Astroscope + DSLR = Gallery! (1 Viewer)

[Paul Corfield]

Good work Roy. For the money the scope gives a lot of quality. Not everyone can get to grips with manual focus but if they can then it's a cheap way to get the quality of the expensive primes.

Paul.

 

[goldenarrow]

Nice captures Roy

I also like to crop if I can. Here is a Grasshopper Sparrow cropped to about 66% (almost 2x crop). I am just using the 80mm Celestron scope as straight prime focus for now (no barlow), cheap carbon fiber tripod, Manfrotto 498 ball head, Pentax DSLR, manual focus, 1/750s, f/6.25, 400 ISO, 500mm scope. The scope is fast enough to allow the camera to light up the center focus-confirm light in the viewfinder.

GA

 

[Tord]

Thanks Oskar - here are another two from today, again with 1.4x tc and heavily cropped. I really love the colours that the scope produces.

Very nice pictures, I would say these are excellent results. A promising start indeed.
/Tord

 

[Roy C]

I also like to crop if I can. Here is a Grasshopper Sparrow cropped to about 66% (almost 2x crop). I am just using the 80mm Celestron scope as straight prime focus for now (no barlow), cheap carbon fiber tripod, Manfrotto 498 ball head, Pentax DSLR, manual focus, 1/750s, f/6.25, 400 ISO, 500mm scope. The scope is fast enough to allow the camera to light up the center focus-confirm light in the viewfinder.

GA

Very nicely shot!

 

[Roy C]

Had an hour in the garden this afternoon just messing around, only pigeons and Spadgers but all good practice.
The first Pigeon shot is the full frame with a 1.4x tc on board. The other two are at the base 600mm and are fairly heavily cropped. Pigeons from around 100 feet.
In the shot with the two birds the bird on the right as got a strange eye compared to the one of the left which is more typical - maybe its a juvenile.

 

[Oskar Moilanen]

I absolutely love the third photo Roy. Just sat and watched it for about two minutes, spot on!

 

[Tord]

Had an hour in the garden this afternoon just messing around, only pigeons and Spadgers but all good practice.
The first Pigeon shot is the full frame with a 1.4x tc on board. The other two are at the base 600mm and are fairly heavily cropped. Pigeons from around 100 feet.
In the shot with the two birds the bird on the right as got a strange eye compared to the one of the left which is more typical - maybe its a juvenile.

Again, excellent results. The eye coloring could be the result of a genetic mutation - but I may be wrong.

 

[Oskar Moilanen]

Bird and a plane.

 

[Paul Corfield]

I like that Greenfinch Oskar.

Doing some experimenting today. I had a 50mm prime lens on the camera and I'm photographing through a tiny microfiche lens which I've rigged up as an eyepiece on the scope. These little high resolution lenses are capable of some good detail and I originally got it for trying eyepiece projection but that didn't turn out all that good. Photographing through it with a lens on the camera seems to work though, just need some better weather as this was taken in the rain at ISO1600. This is uncropped from 10m (33 feet range).

Paul.

 

[Roy C]

The finch is nice Oskar, could have done without the strong oof highlights but that's bird photography for you!.

Paul, I have not got a clue about how you did it but that Pigeon shot has some nice detail.

 

[Roy C]

Went to the Estuary this morning but did not get any birds within range so all these shot are mega big crops, especially the Redshanks which are sharp enough but completely lacking in detail from the huge crop. Still all good practice.
All shots at 600mm (my ext tube for the 1.4x tc is no good so could not use the tc:C).

 

[Tord]

Went to the Estuary this morning but did not get any birds within range so all these shot are mega big crops, especially the Redshanks which are sharp enough but completely lacking in detail from the huge crop. Still all good practice.
All shots at 600mm (my ext tube for the 1.4x tc is no good so could not use the tc:C).

Beautiful colors. The cropping is not that prominent on the gulls in my opinion, still good detail.

 

[Tord]

Sunflower feast

This withering sunflower field has attracted quite a few finches, mostly Bramblings but also some Greenfinches. A Sparrowhawk on the hunt caused the birds to be extremely nervous and shooting was difficult, but managed to get a few decent pictures in between the attacks.

Thanks for looking
Tord

 

[Tord]

Red kite

And here a Red Kite from medium range, posing for a few seconds. Hand held, the only picture from the sequence worth sharing, all others are OOF. The bird vanished as I had unfolded the tripod and attempted to come closer.

 

[Oskar Moilanen]

Thanks Paul and Roy!

As said, got no clue how you did it Paul but there's very nice detail on that pigeon.
I hope to see your work in close distance soon Roy, showing features despite the heavy cropping.
I think your best shot of the day was the hand held Tord, quite ironic I know.

 

[DanC.Licks]

Good shot, Tord! And hand held....wow!

 

[Roy C]

I must have got over a hundred sharp(ish) shots this morning in the Estuary. Here are the first four that I have processed. All shot with a 1.4x tc and the SW80ED on a 7D camera. Amazing what a difference 900mm gives you in an estuary environment compared with say 400mm.

 

[Roy C]

And here a Red Kite from medium range, posing for a few seconds. Hand held, the only picture from the sequence worth sharing, all others are OOF. The bird vanished as I had unfolded the tripod and attempted to come closer.

All shots are good Tord but this Red Kite is superb - well done.

 

[DanC.Licks]

Very good! Love the fourth one. Maybe he can't be such a jabbermouth with his beak full of mud....

By the way, is your 1.4 TC working now?

 

[Roy C]

By the way, is your 1.4 TC working now?

Its working Dan but the locking pin on the extension tube is making me very nervous as it just take a slight twist of the Camera and the pin comes out of the hole - was mega careful today but would not like to use the ext tube much longer.