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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!Monday, February 28, 2011Bird photographyDigiscoping – taking pics with small digital cameras behind the eyepiece of a spotting scope – has added a great many birds to my bird photo collection and, a good many of these digiscoping pics could not have been obtained with conventional photography equipment and techniques. You might think, then, that I have photos of just about every common bird in my bird collection. Not so. The interesting thing about bird photography is its inconsistency. When you are in the right place at the right time, you end up with a pic of a rare bird, and, at the same time, those much more common birds continue to elude your camera lens. Even in my on backyard, I get bird visitors that are not at all rare, but they just never seem to want to cooperate for this photographer. Yesterday, for instance, I spotted a Brown Creeper doing its characteristic spiral climb around the trunk of one of our big white pines. I rushed to the spotting scope already mounted on a tripod, digital camera in hand, and actually got the little bird in the field of view, but not once did it slow down and, only seconds, later, it disappeared in the upper reaches of the tree. Another near miss. With bird photography, though, you have to believe that there is always going to be a next time and then you wait. I will get a pic of a Brown Creeper. I will get a pic of a Brown Creeper. I will get a pic of a Brown Creeper. Friday, February 25, 2011Small binoculars, telescopes, spotting scopes, digital camerasFor some folks, I suppose it is only natural to favor smaller and lighter equipment as they get older. We all reach a point where we no longer want the hassles of large binoculars, jumbo telescopes, oversize spotting scopes and the mammoth tripods needed to carry them. As for me, though, I’ve always favored smaller and lighter, even when I was young. Give me small film cameras and small digital cameras. I’ll take compact binoculars, please and only small spotting scopes. Big telescopes are awesome, but there is just something about smaller telescopes that fascinate me. Who wants to drive big cars when small cars are so cute? Needless to say, the way technology has made everything smaller and more compact, these days, has also been in my favor. I still marvel at being able to carry thousands of songs in my purse or make long distance phone calls on a telephone that fits in the palm of my hand. Okay, I still like my husbands on the large size and at 6’4”, my Bill is just right. Thursday, February 24, 2011flowers and wildflowers What’s a great way to brighten up a cold, dreary, late winter afternoon? Get into your photo library and pull up some pics of flowers and wildflowers, that’s what. After looking at snowscapes for the last three plus months, those wildflower colors look almost impossibly bright and alive. Want to start a wildflower collection of photographs? Of all the types of outdoor photography you can enjoy, wildflower photography is one of the easiest and most accessible. First, you do not need much in the way of camera equipment. Yes, digital SLR cameras and premium quality macro lenses, all mounted on a proper tripod, will get you better pics than point and shoot digital cameras, but the little cameras aren’t too bad and, best of all, you can take small digital cameras digital cameras with you, wherever you go. A macro mode in your camera menu helps get those close-ups and almost all point and shoot digital cameras have one. Second, wildflowers really are everywhere, though some people do make a distinction between weeds and native flowers, but that’s your choice. Some “weeds” produce amazing flowers. Then, too, if you are someone who thinks a flower is a flower and not worried about labels, get that camera out and head for you own garden or the local park. I dare you to pass a rose without taking a pic. Wednesday, February 23, 2011Don’t go cheap on a tripodPeople rarely stay up at night dreaming about tripods. Let’s face it: tripods just don’t have the glamour and purchase appeal of the items we like to put on a tripod, such as spotting scopes, digital cameras or, perhaps a small telescope or large binoculars. You buy a tripod because you have to buy a tripod to make that other stuff work. It’s this utilitarian nature of tripods that can cause you to underestimate the importance of a good tripod. One day in the field with a cheap tripod, though, and you won’t make that mistake, again. The best and most expensive spotting scope, for instance, is only as good and useful as the tripod you use to support it. Just bought huge, giant astronomy binoculars or long range observation binoculars? That’s great, but you may be shocked to learn that you may have to spend an equal amount on the right tripod to use it, properly. Astronomy binocular tripods for those jumbo binoculars must chosen, carefully. In general, the greater the weight you expect the tripod to support, the heavier and more massive the tripod must be to support the load and that usually translates into spending more money. Don’t go cheap on a tripod. Spend as much as it takes to do the job right. Tuesday, February 22, 2011Breathe around that telescope eyepieceWhen your eyelashes freeze to a telescope eyepiece, you know it is cold. (It has happened to me.) Yes, some of us still venture out in subzero to setup & use a telescope or astronomy binoculars. Astronomy in the dead of north country winter can be very rewarding, though. All it takes to be a successful winter observer is some fortitude and a bit of tweaking in the way we use our telescopes. The trickiest part of looking through a telescope eyepiece in really cold weather is actually how you breathe. Breathe directly on a telescope eyepiece when the temperature is hovering around zero does not just fog up the eyepiece, it produces a layer of ice on your eyepiece because the water vapor freezes instantly when it is hits the cold glass of the eyepiece. Ice on your expensive telescope eyepiece is not fun. You need to be very careful, then, of which way your breathing is directed around a telescope eyepiece. Either breathe off to the side or do as I do and hold your breath anytime you are near the eyepiece. Glasses can also fog and freeze on you, so I much prefer not to wear my glasses for truly cold weather astronomy. One lens surface is enough to worry about. Okay, get out there and give it a try. Just watch how and where you breathe around that telescope eyepiece. Monday, February 21, 2011Wood Ducks on the lake Is it a little early to be thinking of spring? Up here in the north country, we still have a lot of winter coming our way, but we outdoor folks tend to take that in stride. In a couple months, we’ll have open water on the lakes and green on the forest floor, again. Why, that’s just around the corner! Time to be making a shopping list of new fishing equipment, getting repairs done on the boat and so on. It’ll be summer in no time. That’s what Bill and I will be doing and a bit more, since I am also a hardcore birder and bird lover. Our shorefront property is ideal habitat for one of my favorite ducks, the Wood Duck. I love seeing this picturesque duck in the birding binoculars, the birding spotting scope and, when the birds cooperate, my digital cameras. This year, I am adding some Wood Duck houses to my spring shopping list to make these ducks feel right at home. I know Wood Ducks are already nesting in the area since I have often come upon them resting on our dock at lakeside. Notice that I said Bill and I, above, because I will buying the Wood Duck houses and Bill will be wading out in the muck and marsh along the shore to install them for me. It is great to have a hubby around the house and also along the lake. Friday, February 18, 2011Weather and binoculars, telescopes, digital camerasWeather is always a factor when you have as many outdoor pursuits as I have, but some of these pursuits are much more dependent on the weather than others. That probably explains why I have so many outdoor interests – no matter what the weather, I can find something to do. Of all my pursuits, astronomy is easily the most weather dependent. Obviously, the best astronomy binoculars or telescopes money can buy are not going to let you do astronomy when the clouds roll in (unless, of course, you have a radio telescope or similar in your backyard). Thus, I cannot predict with any real accuracy just how many times a month I will get to setup & use a telescope. Bird and outdoor photography with my digital cameras or via digiscoping are also fairly dependent on the weather, but it’s more a matter of lighting conditions than clouds. In fact, some types of cloudiness are better than bright sunlight for some types of outdoor photography. Overall, there aren’t too many days where I can’t do some work with my cameras, though for some specific shots, I have to be patient and wait for the right light. That may not occur for days or even months for seasonal work, such as fall color. Birding and birdwatching are one of my least weather dependent activities, though I seldom choose to go birding in blizzards or torrential rains. Still, some rough weather can be good for birding since rough weather may serve to get birds moving. On a 365 day a year basis, binoculars, by far, are my most used optics, though my birding spotting scope also sees a lot of action. Thursday, February 17, 2011Winter thawWhat does one do during a mid-February thaw in the north country, such as the one we’ve had this week in northern Wisconsin? I would love to tell that I race outdoors to catch up on my winter birdwatching or sit outside at night in my pajamas with my astronomy binoculars or telescopes to do some astronomy. I would love to tell you that I wax up the skis, grab one of our digital cameras and hit the trail in a t shirt (okay, maybe a light coat). Or maybe I should tell you that I just sit out on the deck and enjoy some rare warm winter rays. Those are things that I want to