Cradle MountainYour free eMagazine from CradleMountainnet

image adam Holbrook - Wilderness Photography of tasmania

AUTUMN 2011

Welcome to Autumn at Cradle Mountainnet

What a wonderful time to visit tasmania and of course Cradle Mountain

in this issue autumn we have highlighted adam Holbrookrsquos photography of a special tree unique to tasmania the nothofagus gunnii or deciduous beech

itrsquos spectacular autumn show can be enjoyed by those who visit Cradle Mountain from late april through late May

if you can escape to tasmania even for a weekend it is well worth the effort this article Fantastic Fagus Fun tells a story of how we did it last year

We have also included brain teasers to test your tassie knowledge with a ldquo10 question quizrdquo and ldquoWhere is thisrdquo challenge Good luck finding the answers

tasmania is also a mecca for great food and quirky festivals in this edition we highlight four terrific festivals and three interesting cooking schools

nine great reasons to visit tasmania in autumn

Finally photography if you are looking for a new camera and lenses or just want to understand how it all works Matthias Siegal shares an interesting write up on how he chose his new gear

if you have never visited Cradle Mountain or tasmania we hope you enjoy some snapshots of adventure and fun in this beautiful place if you are an old tassie hand then sit back relax and enjoy rediscovering Cradle you will be back

did you miss these new articles on CradleMountainnetthere are many articles hidden away in cradlemountainnet Click below to see more on these selections

Welcome to Cradle Mountain

a living remnant of when australia was part of Gondwana can be found in tasmania this descendant of ancient trees still has distant relatives in South america and new Zealand and is commonly known as Fagus

a great name for a gnarly tree that puts on a magic display every autumn in tasmania especially in the Cradle Mountain area

deciduous beech (Nothofagus gunnii) usually grows to 2 metres or less and it has a terrific root system tough and bendy designed to grasp onto the sides of mountains for survival it is australias only winter-deciduous tree and you will find it nowhere else in the world except tasmania

every year from late april through May this tough survivor rewards visitors with a display of colour the leaves which are only 15 - 2 cm long start changing from green to a rusty red and then finally before separating from their tree a brilliant gold

Some of the best fagus is found around Cradle Mountain the closest access is either around the dove lake circuit or Weindorfers Forest Walk (see our free map for details) For the more active walk into Crater lake from the ronney Creek car park to the boat shed and enjoy sheets of colour on the face of the lake

For an even more spectacular view climb up the steps to Marionrsquos lookout and look back across Crater lake it can be spectacular

Just to reinterate the colour change has usually started by the end of april and continues for a month or so but the actual time varies from year to year and place to place

it is best to phone the relevant Parks tasmania office before visiting

Ancient trees spectAculAr displAys

images adam Holbrook - Wilderness Photography of tasmania

Photo of the editionCradle Mountain is a photographerrsquos heaven in each edition we highlight one special image taken in the Cradle Mountain national Park

Well done to Steven Young for capturing Cradle Mountain at sunset We love the stillness and subtle colours he has captured of Cradle Mountain

if you have a favourite Cradle Mountain area image to share contact Frank via email

Want to improve your photographyWe recommend

WiNTer WoNDerLAND SpeCiALCradle Mountain lodGe

Cradle Mountain in winter is special Staying at Cradle Mountain lodge in winter is doubly special We love rugging up in our winter woollies and exploring on the cool and crisp days Visitor numbers are reduced and it can be a truly delightful wilderness experience as a bonus there is often a sprinkling of snow or frosty mornings to enjoy so donrsquot forget warm clothing and strong shoes

one of the best parts of the experience is escaping back to the cosy warmth of Cradle Mountain lodge after a day exploring Winter is one of the best times to enjoy the lodge experience From 1st May until 30th September 2011 save 22 off the standard nightly rate

the Winter wonderland package includes

bull accommodationbull Full buffet breakfast dailybull Many lodge activities including 20 different self guided

walking tracks native animal briefing and slide presentationbull Children 12 years and under stay and eat breakfast Free

PluS upgrade to include 3-course dinner in the award winning Highland restaurant for only $65 per person Children can dine from the childrenrsquos set menu one meal plus one dessert for $15 per child

Click here to check availability at Cradle Mountain lodge these specials often disappear quickly

