As seen by the “cat”
I don’t always play with some of my toys, often enough. Today, in an effort to right that wrong, I did a deep dive into the photo bag and came up with my longest lens. There had been discussion about whether we needed to add a really long telephoto to the collection, after seeing a wonderful series of photos involving a fox and a vole, and then just the fox, taken on Signal Hill in NL.
I checked prices. Glass is expensive, particularly when set into sequenced groups and marked with a logo. I wondered if a lens received as a “parting glass” from the workplace might be enough. The term “cat” has nothing to do with the furry animal; this is a mirror lens, or more correctly a catadioptric. What it lacks in sharpness is often traded for something less cumbersome. And that squirrel, outside, in the bright sunlight, seemed to be the perfect model.
Here he is, through a window, handheld. I could have set up the tripod, but that would be overkill for a simple test. Maybe tomorrow, before the next storm. Oh, right… there are two more examples of winter inbound, because we aren’t fed up yet.
I don’t tend to care about the technical details with these digipics; no film was harmed, and my exposure cost is very low, but I’ll do the best I can.
Focal length: 500 mm
Speed: 1/500th
Aperture f:6.3 (I have no control)
Handheld, while on the warm side of the window. Dog watching intently. The squirrel refused my request for an interview, but I think he’s hiding something (that feeder cover now serving as a shield).
