Astrophotography my answer? (1 Viewer)

I currently have an Sony A550 with Tamron 200-500 for birding having just upgraded from an MF Tamron SP500. I am also looking at Digiscoping to gain on the FL. I always find my 500 still too short and with extensive cropping, it will only goes down the drain. Wanted to venture into Digiscopping with spotting scopes but refrained after reading of the frequent poor quality pictures unless I go for the top quality scopes. Then I stumbled upon this group which opened my eyes wide with what Paul, Fernando and a couple of other gurus did.

My questions are:
1) Will astro scopes such as the SW 80ED be my answer to gaining FL to the equivalent of 2-4 times my current 500 and obtaining better quality than conventional spotting scopes?
2) I belief the SW 80ED (http://www.teleskop-express.de/shop/product_info.php/language/en/info/p1060.html) is not waterproof and fogproof. How would it perform in a equatorial climate such as Malaysia? Did I read somewhere that it can easily be opened for cleaning?
3) How would it perform with bright background as far as CA and flare are concerned? I would be shooting from under tree canopy quite often.

I normally shoot between 30-100M but the birds could be as small as 6-10cm in length. Any advices and guidance here would be very much appreciated.

Thanks.

Vincent aka Alphan

Hi Alphan

First suggestion I could make is read all the posts where the SW 80ED is concerned.

As for focal lengths, I acheive the following wih my SW and Nikon D90 setup

1/ As a 'prime' with a T ring adapter, 57mm of extension tube approximately 690mm FL, The extension tubes give me the required minimum focus distance of about 5 meters.

2/ As above with 1.5 and X2 Teleconverters that works out at 1035mm and 1380mm FL

On a side note I have just done an experiment on what minimum focus distances and minimum target distances I would need for a good size image of perhaps the smallest bird I would photograph - I will post findings later, but I find the above setups would suffice.The trick is to still get as close as you can with good field craft but the astrophotography route certainly opens up new opportunities.

Yes, the SW does come apart easily allowing for cleaning, not sure about how it reacts in differing climates.

Comparing it with digiscoping, I have been using an Opticron ES80GA ED with both a Nikon P6000 and Ricoh GX100 - whilst some distances can be achieved, I have always been disapointed with the results, howver some pin sharp images can be acheived. But IMHO a good camera is needed (£300 upwards) and a top level scope and eyepiece (£2000 upwards) for good quality.

Hopefully others will answer more of the tech questions.

Thanks Thornlv for your time. I have read most of the threads regarding SW 80ed. They do make me see stars ......

Your setup only consist of the SW 80 ED, 1.5 & 2 X TC, T Ring adaptor as http://www.scopesnskies.com/prod/as...amera-adaptor/AC696-2inch to camera/DSLR.html, 57mm extension tube (http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/2-telescope-f...K_Telescopes?hash=item483898ceb6#ht_740wt_939) and your D90? What about barlows (1.5/2)?

If I want to use the SW 80ED as scope for viewing only, I would need to get the set which comes with the Diagonals and 2" 28mm LET eye piece ? Would this set http://www.pulsar-optical.co.uk/prod/telescopes/sky-watcher/proseries/edrefractors3.html suffice? Or would it be better to get this one http://www.teleskop-express.de/shop/product_info.php/language/en/info/p1060.html and buy the other seperately. Also I would prefer if all or most can be purchased from the same source as the shipping cost are quite high. The German supplier can only ship to Singapore and I have to get someone to reship to me.

BTW, I am using the Sony A550 with the Tamron 200-500 (which isn't long enough), a Tamron 1.4 X TC and a Mid sized Cullman Tripod. A reach of equivalent to 1000-2000mm FL would be excellent.

Would extension tube between the TC and body be better than more TC without tube?

Thanks.