GreAt produce GreAt Food And WonderFul cheFsthis edition we highlight three northern tasmanian cooking schools

learn the secrets of these three fine establishments and enjoy cooking their specialties during a visit to tasmania alternatively take a short break and fly down for a long weekend to participate in some of the excellent classes on offer

these three cooking schools look like winners

BrilliAnt cup cAkesAlps amp Amici launCeSton

Sally alps and her team specialise in and create fun and exciting occasion cakes and handcrafted cupcakes that donrsquot just tastes good but look good too

Classes are hands-on where you will learn how to prepare cover and decorate fondant icing cupcakes You will receive the recipes from the afternoon and take home the cakes you decorate along with a 10 discount on anything purchased on the day

Click here for more information

sourdouGh BAkinG clAsses compAnion BAkery oatlandS (click for map)

Sourdough is the ancient art of rising bread using natural fermentation Classes are hands on guiding guests through every stage of the sourdough baking process

offering two different classes an introduction to Sourdough and advanced Sourdough techniques these popular classes include a Bakerrsquos Cap lunch and Sourdough Starter

For more information head across here Companion Bakery classes

red FeAther cookinG And liFestyle HadSPen (near launCeSton) (click for map)

From lsquoback to basicsrsquo through to lsquocelebrer le cochonrsquo the red Feather Cooking amp lifestyle School aims to help you extend your culinary boundaries whilst having an entertaining and enjoyable break in the company of like minded people

With classes titled summerrsquos harvest the wild larder and smoking amp curing spots book quickly

For more information head across here

conservAtion Works For historic WAldheim chAlet

dennis Harding - tasmanian Photography

Conservation works aimed at preserving the historic Waldheim Chalet at Cradle Mountain have recommenced after a winter break

tasmanian conservation pioneer Gustav Weindorfer pushed for the preservation of the Cradle Mountain area as lsquoa national park for all people for all timersquo and built Waldheim German for lsquoforest homersquo as a chalet for visitors in 1911

the mountain weather took its toll on the timber structure over the decades and it had deteriorated to such an extent that the decision was taken by the then Parks and Wildlife Service to demolish it and replace it with a replica structure on the same spot this was completed in 1976

Cradle Mountain Parks and reserves manager nic deka

said when the conservation works are complete the historic structure will be set to withstand the elements for decades to come

ldquothe importance of the chalet itself is that it represents the origin of heritage conservation and national parks in tasmania and for that it has both national and international significancerdquo Mr deka said

the conservation works include the replacement or repair of weathered and decayed materials such as roofing shakes or shingles wall palings and pole frames that support the building on both the bathhouse and the chalet

at the chalet works completed last year included construction of a new section of roof with a steeper pitch aimed at providing better drainage of rainwater and reducing damp problems within the building

this yearrsquos works which will finish the restoration include replacement of the celery top pine supports for the entry way roof structure replacement of split shingle flooring and replacement of another section of the shingle roof

the works are being undertaken by local heritage restoration builders tim Youldon and rudi Velthuis

Waldheim will be closed to the public while the conservation works are under way

the project is funded by an australian Government Jobs Fund grant that totalled $491000 for improved Cradle walking tracks and the Waldheim conservation works

thanks to Parks tasmania for this information

TeN DAYS oN THe iSLAND 25 MarCH to 3 aPril 2011

image credit - 10 days on the island

a biennial event ten days on the island will return to tasmania in 2011 bringing its extensive ten-day multi art form programme to tasmanians and visitors

ten days offers a ticketed and free schedule of theatre dance visual arts music film opera and literature performed by the very best tasmanian and australian artists and other performers from island-based cultures around the world

What one of tasmaniarsquos premier multi-form arts festivals ten days on the island

When Friday 25 March to Saturday 3 april 2011

Where Various outdoor and indoor locations across tasmania

info Contact 03 6233 5700 or tendaysontheislandorg

NeW LoNGForD reViVAL FeSTiVAL1 aPril ndash 3 aPril 2011

a new festival on tasmaniarsquos events calendar the longford revival Festival is set to make its debut in 2011 celebrating the international motor racing heritage of the town

longford played host to the worldrsquos greatest F1 racers in the 1950s and 60s when it hosted the australian Grand Prix on its 45 mile (72km) track Fashion food music and cars will set the stage with historic vehicles racing down the Flying Mile in speed demonstration shows for the first time in 43 years the festival will also include display vehicles entertainment exhibitorrsquos stalls a childrenrsquos area picnic spots and fine wine and food Visitors are encouraged to dress the part

