The long shot

[DonSchap]

Well, the rain broke for a little bit ... so I quickly assembled the telescope and tripod ...

then took it down to the backyard (wish I could gone down to the lake... but, with the weather as unpredictable as it has been, no one would try sailing.) Now, to be honest, there is not really much in the yard you can shoot at 2032mm with an M.F.D of 29-feet. So, I peeked over the fence and sighted in a fire plug halfway down the block. The fire plug is roughly two-half to three-feet tall. It darn near fills the frame.

So, by doing the rough math with the α700 connected to the lens, what I am shooting is equivalent to a 3048mm (2032 x 1.5) image. I later ran the ISO up to 800 to get the speed up to 1/500 sec. to reduce telephoto shake, as I hand triggered the shot on the camera body, itself (Yeah, I was in a hurry, geez). The aperture for this lens is somewhere around f/6.3 with the light concentrating filter. As I demonstrated earlier, this add-on filter tends to distort the edges, concentrating the light right down the middle. Hey, something has got to give when you pick up ~1.5 Ev without widening the first element.

EXIF: α700 w/ Celestron NexStar 8SE telescope & f/6.3 light concentrating filter
2032mm - f/6.3 - 1/200 sec - ISO-200 - Tripod (Gimbal-mount) - Sunlight - grip-shutter release (no release cord used)

The shallow depth of field is severe and focus is unforgiving as hell.

I really need to shoot this same shot with the DT 35mm f/1.8 lens to give you the "normal" aspect of the shot. Then, you will appreciate the telescopic capability of this beast.

EDIT: Here it is ... only using the TAMRON 28-75mm, set at 35mm.

Hey, the fire plug is dead center! Oh yeah, try and visually resolve that 8-pixel sized spot.

Anyway, it the weather permits, I will mess around using the telescope lens without the light concentrator in order to get a flatter-looking focus across the entire field of view. Yes, say goodbye to the extra 1.5 Ev, but a more uniform image might be nicer to look at. I am using the Sun ... I will have to make due.

I tell ya, the way this bad boy shakes when you hand-trigger the twelve pounds of camera/lens.... will make you appreciate an electronic release cable.

Weather is moving in, again ... tough night, tonight.

[DonSchap]

Today was a gorgeous, sunny 90-degree reprieve from the rain-soaked hell we have been suffering through for the past several days.

As I had hoped, time to break out the long glass, again, and get down to the neighborhood lake (yes, the REAL one, not some recent rain created mud pit).

So, I set up in the parking lot, perched on the back of the ol' Avalanche, and fired me off a few.

I removed the light-enhancing filter and went naked, which allowed me to use the Full Frame camera body with only a little vignetting.

This is the scene as shot with the 70-400 G SSM @ 70mm. You can see the front of the Celestron telescope
- at bottom of frame


Here 100% crop... okay, who is that, out there, in those "Foster Grants"


Zoom to 400mm and here is the 100% crop...


Slap on the 2032mm telescope... for a keener look-see, as shot...


@ 100% crop


Here, I was in APS-C Capture, which effectively gave me an effectively 3048mm-looking frame.
Not too bad... as shot.


@ 100% crop and slight p/s enhancement

The fact is, you can get right in there ... get those "faces" and emotions from the oceans. When you need intelligence... it's god-given ... or optically enhanced. Sorry.

I shot this guy in portrait orientation, in Full Frame mode (2032mm), but still could not get him and his sail board entirely in frame. Shutter Speed was a bit faster 1/1250sec, ISO-800. Color saturation was definitely a little better due to the reduced exposure.

It is kind of amazing to have this kind of reach on the lens... but, the slightest bounce or wind throws the shot off. You have to shoot at a faster shutter speed... for many of the shots, I had the SS at 1/800 sec, which really was a little too slow, I suppose. It may have introduced some shake, because "Super Steady Shot" cannot cope with anything faster than 1/320 sec. It should have been at 1/2000 (same as the length of the lens), but the light drops significantly ... so there is more sensor noise as you up the ISO to compensate.

Point being, you want super sharp at the beach? Get closer ... or get in the boat and go after it... yeah, closer.