearing a very loud “thump” in the house. In fact, it sounded like a truck slamming into the side of the house, but it was no truck, it was Bill. He somehow had managed to roll off the bed and the thump was him hitting the floor like several sacks of cement. Not good. He was uninjured, though, and once we were sure of that fact, we laughed a bit and then both tried to get back to sleep. He succeeded, I didn’t. Rather than toss and turn, I decided, instead, to grope my through a dark house and step out on the deck to check the sky. I was in luck - the sky was free of clouds and the stars were bright against an inky dark background. It was too much to resist. I didn't want the hassle of setting up a telescope and collect my telescope eyepieces, so I grabbed the astronomy binoculars to see what I could see. Better to count star clusters than sheep, after all. Above me was Auriga. M37, M36 and M38 were so easy in the Nikon 10x70 Astroluxe that I decided to push my luck a bit. I pointed the big Nikon at M1, the Crab Nebuale and … well, it was not so easy. In fact, if I hadn’t seen this one before, I would probably sailed right past it. The problem was that it was still low to the horizon and not in a prime position to observe. Will have to have Bill fall out of bed a little later in the night, next time when M1 is in a better position to observe. Friday, September 10, 2010Beginner telescopesIt’s been so long since I first got the astronomy bug that I’m a little reluctant to actually count off the years. I was in college and it actually started with my birding binoculars when I read somewhere that ordinary binoculars could see many celestial wonders. At that point, I really didn’t know what I was seeing, but the first view of the night sky with those old Tasco binoculars, out in the country where we lived at the time, was enough to spark an interest that has never waned in all these years. I just had to buy a telescope. My first telescope was a very typical beginner’s telescope. It was a 60mm Jason refractor, complete with alt-az mount and those dreaded .965” telescope eyepieces. I had no clue how to actually use the darn thing – the manual was worthless as are so many instruction manuals packed with beginner’s telescopes to this day. I was so in love with astronomy, though, that I proceeded on a trail and error basis (mostly error) until I managed to become a fairly skilled observer. By then, I recognized the limitations of such a small scope and began to dream of bigger and better telescopes. No, I don’t recommend such a small, cheap telescope for a beginner, but, on the other hand, I still remember the joy it brought me, so I have never been one to crusade too ardently against these cheap department store telescopes. That small refractor was all I could afford at the time - I was your typical poor starving college student. That cheap telescope did its job, though credit really goes to my passion for astronomy. My love of astronomy allowed me to succeed in spite of all the shortcomings of my equipment. Thursday, September 09, 2010How much magnification?How much magnification? It’s a common question for just about anyone who uses binoculars, spotting scopes, telescopes and microscopes. There is no one answer for even a single type of instrument and, of course, it depends greatly on the task at hand. I am amused, though, at how some folks stay up late at night, fretting about a difference of two or three x and even one x in binocular magnification. These folks should do some astronomy and then they’d have, well, a different point of view. We have a rule of thumb in astronomy called doubling, among other things. It simply means that when you need to see more detail in an object, you really need to double the magnification, up to a point, to see a significant difference and, at low powers even doubling may not be enough. Last night, for instance, I was checking out globular cluster M15 in Pegasus with my 10x70 Nikon Astroluxe astronomy binocular. I knew from experience that at 10x, M15 is barely more than a blurry star and, in fact, because of its brightness, this globular actually does look like a bright star, albeit a fuzzy one. For this reason, a beginner to binocular astronomy is likely to fly right by M15 at low power. Since I was feeling a little greedy last night, I decided to pull out the telescope and see M15 with a little more magnification. I started at 22x and … you guessed it, M15 still looked like a fuzzy star. More than doubling the magnification from 10x to 22x made no significant difference in the view, so I got a little impatient, changed the Televue 22 mm Nagler eyepiece a Televue Radian 3 mm for 160x. Okay, that worked. Oh, yeah, at 160x, M15 is one heck of a lot more than a fuzzy star. Wednesday, September 08, 2010Fall nights with the telescope Cool fall weather and clear skies make an irresistible combination for me. Time to get out the telescopes or astronomy binoculars and get some serious astronomy done. Fall is my favorite time for observing. Some of the best open star clusters and galaxies are fall objects and I can’t say I will miss those mosquitoes, either. They were really