What a 60s themed celebration of longfordrsquos illustrious racing past with car races and displays on the Flying Mile

When Friday 1 april 2011 to Monday 4 april 2011

Where the Flying Mile longford 20 minutes (24km) south west of launceston

info Contact 03 6221 8811 or visit wwwlongfordrevivalcomau

Whatrsquos on around Tasmania in Autumntasmania has something to offer visitors all year round

We have chosen five very diverse festivals and activities for you to enjoy during autumn

THe AUSTrALiAN THree peAKS rACe22 aPril ndash 30 aPril 2011

one of tasmaniarsquos top endurance events the australian three Peaks race is a non-stop offshore sailing and mountain running competition

in the event teams of five race each other over land and sea along the east Coast starting at Beauty Point on the tamar river (north of launceston) and finishing on derwent river in Hobart Visitors can watch

the action from the Coles Bay jetty or cheer the teams on at Kings Pier (Sullivan Cove Hobart) when the runners begin their final run to the summit of Mt Wellington

What a challenging sea and land race traversing three of the islandrsquos mountains and the east Coast

When Good Friday 22 april 2011 to Saturday 30 april 2011

Where Beauty Point tamar river (45km north of launceston on the West tamar Highway) Coles Bay jetty (Coles Bay 195km from Hobart on the a3 175km from launceston on route 1) and Kings Pier Mt Wellington (Hobart)

info email alastairthreepeaksorgau or visit wwwthreepeaksorgau

DeSTiNATioN SpoTLiGHT SHeFFieLD internAtionAl murAl Fest amp tAste oF the north West 24 aPril ndash 30 aPril 2011

Situated in Sheffield known to locals as the town of Murals the 2011 international Mural Fest is set to captivate audiences once again with nine artist finalists painting a 21m by 48m mural live over six days

the murals will reflect each artistrsquos interpretation of the 2011 theme

Power of Communityrdquo and will be left for the public to admire till the international Mural Fest the following year

the final day of the international Mural Festival will coincide with The Taste of the North West a celebration of the north West Coastrsquos finest food beverage and produce Held in Sheffieldrsquos picturesque King George V Park the event features the regionrsquos outstanding local food including rabbit pies German-style small goods smoked salmon wood-fired pizzas free range lamb sausages beef pies ale beer mead cider fruit wine and wine

What a public art paint-off over six and a half days followed by a celebration of the best of the north West Coastrsquos provenance

When Sunday 24 april to Saturday 30 april 2011 (Mural Fest) the taste of the north West will take place on Saturday 30 april 2011 only

Where Mural Park Sheffield (Mural Fest) and King George V Park Sheffield (taste of the north West) Sheffield is 23km drive from devonport

info 2011 Mural Fest visit wwwmuralfestcomau and the taste of the north West wwwtasteofthenorthwestcomau

DeVoNporT FooD AND WiNe FeSTiVAL 1St - 31St MarCH

Highlights of the month will be the appearances of the hugely successful australian celebrity chefs luke Mangan Peter Kuruvita and teage ezard who will all perform cooking demonstrations at various venues

image credit - ParadoxikoBeck

Mr Mangan will be the eventrsquos official ambassador and his presence and appearance in early March will get the event off to a flying start Mr Kuruvita will closely follow to keep the momentum flowing and uber-chef Mr ezard is scheduled to appear towards the end of the month in a climatic performance sure to thrill one and all

every day of March is booked out with theme nights cooking shows and wine and beer tastings

What a month of food wine and locally grown produce will be celebrated throughout devonport

When 1st March - 31st march

Where various locations around devonport

info Visit the festival website

test your tAssie knoWledGe

10 Questions to find out what you know

1 What is the name of the small peak to the side of Cradle Mountain

2 Which way does a wombatrsquos pouch face Forward or backward

3 What is the name of the restaurant at Cradle Mountain lodge

4 in tasmania do motor cars drive on the left hand side of the road true or False

