Telescope

[Nibblewood]

As a way to extend the focal length of my camera i figured attaching a telescope would be a good way to go about it. I have a fairly old (but reliable) telescope available, but would like to know whether or not this is a good strategy for wildlife photography (all i have read about attaching a telescope so far is based on astrophotography), and if it is usefeul, how would i do it (with my Nikon D40)

Thanks a lot,
Sam

[Malcolm_Stewart]

It's worth a try - particularly with a digital SLR as you won't waste any film! You'll probably fairly quickly realise why tele lenses cost loads-a-money! Compact digicams may work a bit better as their lenses may be small enough to get centred in the exit pupil of the telescope, and the live screen will help you see what's going on. If you get keen, SRB-Griturn do adapters.

More info

[beejaybee]

would like to know whether or not this is a good strategy for wildlife photography

Well, I'm an astronomer & I use cameras of various types attached to telescopes on a regular basis. It works, and results can be very good. One thing you must realise for wildlife work - focusing is manual and to do the job properly means no hope of tracking a moving target.

Good scopes are not cheap, but actually image better than most camera lenses in terms of sharpness and contrast at the image centre. The corners can be a bit ropey, though; and scopes (at any rate, affordable ones) tend to work at f/6 or slower, which may be an issue in poor light.