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Help Please (1 Viewer)

Ruby

Well-known member
Could somebody please confirm the identity of this wader - seen at Bough Beech, Kent earlier on today.

I've just bought my first telescope and this pic was just about the best I managed at my first attempt at digi-scoping ie holding the camera up against the eyepiece and frantically wiggling it about in the hope of seeing something before the subject wanders off!!
You will notice that the bird in question is just in the process of exiting stage left!!

My own thought was a Green Sandpiper.....


Thanks.... Ruby
 

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Certainly looks like it to me Ruby! I'm cheating here a wee bit...got the Collins bird guide in front of me!!! I'm not too good on some waders and the last time I saw a Green Sandpiper was in April 1998....seem to keep missing them now!
 
Guys,

Thanks a lot!!!!

Am I ever a happy birder....

My new telescope is FANTASTIC! it's opened up a whole new world of birding for me - just spent a good little while looking at Snipe and Mandarin Ducks which had previosly been too far away to even SEE, never mind recognise...

My first attempt at photography produced one recognisable image(never mind the dozens of photos of empty ripples in the water, twigs, my own feet etc etc)

...and I got the id right!!!

Miracles will never cease!!!
 
Know EXACTLY what you mean Ruby about the telescope!!! I got my first pair of bins, 8X30, when I was 14 but it wasn't until last year, at the grand old age of 34, that I got my first scope! And now I just can't imagine going birding without it!!!
Haven't got around to taking any photos through it yet...though hubby seems to be quite interested in getting some digiscoping gear....men and their gadgets eh? But if it gets him interested i'm not going to grumble!!!
 
Hi Gill.

Yep - I think you might be right re: the gadgets....

I didn't intend taking photos, but I just couldn't resist (I'm a male Ruby BTW...)

I don't have any gadgets yet, just an unsuitable zoom eyepiece and a Fuji Finepix camera, but I don't guess it'll be too long before I'm heading off down the shops....


Rgds.... Ruby
 
You can get some decent shots with the zoom eyepiece although the lower mag wide angle I think is a bit better. I started with a finepix camera - use macro and put up with the vignetting to start with!

Anything recogniseable is a bonus !
 
Gotta agree with you, re the scope. I've only had mine for about five weeks and just like you, I'm now seeing a whole new world and, what's more, I'm starting to take digipics too.

Woody
 
Thanks Guys,

Early days for me with the photography lark - I'll keep experimenting and see what I can manage.

Biggest problem at the moment seems to be getting a fast enough exposure to lose the inevitable camera/scope shake (my camera doesn't have a cable release facility)

I'll let you know how I get on....


Rgds... Ruby
 
Gill, Ruby, Woody...

Stop it ple-e-e-e-e-ase...!!!

As a non-scoped individual, and I am green with envy...

I can feel a loan coming on, but if I end up on the streets... I know who to come looking for!!!!
 
Hi Ruby which of the Fuji Finepix cameras have you got? Is it the one shaped like an SLR, or the one shaped like a cigarette packet where the lens comes out from behind a sliding plate all polished aluminium. Mine has a small zoom lens about 5:1 I think and 4.2 million pixells, I am still having trouble getting near enough, be it birds or butterflies.
 
Hi Bob,

It's the Fuji Finepix 601 (which is the aluminium fag-packet model)

Have to say that we are pretty pleased with the camera for general use - we've had it for about 6 months and it's our first digital camera - I had previously had an SLR which I used semi-seriously. The image quality is not bad and the ease of use is a BIG step forward. It does have a macro setting for taking pictures of little things close up, but I've never used it myself.

So far at least, I haven't had much joy with using this camera with my scope - main problems being...

1. Getting the camera lined up with the field of view on the scope.
2. Getting a fast enough shutter speed to eliminate camera shake and get a sharp image.

The magnification isn't too much of a problem - I use my scope at minimum magnification (x20) and my camera at maximum optical magnification (x3) to give overall mag of x60.

I have some ideas of things to try and other BF members have kindly made some suggestions, so I will try to improve matters as and when I get a chance. I do think though that I might have to buy another eyepiece - a lower mag fixed eyepiece maybe, or perhaps even the Opticron DTL thing, which is made specifically for enabling digital photography.

If you like, I'll try the macro setting on my camera and let you know how it goes, and also keep you posted on any progress (if any!!) with the scope photography thing.


Rgds... Ruby
 
Birdman,

I have been an avid birder for about 10 years and for most of that time shared a pair of budget bins with my wife. Well last year I got my own pair of bins for Christmas and then 6 months ago bought my first scope.

Using a scope has made the biggest diference! The detail you can see, that before were just blurry colors, is incredible. I now carry the scope on every birding outing and can't imagine doing without. Wish I had bought it 10 years earlier!
 
Now come on everyone...stop teasing Birdman!!! We mustn't rub it in!!! To be totally honest it was my hubby who insisted on my getting a scope...I would have probably still been going around with just my bins otherwise!
Mine is an Opticron Classic IF-2, got the receipt somewhere but i'm sure it cost about £240-ish! Well worth the money for the amount of stuff I see out to sea now! Looking forward to those winter Divers and Ducks!!!
 
There is another thread going on today about whether a scope is essential or not with votes both ways. I was just suggesting to Birdman that it really is worth looking into. I know for me it has been the best purchase I have made.
 
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