5 is the ferry that travels to tasmania from Melbourne called the Bass Strait Ferry true or False

6 What is the name of the hiking trail that runs for 65km from Cradle Mountain to lake St Clair

7 the Salamanca Market is held in Hobart every Sunday true or False

8 the tasmanian Wilderness area covers 20 of the State of tasmania true or False

9 Mt ossa is the highest mountain in tasmania true or False

10 are there koalas in tasmania true or False

Check your answers on the last page

DeVoNporT FooD AND WiNe FeSTiVAL 1St - 31St MarCH

Highlights of the month will be the appearances of the hugely successful australian celebrity chefs luke Mangan Peter Kuruvita and teage ezard who will all perform cooking demonstrations at various venues

image credit - ParadoxikoBeck

Mr Mangan will be the eventrsquos official ambassador and his presence and appearance in early March will get the event off to a flying start Mr Kuruvita will closely follow to keep the momentum flowing and uber-chef Mr ezard is scheduled to appear towards the end of the month in a climatic performance sure to thrill one and all

every day of March is booked out with theme nights cooking shows and wine and beer tastings

What a month of food wine and locally grown produce will be celebrated throughout devonport

When 1st March - 31st march

Where various locations around devonport

info Visit the festival website

test your tAssie knoWledGe

10 Questions to find out what you know

1 What is the name of the small peak to the side of Cradle Mountain

2 Which way does a wombatrsquos pouch face Forward or backward

3 What is the name of the restaurant at Cradle Mountain lodge

4 in tasmania do motor cars drive on the left hand side of the road true or False

5 is the ferry that travels to tasmania from Melbourne called the Bass Strait Ferry true or False

6 What is the name of the hiking trail that runs for 65km from Cradle Mountain to lake St Clair

7 the Salamanca Market is held in Hobart every Sunday true or False

8 the tasmanian Wilderness area covers 20 of the State of tasmania true or False

9 Mt ossa is the highest mountain in tasmania true or False

10 are there koalas in tasmania true or False

Check your answers on the last page

Just for a bit of fun we have selected four images that show very different views of tasmania

they take our breath away Your job is to guess where they were taken

Find the answers on the last page

Where in TAsmAniA WAs This TAken

1

3

2

4

1 Hello daniel via Flickr 2 Stefan Karpiniec via Flickr 3 Stephan roletto via Flickr 4 Brent Pearson via Flickr

photoGrAphy equipment For trAvel And WildliFe

matthias siegel is a Web developer software architect geek bushwalker friend macGyver fan and photo amateur currently living in hobart tasmania in this article he shares his ideas for travel and wildlife photography with some great examples visit his site matt down under to check out some of his great tasmanian images and read his stories about exploring tasmania

over the last months i found myself diving more and more into advanced fields of hobby photography and since irsquom happy with both my equipment and the results it produces i thought i should write a short piece about my current equipment and what i use it for

irsquom not a professional photographer i take photos only for memories and for fun it simply gives me a great feeling to look through the photos of my travels in recent years - it reminds

me of the wonderful moments i had Whenever i think my life it boring i look at the photos only to be impressed to see what great places i visited

i mostly take photos of nature and wildlife there are simply a lot of opportunities in australia to take stunning nature scenes For me as a German who didnrsquot grow up with such an abundance of wildlife and colourful birds it is also very fascinating to photograph wild animals like parrots and kangaroos it just feels very exotic and makes for a great photo

my equipment requirementsthe basic requirements on my camera equipment are

bull lightweight for traveling and hiking

bull long zoom so i can capture close wildlife shots from a distance

bull high image quality

bull easy to use (i love automatic modes)

bull GPS would be great so all photos are geo-tagged automatically

until recently i used a Panasonic dMC FZ-28 superzoom camera i found it was the perfect combination of all my requirements only GPS was missing - which is still not common in cameras

over time with growing expectations i also started to dislike the lack of image quality and detail sharpness compared to more expensive dSlr cameras For a compact camera the quality of the Panasonic was great but somehow i realised i would have to switch to a dSlr sooner or later the only problem was i just couldnrsquot imagine carrying around a bulky heavy dSlr and a bag full of lenses i was looking for a bit more convenience or at least a more compact camera body

