Want to learn about OPTICS

neophyte · 06-15-2008, 08:26 AM

Well Folks; I found answers to questions that I didn't even have

Want to learn about SPOTTING SCOPES

Catadioptric or Mirror Scopes | Better View Desired

Get back outta the way; Understandable and good

SwedeSteve · 06-15-2008, 05:55 PM

Have read that, but thanks for posting for everyone !!

rfc357 · 06-23-2008, 10:32 PM

That is a nice article, but it does not address a limitation of catadioptric telscopes that is very important to shooters, less so to birders: contrast. While a reflector and a refractor of the same aperture have theoretically identical resolving power, a quality refractor will show higher contrast. This is especially important when viewing bullet holes in the target black.

I do not know why this is so, although I should. I think it has something to do with the correction for chromatic aberration necessary to raise the quality of the telescope out of the crummy K-Mart category. You can bet I'll ask my optical engineer friends soon.

I have a very high quality astronomical Mak that makes a mediocre target scope for just this reason. I have not yet experimented with filters, but that is in the near future. Reducing the blue content of the light may help.

Anyway, the service rifle teams use refractors.

rfc357 · 06-27-2008, 07:40 AM

A friend who is an optical engineer shed some light (ha) on why my astro scope makes a poor target spotter. Astronomical scopes are designed to operate at low light levels. They do not have the same level of internal baffles to reduce light scattering as do target scopes which are designed to operate in brightly-lit conditions. The scattering reduces the astro scope's ability to deal with low contrast images at high light levels.

I guess the lesson here is to save up for a good refractor target scope.

06-15-2008, 08:26 AM	#1
neophyte Senior Member Join Date: Aug 2007 Location: Charlotte, NC Posts: 3,543 Blog Entries: 2	Want to learn about OPTICS Well Folks; I found answers to questions that I didn't even have Want to learn about SPOTTING SCOPES Catadioptric or Mirror Scopes \| Better View Desired Get back outta the way; Understandable and good __________________ Craig By the standards of most

06-15-2008, 05:55 PM	#2
SwedeSteve Thor's Hammer Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: Alaska Posts: 10,348 Images: 1	Have read that, but thanks for posting for everyone !! __________________ Thank God we don't get as much Government as we pay for! -Will Rogers

06-23-2008, 10:32 PM	#3
rfc357 Senior Member Join Date: Jun 2006 Posts: 741	That is a nice article, but it does not address a limitation of catadioptric telscopes that is very important to shooters, less so to birders: contrast. While a reflector and a refractor of the same aperture have theoretically identical resolving power, a quality refractor will show higher contrast. This is especially important when viewing bullet holes in the target black. I do not know why this is so, although I should. I think it has something to do with the correction for chromatic aberration necessary to raise the quality of the telescope out of the crummy K-Mart category. You can bet I'll ask my optical engineer friends soon. I have a very high quality astronomical Mak that makes a mediocre target scope for just this reason. I have not yet experimented with filters, but that is in the near future. Reducing the blue content of the light may help. Anyway, the service rifle teams use refractors. __________________ Certified rifle and pistol instructor

06-27-2008, 07:40 AM	#4
rfc357 Senior Member Join Date: Jun 2006 Posts: 741	A friend who is an optical engineer shed some light (ha) on why my astro scope makes a poor target spotter. Astronomical scopes are designed to operate at low light levels. They do not have the same level of internal baffles to reduce light scattering as do target scopes which are designed to operate in brightly-lit conditions. The scattering reduces the astro scope's ability to deal with low contrast images at high light levels. I guess the lesson here is to save up for a good refractor target scope. __________________ Certified rifle and pistol instructor