do, of course, but the truth, at least for this current thaw, is less glamorous. Melting snow uncovers reminders that you have some serious yard work to do and that you best get to it while you can before the cold and snow make a return appearance. Work, first, for this north country gal. For instance, time to grab the shovel and hit the fenced part of our yard where we keep our dogs. Let me tell you, that melting snow doesn’t uncover only green grass and early flowers, If there was a market for doggie droppings, we’d be rich. Melting snow also means it is the perfect time to grab a rake and clean out the mess under the bird feeders. That, at least, can make for some good fertilizer. Time to get to work. Where's that shovel? Wednesday, February 16, 2011Birding spotting scopes and bills.  One of the best field marks for identifying birds is bill shape, bill size, bill color and son on. The bill on a bird follows bird taxonomy quite faithfully and, even better, the bill is one part of a bird that stays fairly constant from season to season, unlike plumage and other bird traits. All this explains why the bill is typically the first thing I check when trying to identify an unknown bird. However, typical birding binoculars do not always show enough bill detail to make full use of this excellent field mark, especially on small birds or very distant birds. That’s where a good birding spotting scope can make all the difference. Yes, it is a pain to tote a spotting scope on a tripod over your shoulder, but there are times when that spotting scope can save your birdwatching day. Spotting scopes for birding are generally associated with distant observation of bird groups such as shore birds, wading birds or waterfowl. However, I have used a spotting scope, effectively for any kind of open country birding, even song birds and even on these small birds, the bill is a great clue to a bird’s identity. For instance, a Pine Siskin and s female House Finch may look look like similar little brown birds at a distance in binoculars, but a closer look at the bills in a spotting scope shows them to be obviously very different birds. Always check that bill.
Tuesday, February 15, 2011Pine Siskins at the feeder and in the spotting scope Birdwatching never ceases to amaze me in its capacity to provide the unexpected. It is now mid February and I have been watching my birdfeeders on a daily basis, religiously, despite the fact that most days it is the same crowd as always helping themselves to food. It’s a very predictable and constant mix of species, day after day. Still, I check with the binoculars on a regular basis, just to make sure that a new species of bird hasn’t managed to sneak in under my radar. Besides, looking at birds through birding binoculars is a joy in its own right. Bird watching, after all, is more than just identifying birds. Just when you’ve been lulled into a sense of , “just another day at the feeders”, a new bird, never before seen at the feeders, makes an appearance. Earlier this week, it was a Sharp-shinned Hawk. This morning it was a Pine Siskin or two. Now, Pine Siskins are not rare, not at the feeder or out in the field, but they have never before made an appearance at my bird feeders, so it is a birding event for me and my feeders. Naturally, I have my spotting scope and tripod always ready to go for just such an event and, yes, I managed to get some digiscoping done, hence the pic you see. Okay, back to work. Have to get ready for the next new bird. Monday, February 14, 2011Hawks at the feeder I happened to be at my kitchen table, yesterday, when out of the corner of my eye I just glimpsed a blur as a bird made a swift pass at our bird feeders. It wasn’t much to go on, but I knew, nonetheless, that my bird feeder was being checked out by a hawk, either a Sharp-shinned Hawk or a Cooper’s Hawk and by the hawk’s small size, I was guessing Sharpie. This is a spectacle I have witnessed many times, but it one that never fails to get my heart thumping. Hawks are, indeed, a very exciting branch of the birdwatching world. I grabbed my birding binoculars off the table and eagerly scanned the trees around my feeders in the hopes that the hawk had taken a perch. I was in luck. It was a Sharp-shinned Hawk, after all, and it took a perch on our fence and was staring intently at our bird feeders, even though our dogs were playing directly below the bird. What could be better than a sighting of this small hawk in your very own yard through the binoculars? How about a close-up of the bird in a birding spotting scope? I rushed to my spotting scope, already parked at the living room window and got more of a close-up than I needed. I couldn’t fit the whole bird in the spotting scope field of view, even at 22x, but I wasn’t complaining. Nothing like seeing the face of a hawk up close and personal. The Sharpie even stayed long enough for me to get a pic with a little impromptu digiscoping. Most of my experience with Accipiters (a hawk family) at a bird feeder has been with the larger and more