Photographing distant things

Well next year I want to grow my photography habit a bit more. I'm looking to begin photographing numerous distant objects as well as bettering my landscape photography. So my wallet will be opening and adding some new gear to my camera bag. This being said, I do have a couple of questions that hopefully ya'll can help me answer.


Lets begin with a few specifics that will help put my objectives in context. When I speak of distant objects, in this case I'm generally talking about things a LONG way off. In terrestrial terms talking about animals 100-500 meters away and geographic features I might only be able to image from vantage points miles away. And of course astrophotography is self-explanatory.


The first thing I'm finding illusive is information. Obviously, birding sites and forums offer good information of digiscoping. But outside that, information is quite illusive. Are there any good books, publications, or sites that provide good information on any of these topics?


And secondly I still have a few questions about gear. I think I have the prime lens and digiscoping issue figured out, but I'm still confused about some the gear with astrophotography. While finding a suitable telescope is an easy enough task, finding all the accessories is a bit confusing. First off is the question of camera. I see two major offerings here, first are the little CCD cameras that everybody offers, and the others are T adapters that allow the use of SLR type cameras. I would think that better quality images could be captured via my D3100 with a T mount than one of the CCD cameras that most telescope companies offer. Would I be correct here? Also, when speaking of T mounts, are they all created equal or are some better then others?


Thanks for the time and assistance. Whatever help ya'll can muster is appreciated.

Digiscoping can be way cool. if your serious about this then there is one choice IMO and that is the Nikon EDG VR. It is spendy but with a rough equivelant of 2600mm with VR... yeah buddy. I have played with the scope off camera and loved it. I have yet to be able to use it with my camera but have heard awesome stuff. This thing screams to be used in the outdoors by hunters and photographers alike.

Jonathan thank you for the information. The EDG series is impressive and offers some exceptional functionality. But the price tag is a bit out of price range at this time. For the moment it looks like I'll being getting a Vortex Razor HD for my spotter. I may give up a little glass quality but the spotting scope I get will have to serve a dual purpose so the tactical eyepiece that is offered is a huge thing for me. When it comes to a lens of that focal length I'm thinking a Cassegrain type telescope will work well for my purposes. It will give me the something with a mount appropriate for astrophotography while still giving me something that will really let me image distant terrestrial object.

hahaha yeah dont blame ya on that it is out of my price range to but it is a very impressive piece.
You kind of have me lost here as the Vortex Razor HD is an impressive piece as well but the starting point for it is $2000and goes up from there.
for the long lense your talking about a bushnell starting at $419 or the Shmidt Cassegrain that starts at $1800. Two pieces of equipment to do one job. thats a lot to pack out in the field along with any other equipment you have to haul. You could still get one of the other EDG non VR scoped for that price. Not to knock the Vortex Line. I tested there binos and really really like their HD stuff. IDk how good the telescope works for day time photography or if it is more suited to night photography. I shoot wildlife as my primary genre so when I say to get the EDG series it is strictly based on experience in the field with wildlife and not star seeking lol. My only complaint about Vortex is the fact they just stick their name on a manfrotto video head and call it their own lol. I actually have a "vortex" manfrotto video head and a vortex heavy duty tripod. not bad but heavy as hell.

On the flip side if your star gazing the computerized telescope would be tight!!!

True the Vortex isn't cheap either. But I can get the complete package (spotter, eye piece, and camera adaptor) for under $2500 where as the Nikon EDG is going to put me in the $4200-$4400 price range. As for Vortex I understand what you are saying about the company but I love the CS they offer and the glass quality they offer isn't bad.

As for the telescope I was thinking more along the lines of a Celestron NexStar in either 6 or 8 inch diameter. It's primary job will be Astrophotography but on rare occasions I might try to use it for some very select terrestrial imaging, both day and night. It is not a piece of kit that I'd want to lug around all the time or something that I'm looking to carry very far. But it is something I could allow for the ability to get some photos that I'd otherwise be able to get.

I dont know much about the telescopes or how they work for day time use but they seem cool and I see a lof of photographers do a lot of cool stuff with them. The last telescope I had was over 6 ft long lol.
what is the optical magnification of the telescope Vs a good spotting scope?

