Wat is digiscoping?
Digiscoping is taking pictures with a digital camera through a telescope. It gives you the opportunity to capture birds and other animals/objects from great distances. With the right equipment and some practice, you will achieve remarkable results. As with all digital photos, digiscoping allows you to review your images on a computer and save, edit or send them as you wish.
Advantages
- Added value for your telescope: not just observation but also photography.
- Quality photos of distant objects based on large focal lengths from 800 mm to 4500 mm.
- Respect for nature: observe and photograph at an appropriate distance.
- Lighter and cheaper compared to SLR cameras and telephoto lenses.
- Pictures can be checked and viewed immediately after shooting.
- Digital technology allows photos to be edited, saved, presented, copied and sent to the computer as required.
How does digiscoping work?
By means of an adapter or a connecting piece, the camera is placed at a fixed distance from the spotting scope. The telescope thus becomes an extension of the camera lens.
What is needed?
For digiscoping you need:
- Spotting scope
- Camera adapter
- Tripod for stability
- Digital camera
In most cases, the camera is a compact model. However, most brands also have adapters for DSLR cameras.
Digiscoping by brand
Almost every brand that produces spotting scopes also provides a solution for digiscoping. These solutions are not universal or interchangeable between brands. You can select which one you would like to digiscope with below.
Digiscoping with Swarovski Optik
If, after a long wait, you have spotted a rare bird, you will naturally want to capture this memorable moment forever. Swarovski Optik has developed special equipment that allows you to connect your digital camera quickly and easily to your spotting scope.
First of all, it is important to determine what kind of camera you have, with a Full-frame, APS-C or Micro 4/3 sensor. Via the button below you can easily check which Swarovski adapter you need.
Digiscoping with Zeiss
We all want to be able to share what we see with friends and family. Digiscoping makes this possible. Capture those special moments using your safely mounted camera to capture the extremely detailed, vivid images of Zeiss spotting scopes. Make the most of the generous focal length and high magnification. The high-resolution optical systems are equipped with fluoride glass. The Gavia and Harpia spotting scopes offer you optimum performance for capturing clear, sharp images. Camera lenses with the same image resolution are considerably more expensive and heavy - or even unavailable. The aim is not to cover extreme distances, as these results are often unsatisfactory due to haze, cloudiness or heat glare. Instead, "close-up" images between 20 and 50 metres provide the best results and object detail.
Zeiss offers several ways to use our spotting scopes as telephoto lenses. These are listed below.
Digiscoping with Kowa
Kowa System S components are designed to integrate together. Use the compatibility information below to see if you can combine your Kowa spotting scope with a Kowa System S accessory. For example, you may need to upgrade your current eyepiece. This is the TSE-Z9B, which you can combine with the TSN-PA8 digiscoping adapter. The Kowa System S is versatile and flexible and offers stable digiscoping solutions for many Kowa spotting scopes.
Digiscoping with Bushnell
For Bushnell, a Digiscoping Bracket adapter was previously available. Due to various reasons this is no longer available. In case you are still interested in digiscoping in combination with a Bushnell spotting scope, you can use the universal digiscoping adapter.
Digiscoping with Bynolyt
For Bynolyt, digiscoping is only possible with a smartphone. Cameras are not supported. For use with a smartphone, Bynolyt has developed the Digiscoping Smartphone Adapter. This holder can be provided with a separately available adapter ring, which can be adapted exactly to the eyepiece of your spotting scope or binoculars.
Digiscoping with Leica
Nature, butterflies, birds and mammals are fast, just like the Leica Digiscoping Objective Lens (35mm). Simply place the Leica Digiscoping adapter over the eyepiece of your spotting scope and start taking pictures or videos. You have never been able to switch so quickly between observing and taking a picture. Feel digiscoping with the same intensity you experience when observing. Zoom and focus are used from the telescope. Experience the combination of your camera with Leicas experience in optics, perfect balance of vivid and brilliant colours of maximum neutrality and contrast for your pictures. Use the instructions below to connect your adapter to your Leica spotting scope.
Digiscoping with Meopta
Using the Meostar SLR / DSLR camera adapter, in combination with your reflex camera, you turn your telescope into a super-telephoto lens. With a full frame 24x36mm sensor in your camera, the magnification is comparable to a 1000mm lens. For cameras using an APS format sensor, the magnification is comparable to a 1500mm lens. This adapter can be used with the Meopta S1 75, S2 82HD and the TGA 75. As an extra accessory you need a T adapter with the bayonet connector of your camera brand to mount it on the DSLR adapter.
Digiscoping with Vortex
If you want to digiscope with a Vortex spotting scope you can use the PS-100. You can attach your camera to this adapter. The stock of this product varies considerably. We therefore advise you to contact us if you want to digiscope with Vortex. Of course you can also use the universal digiscoping adapter.
Universal digiscoping adapter
The Carson Universal Smartphone Adapter IS-200 HookUpz 2.0 is designed for digiscoping. Digiscoping is taking photos and videos using binoculars, spotting scopes, telescopes, microscopes and/or night vision goggles. The HookUpz can be used for optics with a maximum lens diameter of 56mm. We recommend not digiscoping for more than two consecutive hours because of the stretching of the springs. The HookUpz 2.0 is suitable for phones with a maximum width of 9.5 cm.