Richard's Photographic & Optical Equipment

The photos on this website were all captured digitally

Since December 2006 I have been using a Digital SLR setup, but older shots on this website were achieved using the 'digiscoping' method - by attaching a digital camera to a spotting telescope.

Cameras and Lenses

My main camera is a Canon EOS 30D, an excellent Digital SLR camera for wildlife photography owing to its rapid burst speed and large buffer capacity, giving me the ability to fire lots of quick shots. The resolution of 8.2 megapixels is plenty. I'm writing this having owned the camera for just a few months, but so far I'm impressed and very pleased with my choice.

I have two Canon lenses for the 30D - the standard 17-55mm and a delightful 100-400mm L IS, my main lens. I sometimes use a Kenko 1.4x teleconverter with this combination, and I also have a UV filter, Polarizing filter, flash unit, wide angle lens and macro tubes for various situations and effects.

My digiscoping camera is a Nikon Coolpix 4500. It has a resolution of 4 mega pixels, and is ideal for digiscoping owing to its small object lens and internal 4x zoom. The camera is attached by a specially designed adapter called a DigiMount. The specific model I use is an L7 Coolpix adaptor from EagleEye UK.

For a wide range of cameras and other birding optics, I recommend you visit Binoculars.com or Eagle Optics.

Other Optics & Accessories

My current telescope is a Kowa TS823 angled spotting scope fitted with a TSN 20x wide angle eyepiece (plus step-up ring) for digiscoping and a 30x eyepiece for normal viewing. I have owned a succession of Kowa scopes, but for digiscoping, either this or the equivalent Leica or Swarovski are perfect. The scope sits atop a Manfrotto 055MF3 Mag Fiber tripod with a 701RC2 head. I've been using this tripod for more than a year now and I love how light it is, how steady it stays and how tall it extends (most tripods are apparently made for the midgets of this world under six feet tall!). And of course I'm never without my Zeiss Victory 10x50 binoculars.

Online Printing

There are several very good online digital printers that can convert your digital files into beautiful prints and cards on top quality photo paper. If you've only tried printing your own photos, you won't believe the improvement in quality. Try Winkflash.com or Snapish.com, who often have special offers for online printing.

Books

I see books as an equally important part of my equipment as the camera, as it's this information and knowledge that keeps me striving to learn more. Visit Richard's Bookshelf to see the books I reference.