As far as the digiscoping goes, you do realize that the adaptor for the system you plan to use connects to your cameras lens filter threads and not the body itself like the Nikon EDG adapter that conects to your cameras body (f mount). that would be a lot of stress in the threads of your lens as well as possibly more stress to the mounting system between your lens and camera. I would be very hessitant to attach anything but a filter to the front of any of my lenses. I am not one of those guys that think you have the most expensive to do a good job but in this case I think you might be making a very costly mistake with your digiscope plans.

Telescopes vary in design and that is a completely different topic, but they really are rather simple. A series of lenses and/or mirrors manipulate the light that enters the tube. The beauty of the Cassegrain design is that the mirrors allow for a large objective length in a shorter housing.

As for what one offers over a good spotter, that depends on what you are trying to accomplish. Generally speaking, a spotter will get one all they need. But for some aspect of astrophotography a spotting scope just wont cut it. A spotting scope would probably get one a good view of the moon, satellites, near earth comets and asteroids, and some planets. But when you are speaking of galaxies, nebulas, and distant planets a telescope is needed. In terms of terrestrial viewing a telescope is a very specific piece of kit used in very specific circumstances. But it does have a few uses.

I did notice that the vortex adapter threads on the lens of the camera and I'm not thrilled about it. Which has me considering a Nikon Fieldscope w/ED glass also. Either route puts me in roughly the same price range. But it is a trade off. The Vortex offers a tactical eye piece with a ranging reticle. Thus I can use it for my long range shooting also and the reticle matches the reticle and turrets on my scopes. But the camera adapter is not all that great. On the other hand, the Nikon unit offers a T-mount but no reticle.

Yeah I under stand that a cassegrain will have a wider viewing plane of course and hat would be the draw for celestial viewing/photography and that for many instances when viewing out side of the planet the telescope may perform better depending on the type of telescope vs spotting scope.

I can see the draw for having a tactical spotting scope if you do extreme long distance shooting but most peoples long distance is 500-1000 yrds for which you really do not need a tac ret. For those distances in the field I use a leopold range finder (if I have time) and B&C low profile rifle scope and do quite well although if your are in the competitions that might be a whole other topics. My dad uses a sworovshi spotting scope as well as Leica range finding binos (which are cool as heck). I hunt with mostly Leopold optics although I am drawn to the vortex hd binos because I did not feel the eye strain with their binos like I do with my 12x50

I would be extremly weary of using that vortex system woth my camera personally. I can see a camera falling to the ground very easy. I did test out that EDG 85mm straight and really liked it although for digiscoping you would have to have a very very steady platform to work off of. still very doable though.

And you just hit the nail on the head with the spotter. I do shoot competition and do engage in extreme long range shooting (as if in excess of a mile). Hints being able to accurately call corrections for my shots is of great importance to me, in fact of more importance then ranging (this is what a laser range finder is for). But that is secondary to this discussion.

As for the Vortex mounting system. It is something I would really like to lay my hands on before purchasing. But from the things I have seen the attachment point on the scope is rather secure. What concerns me is the stress placed on the lens and the weak point being the threads. And given that the Nikon 50mm prime lens is between $400 and $500 bucks I'd hate to have to replace/repair the lens on a regular basis.

When it comes to platforms for such systems. I would not consider anything other then a tripod rated for anything less then 11 lbs. Anything less risk the overloading the tripod. And when speaking of telescopes a completely different type of tripod would be used anyway and is would be rated for the weight and type of use it would see anyway.

Ahh I c. There are much cheaper 50mm lenses that you could use. The 50mm 1.8 being about $150 ish but I would still be weary of the mount.
Anyways extreme long range competitions are pretty cool. Every once in a while you will see something of that nature on TV but not often. The rifles you usually see for that type of competition are pretty extreme as well with carbon barrels and custom stocks. From a hunters stand point many of those rifles are useless but I know a custom hunting rifle from a company like Christensen Arms can get pretty expensive. My father bought one for 6500 that had the carbon barrel, titanium block and a pretty slick stock. In a .300 mini it is a heck of a shooter.

Anyways I really hope you find exactly what your looking for. It is really a shame that the Nikon did not come in a tac reticule as I really believe it to be the better option for mounting a camera. Looking closer at the adapter and it is the same type of adapter used to mount a larger filter on a smaller lens. like a 77mm filter to the 52mm lens.