Scattered Thoughts . . .

The guide scope and guide camera that I use with my astronomy gear is old.  Actually, by digital standards, the guide camera is considered ancient!  I've wanted to test this guide scope/camera combo again at night so I can determine if upgrading would be worth it.  I haven't been all that happy with the imaging I am getting with that camera.  Last night, we had completely overcast skies so there were absolutely no stars visible but the moon was faintly glowing through the clouds. I quickly mounted my guide scope on my tripod.  Then I attached my guide camera to the little guide scope.  Then I grabbed my Windows tablet and headed outside to the deck with everything in tow.  I pointed the guide scope at the moon and then adjusted the settings of the camera using my tablet...  and here is the resulting image... There are a few things worth noting here.   First, considering how overcast the skies were last night and how the moon was mostly obscured by those clouds, it i

My new used Panasonic 45-200mm, f4-5.6 lens mounted on my new used Panasonic G3. Capturing crisp photos of wildlife requires considerable knowledge, skill and years of practice as well as the physical ability to effectively control the appropriate camera gear. Having the right photography gear for this task, or any particular task for that matter, helps considerably just like having the right tools for a carpentry job helps a carpenter get the job done effectively. Using a hammer and a screwdriver to drill a smooth hole just won't work!  Needless to say, I am always researching to learn the best tools for each task I hope to accomplish and for the knowledge to refine the skill needed for each task. As I've written in previous blog posts, I needed a long telephoto zoom kit that would be suitable for shooting photos of the wildlife here in our neck of the woods so I did a lot of research and searching online for available products and finally ordered a used Panasonic kit

For years and especially the past few weeks, I've been agonizing over getting my hands on the best telephoto lens I can afford on a very limited budget. Our time at the lake house is quickly approaching and this is where I use both my widest lenses and my longest lenses... wide for full-view landscapes and long for zooming into wildlife. I have the wide end covered but the long end has always been a problem. There are great lenses out there but spending as much for a lens as I would need to spend to purchase a good car is not an option.  That leaves me with only a few low cost options... Rather than spend more money I don't have to spend, I decided to do a quick and very unscientific test this morning with four camera bodies using the best lens paired for that body. I have to say that the results were a bit surprising in some areas.  This unscientific test was shot in quite poor light as it was snowing.  My target was the little airplane on a mileage sign in our driveway