bad, this summer, thanks to an unusually wet June and July. Fall is also a more convenient season to observe than summer, since dark arrives earlier each evening – no need to be a night owl to do some astronomy. Fall nights can be cool, of course, but still no need to wear ten layers of clothing, plus mittens, plus a hat and facemask, as I typically do when I observe in winter. All in all, if you are thinking about buying a telescope, fall is a great time to put it to the test and do some astronomy. Fall is not without its challenges for the astronomer, however. Here are some observing tips. Those cool fall nights often trigger some heavy dew, so use a dew shield or keep a hair dryer handy, as I do. Later in fall, that dew turns to frost, of course, but that is usually an issue later in the night. Then, too, you still have to dress warmly in the fall, though not to the extent of dressing for winter nights. You will, however, need to dress heavier than you think if you are a beginner. Astronomy is not a heat generating, aerobic sport – far from it. Even September nights, up in the north country where I observe, can be chilly. Tuesday, September 07, 2010Buying a telescope at a garage saleOkay, I’m going to get a little windy, today, but maybe, just maybe, I can prevent someone from making a mistake. I enjoy shopping at garage sales as much as anyone, but when you find a telescope at a garage sale or, for that matter, a flea market or even advertised on sites such as Craigslist, and others, you need to exercise caution. That used telescope priced to “steal” may actually not be such a great bargain, after all. I have to explain this to enthusiastic customers all the time and then send them away disappointed. This scenario invariably involves small beginners telescopes under $150 or so and these are precisely the types of telescopes you are mostly likely to see at a garage sale or flea market. Here are some guidelines for buying telescopes at a garage sale. First and foremost, make sure the telescope is complete with all accessories, especially the telescope eyepieces, since the eyepieces are precisely the telescope accessories most often misplaced and lost over time. Replacing telescope eyepieces, even cheap telescope eyepieces, can be expensive, since to do astronomy, you will need at least three eyepieces and prices start at about $30 for a single eyepiece. Multiply that by three and you buy a brand new beginner’s telescope, complete with all the eyepieces, accessories and a warranty. Yes, that’s right. A new telescope is usually the cheaper telescope compared to a used beginner’s telescope that is missing parts. If all the telescope eyepieces are there, you are still not out of the woods. Measure the diameter of the eyepiece where the eyepiece fits into the telescope. You want a telescope that uses eyepieces that measure 1.25” where the eyepiece fits into the focuser of the telescope, not 1”. Those old 1” eyepieces, actually designated as .965 eyepieces, are obsolete, no longer made and are typically very low quality, anyway. Upgrading a telescope to use 1.25” eyepieces can be accomplished, in some cases (but not all!), with an adapter that converts your telescope from using .965” eyepieces to 1.25” eyepieces. Sounds good in theory, but be careful! These adapters are also obsolete and finding one can be very difficult to impossible. Even if you are fortunate enough to find a .965” to 1.25” adapter that works for the telescope in question, you are right back behind the eight ball and still face the prospect of spending more money on replacement 1.25” eyepieces than the telescope is worth. My advice is to forget any telescope you find at a garage sale that uses .965” eyepieces, unless the telescope in question is a high grade telescope and that is something you are very unlikely to find at bargain prices. Okay, even if your bargain telescope has all the eyepieces, you are not out of the woods. Check to see if it has all the other parts, including, tripod, legs, finder scope, manual and so on. If not, pass on the sale. When it comes to cheap beginner’s telescopes, models change yearly and manufacturers seldom bother to keep an inventory of spare parts on old models. You guessed it; it’s usually cheaper for them to replace a defective beginner’s telescope with a new, similar telescope than to mess with a repair. That means your bargain telescope is a dead end, unless you are handy and like to make your own spare parts. All in all, buying a telescope at a garage sale that is missing parts is an exercise in frustration, not to mention a waste of time and money. That is the very last thing a beginner needs. As always, buyer beware. If you don’t know anything about telescopes, ask someone who knows before spending money on that great bargain telescope. Friday, September 03, 2010Which telescope is right for you? Which telescope is right for you? How to choose the right telescope is the million dollar question, or, actually, a typically several hundred dollar question, since you’ll spend that much for even a decent beginner’s telescope. If you want to buy a telescope, there are certainly plenty of articles