common Cooper’s Hawks in the suburbs. Getting the smaller Sharpie was a real plus. About the pic: Notice the round head and surprised facial expression that separates a Sharpie from the larger Cooper’s with their flatter heads and more predatory look. This has always been the easiest way for me to separate these two very similar hawks. Friday, February 11, 2011Bird photography and bird subjects  I have used a wide variety of camera equipment to photograph birds – film SLR cameras, digital SLR cameras and, more recently, a spotting scope with small digital cameras behind the eyepiece (digiscoping). Now, most discussions about bird photography typically begin in just such a way – shop talk as to equipment. All photographers, regardless of what they photograph, love to talk equipment. Bird photographers are no different. However, we bird photographers sometimes overlook the fact that the very subjects we photograph – birds – are as varied as the equipment we like to use. For sure, birds are anything but a homogenous group when it comes to being subjects for the camera. Some types of birds are much easier to photograph than others. My favorite subjects have always been shore birds, wading birds and waterfowl, simply because they tend to sit still more than, say, songbirds. Wading birds, such as the Green Heron, are great choices for the beginning bird photographer because they are nice enough to remain motionless as they hunt. They make great subjects. I could have taken a hundred pics of the one, above. On the other hand, some songbirds, like that Chickadee, rarely stop long enough for a quick shot with any camera. Songbirds are tough. It took me darn near a hundred shots to get the one you see, above. Thursday, February 10, 2011Old designs in a digital world
I am, by no means, a computer or digital Luddite. I use computers on a daily basis, I have a cell phone, iPod and more. I am fairly "wired" for a person my age. However, I still appreciate products that don’t think for you and don’t perform some mysterious and unfathomable technical wizardry whenever you press a button. Thus, I value the few products we have left in this digital world that don’t need batteries or electrical current of any kind.
I love, own and use conventional binoculars (no batteries please), microscopes, manual (non-computerized) telescopes on simple, non-motorized telescope mounts, spotting scopes, old manual focus film cameras, monoculars and so on. These are all products where you control all functions and you make all the decisions instead of a computer chip. In other words, these are products where some folks would say that you do all the work. Me, I say, these are the products where you have all the fun. It may come as a surprise to some technical engineers, that not everyone wants automatic and computerized everything. Some of us still like the all mechanical feel you get when you hold binoculars or look through reflector telescopes or refractor telescopes on a simple mount - designs that are hundreds of years old. Change can certainly be good, but some old designs still have a place in this digital world.
Wednesday, February 09, 2011The future of digital cameras Like most film buffs, I constantly watch the used ads and pawn shops for classic film cameras and vintage 35 mm camera accessories, not to mention old tripods, always hoping to find that undiscovered treasure special at a bargain basement price. These days, however, that is getting ever harder to do. Most folks know what they have in the way of classic film cameras and know how to price them, too. I suspect this is partly a matter of all the easily acquired information on the internet. You can get a review and specs of any old film camera, it seems, and thanks to all the exchange of information which is the genius of the internet, the better known film cameras and film lenses are practically legends. No one is giving these things away, even though many of these pieces of film history are forty years old or more. I sometimes wonder if there will come a time when people seek out old digital cameras in the same way. My crystal ball says probably not. Why? There are still solid reasons to buy old film cameras and use film, but why would anyone want to buy old digital cameras? Old film cameras out of the 70s and 80s were made to last a lifetime and many of them still have a lifetime of use in them. Only a handful of today’s digital cameras can boast that, even when new in the box and as a media goes, digital is still evolving - some of yesterday’s digital formats are already obsolete. It’s ironic that my old Sears screw-mount camera (see photo) out of the early 70s - anything but a high end camera in its day - can still take great photographs, but I have already worn out several expensive digital cameras over the last ten years. Tuesday, February 08, 2011Eyeglasses with binoculars, spotting scopes, telescopesTime to for some new prescription glasses. Grrr! Not my favorite chore to do, but at I need all the help I can get to see, well. After all, what