Could you give me some advice - inexpensive zoom

[Bigmoss]

After reading numberous forums I happened across this one and the membership really seem to have great opinions and advice so I figured I would join.

I am far from a professional or even mid range with a digital camera but always have one with me and like taking pictures. I spend A LOT of time deer hunting all over and scouting pre and post season. Right now I own a smaller Canon Digital pocket size so its easy to carry and a Canon S3 IS but usually just leave them on auto and shoot as I could never really figure out the other modes. What I have found this year is a lot of the deer and other wildlife I come across are about 300yrds away and I have to always max out the zoom on the S3 to get there and when I do of course the pics are blurry and out of focus a bit.

Today I decided to hopefully buy a little better camera and lens where I could get out there a little more and after visiting a reputable shop in the area and looking at a Canon XS package which comes with the standard lens and then adding either a Sigma 120-400 or 150-500

I guess I was shocked at the price tag and am wondering if it is really worth it for a few months a year. I was wondering if a few members could give me some opinions on another option maybe that would let me zoom in a little closer than my S3 without breaking the bank.

Thanks

[heather4279]

I am also a beginner and have the XS. You mention if it is worth it for only a few months out of the year. I promise you that once you start using it, it will not be for only a few months out of the year.

~Heather

[Steaphany]

If you decide to go with a dSLR camera body, I suggest you taking a look at an Orion Apex 90mm Maksutov-Cassegrain Telescope.

I have one that I use with my Sigma SD14.

The scope is a bit demanding. A tripod is a must, The camera must be set to shoot in Mirror up mode - just the vibration of the mirror moving out of the light path is enough to blur the image. On the plus side, it is nice and compact, easy to carry in the field, and for a price of $230US, it provides a wonderful focal length of 1250 mm. (The 35mm equivalent on my SD14 is 2125mm ) There are larger scopes available, but I chose this since it's a good mix of capabilities versus size and cost.

One requirement to use this scope on a dSLR is a T-Mount adapter. This is not much of a problem since they are commonly available for all SLR lens mounts.

In post processing, you do need to compensate for vignetting (Common to most telescope optics)