FrankD said:
TD,
Hmm, interesting comments. So what you are saying is that only a Pentax XW eyepiece will give me good digiscoping results? None of the other manufacturer's Astro eyepieces will work? Out of curiousity, why exactly? Because of the field flattening effect? After buying and utilizing the Siebert 19 mm I thought I made an improvement in the quality of the pictures. Are you saying that even it isn't worthwhile for this endeavor? Do I have to have a Pentax XW to get the best results? Any comments would be appreciated.
Here is a shot from this morning. It is an oriole at the top of a pine from about 20 yards.
Hi again Frank!
Of necessity all comments I make are obviously only
personal opinions. I am very much hoping that someone else will jump in on this one to either back me up or shoot me down.
To simplify, it is MY opinion that any astro eyepiece will not be suitable for terrestrial digiscoping. It is also MY opinion that a Pentax eyepiece designed specifically for this particular scope for TERRESTRIAL use will give you the best results. If however there are other manufacturers who make TERRESTRIAL eyepieces for this scope, the chances are that they will beat the one you are using hands down.
Next, I am not an optics expert but yes, the flattened field is a major benefit and I would imagine that other optical correction elements would be encompassed in a terrestrial lens (will an optics expert please clarify this?!)
I read in a previous thread of yours someone advising that the less elements (glass) an eyepiece has the better. I could not DISAGREE with this more. This MAY be true for astronomical use, but for terrestrial use it certainly isn't. Each element of a lens is performing a certain task, be it to change the direction of the light rays, magnify them or alter their characteristics. Also different types of glass within a complex help with the latter.
Finally I think you are so damn lucky to have such fabulous birds on your doorstep! This particular picture illustrates something we've all had with autofocus, and that is the 'focus on branch in front first' syndrome. This is the type of situation where IF you get the time, manual focussing would have helped. There's a helluva lot more to digiscoping than the average person thinks and even though I've been a photographer for years, I'm still learning the digiscoping business!
Timedrifter