When Sony announced the alpha a55 camera a few months ago i decided to make the switch since the overall feature package convinced me

What is so great about the Sony A55 that irsquom now happy to carry around a bag of lenses and what makes it great as a camera for travel and wildlife

bull much smaller and lighter than other dSlr bodies more like a superzoom camera

bull excellent image quality praised in many reviews around the web

bull built-in GPS

bull very fast burst-mode great if you want to capture exactly the moment a bird takes off and flies away the a55 can even keep focus on a moving subject during burst-mode because unlike other dSlrs it has a translucent mirror that doesnrsquot need to flip up when the image is taken (which would mean losing focus)

bull it has all sorts of fantastic special features and modes such as automatic Hdr images Hd movie recording and automatic panorama photo generation - you press and hold the shutter button move the camera around and it takes dozens of single pictures and stitches it together to one large panorama

bull quite a large selection of lenses available

FindinG the riGht lensesafter i made the decision to buy the a55 i literally spent months figuring out which lenses i should buy Since my primary use cases are allround nature and wildlife i decided to buy these two

Sony SAL 18250 (on the right in the photo above) - a great allround lens With the wide angle of 18mm it is good for landscape but the zoom range of 250mm is also quite capable of experimenting with other uses For wildlife however it will be too short in most cases the noise of the autofocus motor is quite annoying but i donrsquot care - there are more expensive lenses available if you donrsquot like it

Wide angle telephoto

Sony SAL 500F80 reflex this is quite a unique lens unlike other telephoto lenses it doesnrsquot use a large number of glass elements inside to achieve magnification (which makes a lens very heavy) instead it uses mirrors like in a telescope now this concept has drawbacks and advantages people either love or hate it i wonrsquot go into details i just give my opinion i love it nowhere else will you get a 500mm lens that is so lightweight so inexpensive and easy to use and still produces such sharp images it even has autofocus and since Sony alpha bodies all have image stabilisation built-in itrsquos quite usable without a tripod Being lightweight and long-range it is the lens for wildlife shots when hiking or traveling it wonrsquot suit professional needs but everything else it most likely will

note Please be aware that a few months ago Sony announced this lens will be discontinued Currently it is still widely available in shops but supplies will probably run out in the near future Get it while you can

this laughing Kookaburra was sitting high on a tree across the street from where i was no problem with the 500mm reflex lens

You need to keep in mind that the a55 is an aPS-C camera which means it has a smaller sensor than fullframe cameras Since both lenses were made for fullframe cameras it means that the focal length is actually a bit longer when used on an aPS-C camera For example the 18-250mm lens will actually be 27-375mm on the a55 since it multiplies with 15 on aPS-C but thatrsquos just technical background What this means however is that the 500mm lens actually turns into a 750mm lens which makes it even more capable of wildlife photography

Accessoriesnow with the camera body and a lens or two the most expensive parts are set but the equipment is far from complete this is some of the other stuff irsquom using

bull lowepro lsquoexchange Messengerrsquo shoulder bag When irsquom hiking i already carry a backpack or two so i didnrsquot want another one for the camera this nice little shoulder bag has enough space for camera two large lenses and accessories but itrsquos still small enough so i could cover it under my rain jacket if necessary or store it inside my backpack i just wish it had better padding

bull 3 spare batteries Sadly the battery in the a55 doesnrsquot last very long but since it needs to power the camera lens motor image stabilisation and GPS it is understandable irsquom estimating one battery will last me for 1-2 days maximum so with 4 in total i should be equipped for a week-long hiking trip always buy the original Sony battery i heard the cheap 3rd party copies often donrsquot work in the new Sony cameras and they donrsquot last nearly as long as the original ones

bull Filters i bought a B+W slim circular polarizer for the 18-250mm lens So far i havenrsquot figured out exactly when

overview of the focal range covered with my lensesto use it and what difference it makes but i think in sunny conditions the colours look better and it avoids reflections the 500mm lens also comes with two filters a normal one and a neutral density one

bull 16GB Class 10 SdHC card You really need to make sure that you donrsquot buy a cheap (=slow) Sd card the a55 can take 10 photos per second but this may only work with a fast Sd card Make sure itrsquos at least a Class 10 SdHC

