Although experienced photographers will quibble about lenses, f/stops and additional bits of experts-only arcana, all you really need are two key pieces of gear to enjoy wildlife photography aboard your pontoon boat. You need a solid pair of binoculars for scouting, and you need an affordable, reliable digital camera that can produce high-quality, high-resolution images.

The good news is that novice wildlife photographers will find plenty from which to choose in today's marketplace. Rather than highlighting particular makes and models in this edition of Gadget Guy, we're going to share a few important resources so you can find and select the equipment that's right for you.

Binoculars

A few tips for choosing just the right pair of binoculars:

• Compacts are great for hiking and camping, but consider a more substantial pair of binoculars for pontoon-based bird- and wildlife-watching. The compacts are convenient, but you lose light, and they're not as comfortable to use.
• Don't choose the highest level of magnification. With lower levels, you'll get a much wider field of view... and improve your chances of spotting what you're hoping to find. You'll also experience less shaking, and it won't take quite so much time to focus. We recommend 7X or 8X for most bird- and wildlife-watchers.
• Choose a lens diameter of 30-50 mm. Any larger than that, and you're going to have bigger, bulkier, more expensive binoculars. Any less, and you lose too much light. 40s are popular for watching birds.

Resources for researching and purchasing binoculars:

• www.binoculars.com
• www.thebinocularsite.com

You also can check with your local retailers. Stores like REI and Best Buy carry a nice selection of binoculars, and they feature their products online as well. Amazon also is an excellent resource. Keep an eye out for Celestron, Leica, Minolta, Nikon, Pentax, Steiner, Swarovski and Zeiss, all highly respected brand names. After all, a good pair of binoculars should last a lifetime.

Digital Point & Shoot Cameras

One key tip for choosing a digital point-and-shoot camera for bird- and wildlife-watching: Make sure your preferred camera has a high optical zoom, one of 300 mm or more. This is especially important for bird watching; you want your subject to be the star of the shot, not a distant smudge of feathers.

In November 2010, PC World released its list of the top-rated point-and-shoot cameras on the market. This is a great place to start doing your homework. Prices range from $179 to $429, and you can review the options here.

Another valuable resource is www.digitalcamera-hq.com, which provides objective camera reviews, advice and prices.

And when you're ready to look at some actual cameras, a wide variety of retailers carry affordable point-and-shoots: Walmart, Best Buy, Office Max, Sears and many, many others.

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