EQUIPMENT

After receiving so many e-mails on what equipment I used, I decided to put this page together to save my self a lot of emailing!

In my early days as a birder I used average equipment, but the more serious I got the bigger the demand for really good equipment. And I can tell you the top of the range optics are well worth the money. To look through a pair of Swarovski binoculars is a real treat. Suddenly common birds look superb, so bright and sharp.

This brings me to taking photographs. With digital cameras you can take superb images by putting the camera on the end of a telescope; this is called " Digiscoping " . About 70 % of my photographs are taken this way. It is very simple to do, just hold the camera to the end of the scope and zoom in till you have an image with no dark edges. But you need to have the camera directly over the centre of the eyepiece. You can make this easier by using a mount, but these are very expensive so I use a lid from a spice jar which I drilled a hole in. This idea was given to me by a very clever and good friend of mine Martin Cade of Portland Bird observatory in England. With patience and a little skill you can get fantastic results. I use a Lieca Telivid APO 62 which is made with very good light absorbing glasses. This makes sure the image is bright even in dull light. The brighter the scope is, the better quality the image.

The camera I use is a Nikon Coolpix 4500 because it is just what I need for Digiscoping. Why?

1. The camera lens is very similar in size to my eyepiece on the scope.

2. The camera swivels so it makes it easier.

3. Nikon makes very good lenses.

4. It has 4 Million pixels which help to create a sharp image.

5. There are many settings including manual which is important.

The other 30% of my photographs are taken by holding the camera directly against my binoculars " Digibining". This is quite an art, but once mastered produces very impressive results. Its also handy when birds are too close to use a telescope. Look for yourself at my shots of the Hermit Thrush, American Robins, Downy and Hairy Woodpeckers; all were taken through my binoculars.

	Lieca Telivid APO 62. The orange piece on the end is my converted spice lid.
	The camera is simply but steadily held in the hole. Then zoom in with the camera, Hold down the focus on the camera and then focus the telescope to get the image pin sharp.
	Digiscoping
	My binoculars Swarovski 8x32 EL
	Digibining