spotting scopes

[chanceychelsey]

I have been taking some photography classes to fine tune my knowledge on the workings of my camera.  I have always been a birdwatcher in my rural yard, and I am getting more interested in going out to find birds. (I have read here, if you want to see them, you have to go to them!)  I was wondering if anyone uses a spotting scope on it's own or in conjunction with a camera.  I am interested in some advice as to which manufacturers will produce the best results for the greatest value.  If anyone can help, it would be greatly appreciated.

[Michael Tam]

Bird photography through even the best of spotting scope is a compromise.  Please see link to this site for the seminar coming up by Kowa scope:

http://www.peleewings.ca/scopes.php

Otherwise, the cheapest lens that seemed to be a favorite without resorting to prime lens over a digital SLR body is the Sigma 50-500mm HSM.  One gains the advantage of 1.5x conversion for up to 750 mm equivalent.  The price of the lens is around $1,250.  Please see this site for the discussion:

http://photo.net/bboard/q-and-a-fetch-msg?msg_id=00MaZH

Hope it is helpful.