The latest update is, i bought the opticron scope i mentioned and i went for the 20x60 HDF zoom which was not the one i had tried previously and certainly seemed to perform much better at the higher end even with the camera setup, hoping to get the camera this weekend.
Incidentally, while i was trying out the scope, i got some good views of a Barn Owl hunting and sitting on a post a very long way away, took some pictures with the 300mm lens which were only record shots at best and i cursed the fact that i didn't have a camera on the scope but someone was sat next to me with a DSLR and a 500mm lens and i asked him what sort of pictures he had got of the bird, i have to say that they were only slightly better than mine.Now i know that having already decided to go down the D/Scoping route you might think i am looking to prove myself right

but i do believe that if i had a camera on the scope i would have gotten a fairly good picture and that would have made me extremely happy, and that, as they say, is the whole point
Frank