Aspects of this post probably belong in a variety of forums...sorry if this wasn't the best place to put it!
I am a relatively new, casual birder who's about to purchase his first spotting scope. My biggest problem right now is that I don't know a flipping thing about spotting scopes. One thing that's really irking me is my inability to wrap my head around the zoom function of scopes...if a zoom eyepiece is used with a zoom scope, how exactly does that work? Do you zoom with the eyepiece, the scope, or both?? Surely this very dumb question gives you an inkling of how lost I am here.
I do have some experience with optics in general, so commentary on various optical qualities makes sense to me. That said, and after copious reading on this forum and elsewhere, I am considering a Celestron Regal 80 f-ed. My budget is right around $500 for the basic scope/eyepiece and this seems like a standout in that price range.
A few questions, though...
I've read that the eyepiece that comes with this scope is decent, but not great. I also read, in another thread on this forum, that the Celestron X-Cel LX 25 mm eyepiece was a superior fit for the scope, but as far as I can tell it's not a zoom eyepiece. What are the pros and cons of zoom eyepieces vs. "prime" eyepieces (as we'd say in the camera world)? I'm willing to add another $70-100 for an additional eyepiece if it was worth the trouble.
Finally, although I am nowhere near ready to plunge into digiscoping, I own a Canon T1i and I'm wondering how difficult it would be to attach it to the scope in question for the purposes of picture taking.
Any and all information is welcome, even if it's just linking to an existing thread or another website. Suggestions for other scopes/eyepieces in my price range are welcome as well.
Thanks again for tolerating this embarrassingly green post. :t:
I am a relatively new, casual birder who's about to purchase his first spotting scope. My biggest problem right now is that I don't know a flipping thing about spotting scopes. One thing that's really irking me is my inability to wrap my head around the zoom function of scopes...if a zoom eyepiece is used with a zoom scope, how exactly does that work? Do you zoom with the eyepiece, the scope, or both?? Surely this very dumb question gives you an inkling of how lost I am here.
I do have some experience with optics in general, so commentary on various optical qualities makes sense to me. That said, and after copious reading on this forum and elsewhere, I am considering a Celestron Regal 80 f-ed. My budget is right around $500 for the basic scope/eyepiece and this seems like a standout in that price range.
A few questions, though...
I've read that the eyepiece that comes with this scope is decent, but not great. I also read, in another thread on this forum, that the Celestron X-Cel LX 25 mm eyepiece was a superior fit for the scope, but as far as I can tell it's not a zoom eyepiece. What are the pros and cons of zoom eyepieces vs. "prime" eyepieces (as we'd say in the camera world)? I'm willing to add another $70-100 for an additional eyepiece if it was worth the trouble.
Finally, although I am nowhere near ready to plunge into digiscoping, I own a Canon T1i and I'm wondering how difficult it would be to attach it to the scope in question for the purposes of picture taking.
Any and all information is welcome, even if it's just linking to an existing thread or another website. Suggestions for other scopes/eyepieces in my price range are welcome as well.
Thanks again for tolerating this embarrassingly green post. :t: