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Posts Made By: Jim Carpenter

June 1, 2005 01:54 PM Forum: Birding Optics and Photos

Mourning Warbler

Posted By Jim Carpenter
Great shot, Jeff! And thanks for the tips on exposure and flash settings. I'd like to see more of that kind of info published to help us "less experienced" members.

Jim

June 9, 2005 02:40 AM Forum: Birding Optics and Photos

White Winged Dove

Posted By Jim Carpenter
Ron,
When I grew up in San Antonio, the white winged doves seldom were seen north of the south Texas brush country (roughly Laredo/Eagle Pass to Corpus line). By the time I left SA in 1989 they were getting fairly common there, so I guess they're continuing to move north.

Jim

June 23, 2005 05:06 PM Forum: Birding Optics and Photos

First D70s Image, Please be kind

Posted By Jim Carpenter
Mike,
Good shot! If you have Photoshop or Elements, play with Levels to adjust the lighting -- you'll be amazed at what you can do.

Jim
(another D70'er)

July 19, 2005 11:27 PM Forum: Equipment Talk

Small multi-use refractor questions

Posted By Jim Carpenter
Hi Craig,
You've gotten good advice from practically all who have spoken up. You never mentioned a budget, but I'm going to assume that you don't want to spend an arm and a leg, which rules out most of the apo options that have been mentioned. 60/66mm is pretty small for astro viewing, so I'll assume that 80mm is the range you're looking for. My recommendation therefore is the Stellarvue Nighthawk on either a Stellarvue M1 or a UA Unistar or Microstar mount on a mid-range Bogen or Manfrotto tripod. There are approx 3000 scopes in the SV AT1010/Nighthawk family in circulation, so you know they have a reliable track record, both optically and mechanically, and SV customer service is tops -- 9 times out of 10 you end up talking to Vic Maris himself when you call. The alt-az mounts mentioned are definitely, IMO, the way to go for dual-purpose terrestrial and astro viewing.

Jim

August 3, 2005 03:21 PM Forum: Equipment Talk

Honest analysis

Posted By Jim Carpenter
Ron,
Two more things to consider:
The secondary in an SCT is much larger percentage-wise to the aperture, so you'll lose some contrast plus the additional loss in effective aperture if you go from 10" dob to 8" SCT, and the SCT typically has a much longer focal length (f10 typical for SCT vs f5-f6 for a Dob).

Jim

August 22, 2005 11:00 PM Forum: Landscape Photography

Sand Dunes

Posted By Jim Carpenter
Another, from farther away. Same camera, etc.

Jim

August 22, 2005 11:02 PM Forum: Landscape Photography

Sand Dunes

Posted By Jim Carpenter
And another, from closer. Makes it look like a real Colorado Sahara Desert, but the area of the dunes is only a few square miles.

September 7, 2005 02:28 PM Forum: Insects - Flowers and Other Small Stuff - Photos

I had a couple subjects pose for me in Sedona.

Posted By Jim Carpenter
Nice series, Chris. What camera/lens were you using?

Jim

September 9, 2005 08:01 PM Forum: Wildlife Photography

This story has a happy ending!

Posted By Jim Carpenter
With tongue in cheek...
1) He decided that all the bugling was too passe' and dressed in his finest to attract the ladies.
2) He's seen a lot of hunters dressed in bright orange, so this is his camoflage for the upcoming season.

Seriously, I'm glad your friend's father had the foresight to call the DOW and get this big guy released from what probably would have been a slow and agonozing death.

Jim

September 23, 2005 02:56 PM Forum: Equipment Talk

Basket Carrier

Posted By Jim Carpenter
Allen,
I would be reluctant to carry an expensive telescope and mount on one of the open basket-type carriers because of both security and weather exposure. I would be more inclined to go with one of the hardside Yakima or Thule ski or cargo carriers that mount on the roof. One source of these is http://www.rackattack.com/shopdisplaycategories.asp?id=13&cat=Cargo+Boxes

There is also at least one fully-enclosed hitch type cargo boxes called the StowAway II that's made for a small motor home, but should work on any vehicle with a 2" hitch receiver. See http://www.tigermotorhomes.com/options.htm

Jim

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