bull Blower and microfibre cloth the bad thing with interchangeable lens cameras is that you easily get dust and dirt into your camera body which then sits on your mirror or sensor With a blower you can safely clean your camera

speciAl Accessory 2x tele converter750mm is already quite a good focal length for wildlife but as some kind of gimmick i bought a Pro-optic 2x teleconverter which turns the 750mm into a 1500mm lens there are drawbacks such as losing autofocus - you have to focus manually then - but it works well enough with the 500mm reflex lens i probably wonrsquot use it often since itrsquos difficult to get sharp shots without a tripod but itrsquos nice to have the option You can get this adapter for only uS$99 so i decided to give it a try

conclusionMy conclusion is that irsquom very happy with my new equipment and you can be happy too if you have the same requirements and are willing to shell out a few grand for a new camera plus accessories With two lenses i can cover a focal range from wide angle (landscape) to lsquosuper-paparazzorsquo See the comparison image below even when only using automatic and scene modes you can already get a lot out of this setup

note all the equipment shots in this post were taken with a cheap pocket camera not with the a55 Hence poor quality

Good reAds

Sony SAL 500F80 reflex this is quite a unique lens unlike other telephoto lenses it doesnrsquot use a large number of glass elements inside to achieve magnification (which makes a lens very heavy) instead it uses mirrors like in a telescope now this concept has drawbacks and advantages people either love or hate it i wonrsquot go into details i just give my opinion i love it nowhere else will you get a 500mm lens that is so lightweight so inexpensive and easy to use and still produces such sharp images it even has autofocus and since Sony alpha bodies all have image stabilisation built-in itrsquos quite usable without a tripod Being lightweight and long-range it is the lens for wildlife shots when hiking or traveling it wonrsquot suit professional needs but everything else it most likely will

note Please be aware that a few months ago Sony announced this lens will be discontinued Currently it is still widely available in shops but supplies will probably run out in the near future Get it while you can

this laughing Kookaburra was sitting high on a tree across the street from where i was no problem with the 500mm reflex lens

You need to keep in mind that the a55 is an aPS-C camera which means it has a smaller sensor than fullframe cameras Since both lenses were made for fullframe cameras it means that the focal length is actually a bit longer when used on an aPS-C camera For example the 18-250mm lens will actually be 27-375mm on the a55 since it multiplies with 15 on aPS-C but thatrsquos just technical background What this means however is that the 500mm lens actually turns into a 750mm lens which makes it even more capable of wildlife photography

Accessoriesnow with the camera body and a lens or two the most expensive parts are set but the equipment is far from complete this is some of the other stuff irsquom using

bull lowepro lsquoexchange Messengerrsquo shoulder bag When irsquom hiking i already carry a backpack or two so i didnrsquot want another one for the camera this nice little shoulder bag has enough space for camera two large lenses and accessories but itrsquos still small enough so i could cover it under my rain jacket if necessary or store it inside my backpack i just wish it had better padding

bull 3 spare batteries Sadly the battery in the a55 doesnrsquot last very long but since it needs to power the camera lens motor image stabilisation and GPS it is understandable irsquom estimating one battery will last me for 1-2 days maximum so with 4 in total i should be equipped for a week-long hiking trip always buy the original Sony battery i heard the cheap 3rd party copies often donrsquot work in the new Sony cameras and they donrsquot last nearly as long as the original ones

bull Filters i bought a B+W slim circular polarizer for the 18-250mm lens So far i havenrsquot figured out exactly when

overview of the focal range covered with my lensesto use it and what difference it makes but i think in sunny conditions the colours look better and it avoids reflections the 500mm lens also comes with two filters a normal one and a neutral density one

bull 16GB Class 10 SdHC card You really need to make sure that you donrsquot buy a cheap (=slow) Sd card the a55 can take 10 photos per second but this may only work with a fast Sd card Make sure itrsquos at least a Class 10 SdHC

bull Blower and microfibre cloth the bad thing with interchangeable lens cameras is that you easily get dust and dirt into your camera body which then sits on your mirror or sensor With a blower you can safely clean your camera

speciAl Accessory 2x tele converter750mm is already quite a good focal length for wildlife but as some kind of gimmick i bought a Pro-optic 2x teleconverter which turns the 750mm into a 1500mm lens there are drawbacks such as losing autofocus - you have to focus manually then - but it works well enough with the 500mm reflex lens i probably wonrsquot use it often since itrsquos difficult to get sharp shots without a tripod but itrsquos nice to have the option You can get this adapter for only uS$99 so i decided to give it a try

