Message posted by Joerg (Webmaster) on October 27, 2012 at 16:55:58 PST:
Good question... This has not been discussed in a while... I used a Celestron C-5 spotting scope on a sturdy tripod with a gear head for the panorama that we sell as poster in our store. I still consider the C-5 a good tradeoff between portability and image quality. The gear head makes it easier to pan the camera horizontally for a level panorama. Attached at the time was a Canon D60 digital SLR with what is known as a T-adapter. The adapter mounts the camera directly to the scope for best image quality. I have since upgraded the camera, but any decent digital SLR should work. A feature you want to look for is "Mirror Lockup". Locking the mirror before the shot improves image quality because it reduces camera shake due to mirror movement. For the same reason you will want to use a remote shutter release. Some of us use a technique known as image stacking, a digital post-processing step that overlays several images of the same area to reduce random noise from air impurities etc. I find focusing extremely difficult because of the low contrast image in the view finder (and deteriorating eyesight does not help!). A view finder magnifier helps, but I always do several panoramas with slightly different focus setting. One usually turns out ok. You want to use a structure with high contrast to focus on, such as the checkered water tower. But the most important ingredients are clear air and good lighting. The best conditions are usually very early in the morning, within an hour or so after sunrise. Since the temperature changes rapidly at that time, I use sheets of foam insulation wrapped around the scope to keep the focus point from drifting. I hope this helps. I hope some of our readers will chime in.
In Reply to: spotting scope for viewing bas posted by casey on October 27, 2012 at 11:41:43 PST:
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