written by me (see the links) and others to help right down to the first telescope questions you should ask if you are a beginner. These cover all the numbers and options. As helpful as these articles are, though, there is still a very subjective component when it comes to using telescopes. Forget the notion of the perfect telescope or even best telescope, there is only the telescope you like and, in the long run, that is all that really counts, regardless of that telescope’s design, brand or even quality. It has been said that the best telescope is the telescope you use the most and, surprisingly, this is not always the biggest telescope or the most advanced or sophisticated telescope. Make no mistake, many an expensive dream telescope has ended up in the closet or want ads because the owner just didn’t want to use the telescope, anymore, for one reason or the other. All astronomers, even us old pros, have distinct personal likes and dislikes when it comes to telescopes. Anyone who stays with astronomy long enough will also develop such prejudices. I’m a good example. I have owned just about every type of telescope, from small to large, at one time or another, but my favorite telescope? I love refractors, especially high grade refractors. A refractor was my first telescope and whenever I think of the word telescope I still see a refractor, even though I know from experience that other telescope designs do many jobs better and more effectively. As I get older, though, I have narrowed my focus to some very specific types of astronomy and observing. I’m not sure which came first, the telescope I prefer or the type of astronomy I prefer, but a small APO refractor is the best telescope for me simply because it is the telescope I will use the most. However, I am not about to tell anyone that such a telescope is the best telescope for them. Every astronomer must decide for themselves how to answer the question of which is the best telescope. It's not an easy question to answer, but I'll guarantee you'll have fun trying. Thursday, September 02, 2010Happy September!Happy September! According to the meteorological calendar, most of September is, technically, still summer, but tell that most outdoor folks. For many, early September is the beginning of hunting seasons; for others, September means some great fishing or some great birdwatching as the birds gear up for fall migration. For those of us, up in the north country, depending on the weather, September can also be the start of the fall color season and that means it’s time to get the film and digital cameras ready. Oh, yeah, September is a great time to be outdoors and I don’t care what the calendar says, September is fall. September is also decision time for me, as an outdoorswoman, since there are actually too many things for me to do, this month. First week of September, then, I sit down and try to plan my activities for the upcoming fall season. If I don’t, I tend to spread myself too thin. I need to pace, myself and factor in some good old fashioned sit down and take it easy time, too. Now that we will be living up in the north country, surrounded by endless outdoor opportunities, this planning is more important than ever. My primary activity for this fall will probably be fly fishing, but, since I always carry my binoculars and digital cameras, I’m sure there will be plenty of birding and photography, not to mention astronomy, at night, with my astronomy binoculars and telescopes. Then, too, I may do some fishing out of the kayak or canoe and will most likely do some exploring when the fishing is slow. Since there are some excellent bike trails in the area … oops, there I go, again. Wednesday, September 01, 2010Hunting states.One of the things I have noticed in the ten months or so that I have been a Wisconsin resident is that Wisconsin is a hunting and shooting state. Duh! Okay, I already knew that, but, truly, hunting is nearly a second religion to many of the residents of the Badger State, even here in the big city of Milwaukee. Guess living in Chicago for six years almost me forget what it is like to live in an outdoors state. That’s what too much city living will do to a gal. Many of my Chicago friends were shocked to learn I had no issues with hunters or hunting. They just assumed that since I was a birdwatching nut that I was opposed to hunting. Not so. I grew up with hunters and lived in hunting states throughout my younger years. My uncles and cousins, up in northern Minnesota all hunted and I can still remember my uncles talking rifles, gun accessories, deer and partridge (grouse) hunting over coffee after dinner. Then, too, it was easy to fall into hunting, living as I did in states like North Dakota and Nebraska. Yes, I started hunting in junior high under the supervision of an adult cousin kept hunting for many years. These days, I spend my time looking through birding binoculars, instead of hunting binoculars, but I have great memories of time spent hunting with cousins and friends when I was young and most them still hunt, to this day. This is one birder who understands hunting. |
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