good does it do to own and use expensive binoculars, spotting scopes and telescopes if my vision is weak right at the source, so to speak. Wearing glasses when you look through binoculars, spotting scopes, microscopes and telescopes can sometimes be a challenge, of course. It means that you need to find models with enough eye relief so that you can see the entire field of view in the instrument, same as when you look through the instrument without glasses. I’m sometimes asked if you really need to leave your eyewear on when you look through optical instruments. The answer is, it depends. If you are only nearsighted or farsighted, you can easily just focus the instrument as needed to compensate. On the other hand, if you have any degree of astigmatism, you will need to wear your glasses when observing to achieve maximum image sharpness. The only exception to this is at very high magnifications sometimes seen in a microscope or telescope eyepiece, where other things become the limiting factor, not your astigmatism. Monday, February 07, 2011February equipment list.February, if you are an outdoors person like me, is traditionally the month to break out all the warm weather gear and dream of the spring and summer months down the road. It’s one sure cure for cabin fever. Time to clean fishing reels, tie more flies and jigs, check the canoe and kayak paddles for possible repair and so on. February is also the time to make that list of gear you will need when the snow is gone. My list, this year, is to add a GPS and, perhaps a small, portable fishfinder to use on the canoe or kayak. Finding fish and recording those hotspots is a useful undertaking in a county with 1100 lakes and we will also use a handheld GPS on our western camping trip, this summer. It’s also time to look at digital cameras, since our little Sony is showing signs of wear and might as well add some digital camera accessories, too, such as extra camera batteries and more memory cards. Time, too, to get serious about flashlights, since a camping trip is no place for cheap flashlights. Actually, time to get back to the tying bench and work up another batch of Stimulators, my favorite western dry flies and, with these old eyes, it is definitely time to get the desk magnifier I’ve been wanting. The Carson Magnifly looks just right. Friday, February 04, 2011Why I own a telescopeNewcomers to astronomy and telescopes want to see planets, first and foremost. It’s almost a given. In my forty some years of dealing with beginning astronomers, I’ve learned that planets are the objects that most lure a beginner into thinking it’s time to buy telescopes. Planets certainly motivated me to buy my first telescope. This almost universal preoccupation with planets is certainly understandable, given that planets are, indeed, fascinating objects. I suspect, though, that this almost exclusive focus on planets by beginners it sometimes a matter of beginners not knowing what else is out there to see in a telescope eyepiece. With some observing experience, of course, a beginner soon discovers that planets make up a very small percentage of what can be seen, even in a small telescope, but observing planets always remains a thrill. Unfortunately, I’ve also noticed that beginners are sometimes disillusioned with the images of planets they actually see in a telescope eyepiece compared to images of planets seen online or in magazines and books. This is a shame because back yard astronomy is not about competing with books, magazines and the electronic media about the best images, it is rather about finding and seeing these objects for yourself. To me, it is the difference between reading about, say, Japan and actually visiting Japan. As for me, I was thrilled beyond words when I first saw polar caps on Mars, could belts on Jupiter and, of course, the rings around Saturn in my little telescope. I bought that small, cheap telescope precisely because I was tired of seeing pictures of these planets in books and magazines. I wanted to see planets with my own eyes, with my own telescope. My attitude has not changed in some forty years and, if anything, when I see those beautiful Hubble images, I am more motivated than ever to setup & use a telescope than ever. There is nothing quite like seeing the wonders of the universe for yourself. That’s why I own a telescope. Thursday, February 03, 2011Bushnell Sky Tour telescopes for beginnersI don’t use computerized telescopes, but I do sometimes recommend computerized telescopes for beginners. Does that make me an astronomy double-talking hypocrite? (Actually, a rare breed). No, not at all. There is most definitely a place for a computer on telescopes, especially given the menace of light pollution in our evermore suburban and urban skies. Why? It’s just plain difficult to impossible to actually learn how to use a star map to effectively find objects under even a moderately light polluted sky because the stars you need to see are often made invisible by light pollution. I was fortunate to learn my astronomy