conclusionMy conclusion is that irsquom very happy with my new equipment and you can be happy too if you have the same requirements and are willing to shell out a few grand for a new camera plus accessories With two lenses i can cover a focal range from wide angle (landscape) to lsquosuper-paparazzorsquo See the comparison image below even when only using automatic and scene modes you can already get a lot out of this setup

note all the equipment shots in this post were taken with a cheap pocket camera not with the a55 Hence poor quality

Good reAds

overview of the focal range covered with my lensesto use it and what difference it makes but i think in sunny conditions the colours look better and it avoids reflections the 500mm lens also comes with two filters a normal one and a neutral density one

bull 16GB Class 10 SdHC card You really need to make sure that you donrsquot buy a cheap (=slow) Sd card the a55 can take 10 photos per second but this may only work with a fast Sd card Make sure itrsquos at least a Class 10 SdHC

bull Blower and microfibre cloth the bad thing with interchangeable lens cameras is that you easily get dust and dirt into your camera body which then sits on your mirror or sensor With a blower you can safely clean your camera

speciAl Accessory 2x tele converter750mm is already quite a good focal length for wildlife but as some kind of gimmick i bought a Pro-optic 2x teleconverter which turns the 750mm into a 1500mm lens there are drawbacks such as losing autofocus - you have to focus manually then - but it works well enough with the 500mm reflex lens i probably wonrsquot use it often since itrsquos difficult to get sharp shots without a tripod but itrsquos nice to have the option You can get this adapter for only uS$99 so i decided to give it a try

conclusionMy conclusion is that irsquom very happy with my new equipment and you can be happy too if you have the same requirements and are willing to shell out a few grand for a new camera plus accessories With two lenses i can cover a focal range from wide angle (landscape) to lsquosuper-paparazzorsquo See the comparison image below even when only using automatic and scene modes you can already get a lot out of this setup

note all the equipment shots in this post were taken with a cheap pocket camera not with the a55 Hence poor quality

Good reAds

Keep your eye out for the next editionhellipthe next edition late autumn will be delivered on the 2nd May

in between editions check out Cradle Mountain tasmania on Facebook there is a growing community of people who enjoy Cradle Mountain and all things tasmania

drop by and share your stories and pictures of your adventures at Cradle with the world

advertise on Cradlemountainnetif you are interested in reaching fantastic people who are passionate about the outdoors adventure travel Cradle Mountain and tasmania we would love to hear from you Contact Frankcradlemountainnet and letrsquos have a chat

QUiCK QUiz ANSWerS1 little Horn

2 Backwards it stops the pouch filling with dirt as the wombat burrows

3 the Highland restaurant

4 true in australia everyone drives on the left side of the road

5 False itrsquos the the Spirit of tasmania

6 the overland track

7 False itrsquos on Saturday

8 true at 13800 sq km it is one of the three largest temperate wilderness areas remaining in the Southern Hemisphere

9 true at 1617m (australiarsquos highest at 2228m is Mt Kosciuszko)

10 False - there are no koalas in tasmania or Western australia

WHere iN TASMANiA WAS THiS TAKeN1 this is a panorama taken from Mt Wellington in Hobart

daniel then applied some weird software to make it a ldquohelicopter viewrdquo

2 albertrsquos tomb organ Pipes Mt Wellington tasmania the organ Pipes are one of the most distinctive features on Mt Wellington the dolerite rock that comprises the towering columnar cliffs was formed when tasmania was in the process of separating from antarctica during the final stages of the breakup of Gondwana

3 St Patrickrsquos Church - Colebrook - tasmania located 54 km from Hobart and positioned between the historic towns of richmond (to the south) and oatlands and ross (to the north) it is a quiet little farming settlement originally developed by convict labour

4 abandoned Jetty at St Helens tasmania Brent explains this is my first shot from my trip to tassie in fact this image was the last image shot that morning before dawnthis shot is a single 45 min exposure taken with a grad nd

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Wersquove even set up a way for you to do it instantly just add your friendsrsquo email addresses

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