What’s the hold-up?

I know what you’re thinking. You’re thinking, “Why the heck haven’t we had a homemade spotting scope update? I just can’t go this long without hearing the latest chapter in the Scope Saga!” (no relation to the Scopes Monkey Trial)

Here’s the latest: I have just purchased an 8mm focal length RKE eyepiece set and the image-erecting diagonal that will enable me to view everything right-side-up and oriented correctly from left to right. I dropped $46 and change on the diagonal at Orion Telescopes, and $8.50 on the new eyepiece. I sent back my beautiful 70mm X 800mm fl objective lens and have decided to keep the 50mm X 200mm fl one. I’ll have 25X magnification, which I think will be good.

Today I also began my online shopping for a digital camera. Turns out, I’m going to have to buy two. I just heard from the Hen (Kat) that when I buy her a digital camera, I’ll have to ASK PERMISSION to use it. I know you’re now thinking, “Gees, what a hard ass.” Yet, if you lived with me and knew of my obsessive ways with borrowing things from her and then playing with them until they’re broken, you would understand her hesitation to just say, “What’s mine is yours!” No big deal. I’m going to splurge a little early and get a camera (or two) for my birthday (September 15). I’ve found some great camera prices on Overstock.com, of all places. I’m also shopping amazon and other sites. I want to be sure I get the best camera for the best price, so I’m taking it a little more slowly than I did the lens shopping.

The interesting thing is that most of the digiscoping sites I’ve read recommend the Nikon Coolpix of various model numbers – 995, 4500, etc. Nikon doesn’t even make these models anymore. They’ve moved on to fancy letter/number combinations with letters like L (which stands for “lifestyle” according to their web site) and P (“personal”). This is all fine and good for them, but what the heck does “lifestyle” or “personal” mean when it comes to what kind of camera it is? Frustrating. Dumb-down your marketing, Nikon. This “lifestyle” crap isn’t helpful.

Any suggestions on a great new-model camera for digiscoping? I learned what Bill of the Birds uses today on his blog, but that Canon is also an older model. Granted, I can get an older model on Overstock or Amazon, but I just want to be sure I take advantage of any new technology that might enable me to take better pictures even though I’m an idiot!

As you know, this past weekend we went to New York City, and I had Niki and Ian’s digital camera. It was wonderful to take pictures and have them instantly! However, the image screen on the back of their camera, an HP-M415, was kind-of small and I could tell that if I used it for digiscoping, it would be difficult to make sure my bird was in focus. So I want to be sure I have a nice big screen on the back, like some of my fellow tourists did. I did well to hide my envy.

I know you want to see the bird pics from NYC, and here they are!

My first bird photo, taken without benefit of a scope, proper lighting, digital photography experience, or exotic subjects:

Um, yeah. That’s two robins in Battery Park. It was better in person.

Here’s a few sparrows taking a little dip in a puddle in Battery Park. Guess you had to be there.

This is the best bird photo I’ve taken so far! Let’s hear it for some Canada geese who were hanging out in a mall parking garage in Passaic, NJ! (by the way, what’s with the malls being closed on Sunday in Jersey?)

So to review:

Countdown to scope completion: I’ll say seven to ten days, depending on the mail and my free time.

Countdown to camera purchase: Let’s give it 30 days (then it’ll be close to my birthday and I hope I’ll have found the best camera for me).

If only I had one of those little “countdown” programs! I’m sure the excitement would be overwhelming, though.