under dark, rural skies, back in the days before there were computers on telescopes, let alone computers in the home. I still use a star map under light polluted skies out of habit and preference, but I know full well I could not have acquired my skills if I had been forced to deal with any degree of light pollution. Computerized telescopes save the day, then, for the typical beginner who, more and more, is forced to deal with light pollution. Indeed, computer or no computer on your new telescope should be one of of those telescope first questions. Computers on telescopes do have their downside, of course. They are, after all, well … computers and like any computer they can have issues and, invariably, the more bells and whistles, the more potential issues present. Motorized computer telescopes are all the rage in the astronomy world, but I have seen too many beginners waste valuable observing time fighting the computer or motorized tracking. Simple, then, may be better for some beginners when it comes to computerized telescopes. One of the most overlooked and ignored computerized telescopes is the non-motorized computerized telescope, such as the Bushnell Sky Tour telescopes. On these “manual” computerized telescopes, you push the telescope – there are no motors or electronics do this for you - but the computer on the mount tells you the direction to push and it also tells you when you have acquired the target object you selected. It’s simple and effective and, best of all, it is cheap compared to computerized telescopes with motors. The Bushnell Voyager Sky Tour 700x60 telescope, for instance, is as cheap as it gets in a computerized telescope. That’s a remarkable price for a telescope that will help guide you under light polluted skies, though its small size will probably mean you will want to buy a telescope with more size in the future. Nevertheless, I learned on a 60 mm refractor as have many serious astronomers and I didn't have a computer like the Bushnell Voyager Sky Tour to help me. Wednesday, February 02, 2011Swarovski AT spotting scopeIn the world of high-performance, premium birding spotting scopes, we owe a great deal to a single model of spotting scope that really set the example for what a birding spotting scope could be. The original gray bodied Swarovski AT and Swarovski ST spotting scopes set the birding community on its ear when those scopes were introduced, here in the US, back in the early 90s. I was lucky enough to purchase one of the first Swarovski AT models and I’ve been a premium spotting scope addict, ever since. The Swarovski AT spotting scope was revolutionary in a couple of ways. First, it was a huge 80 mm in size. Prior to that, the typical spotting scope used for birdwatching had only a 60 mm objective. Second, it featured a zoom eyepiece that set a new standard for excellence, performance and ease of use. Until then, serious birders often preferred fixed power eyepieces which offered an edge in image sharpness and sometimes eye relief compared to zoom eyepieces. That first Swarovski zoom eyepiece challenged that tradition and help to establish the zoom eyepiece as the preferred eyepiece for most birders. Since then, I have been fortunate to use and test many other premium 80 mm class spotting scopes. The current listing for Swarovski spotting scopes, Leica spotting scopes, Zeiss spotting scopes, Kowa spotting scopes, Nikon spotting scopes and more are enough to make me drool, but I will always fondly remember the first time I looked through that old gray Swarovski AT. Is it any wonder that Swarovski and birding go hand in hand? Tuesday, February 01, 2011Digiscoping with a binocular Digiscoping is a very popular photography technique that is simplicity in itself. In its most common form, digiscoping is nothing more than holding small point and shoot digital cameras behind the eyepiece of a spotting scope when it is mounted on a tripod. When you get a decently framed picture that is in focus on the view screen of the camera, you just take the pic. The beauty of digiscoping, in addition to its ease, is that it gives you access to far more magnification than you can get with conventional photography equipment, thanks to the powerful magnification range of a typical spotting scope. You can also substitute other sources of magnification for the spotting scope. I have successfully held a digital cameras over the eyepieces of microscopes and, in a pinch, even over the eyepiece of binoculars when I didn’t have my spotting scope along. Trying to digiscope with a binocular and no tripod is nowhere near as effective or easy digiscoping with with a spotting scope on a tripod, but it can work well enough to get pics that you would otherwise miss when out in the field. Not a technique I would recommend for a beginner or as a mainstay, but digiscoping with a binocular does demonstrate how versatile a technique digiscoping can be. About the pic: Great Blue Heron digiscoped through a Leica 10x25 BL binocular |
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