Digiscoping is a relatively new technique in the photography world. The first digiscopers were birders that were out in the field and saw a rare or unidentifiable bird, sometimes from a great distance. Out of desperation to capture an image of the bird, they put their cameras up against the eyepiece of their spotting scopes and snapped a picture. While not of very high quality, the resulting images were good enough to identify or prove the sighting. News of this marvelous discovery spread like wildfire across Internet birding websites and a new technique was born.

As the name suggests, there are two components needed to digiscope: a digital camera and a spotting scope. A spotting scope is similar to a telescope but is designed for bird and nature viewing. Most scopes on the market today have eyepieces that zoom from 20x to 60x magnification. Thus, birders can get good looks at birds that are hundreds of yards away.

Many digiscopers use adapters to attach their camera to the scope but I opted to buy a digital camera where the lens, when fully extended, fits within the eye ring of the eyepiece of the scope. My particular scope and camera match up very well, which enables me to get some pretty decent shots without having to attach my camera to the scope.

Why use a spotting scope rather than a longer lens? Because when my camera is extended to the 3x zoom (105 mm), and I have the scope set at 20x magnification, it results in the equivalent of a 2000 mm lens on a 35mm SLR. This would be incredibly heavy and bulky to carry in the field. However, my scope, when attached to the tripod, weighs a mere 7 or 8 pounds. I can haul around this setup all day long and never tire from the weight.

In good light I can increase the magnification on the scope up to about 40x before clarity is compromised. Loss of light and hand shake becomes noticeable at any magnification higher than that. Even so, when I’m desperate to capture an image for identification sake, there still is enough clarity to study and hopefully identify the subject, even up to 60x magnification.

I use a Nikon Coolpix 5000 camera and a Swarovski 65 HD spotting scope. Both have high quality glass, which allows little loss of light or clarity as the image flows through the two of them. It is important to understand that the camera “sees” what the scope is focused on and in essence takes a picture of the image in the scope. So if the scope is out of focus, the picture will be out of focus. Therefore it is imperative to have as sharp an image in the scope as possible so that the resulting picture will be sharp.

Pictures 1 and 1A demonstrates how the camera lens fits into the eyepiece of the scope. The glass of the camera lens and the scope’s eyepiece don’t touch; they are actually about an eighth of an inch apart.

Picture 2 is a shot of an Immature Red-shouldered Hawk that is perched on a branch behind my fence. Notice the office building and parking lot in the background. One doesn’t have to live in the country to be visited by birds of prey. This shot was taken without the use of the scope, at a 3x magnification. The hawk is about 25 yards away.

 

 

Picture 3 was taken through the spotting scope at 20x magnification. Remember that the combined 3x of the camera with the 20x of the scope is equivalent to a 2000mm lens. This is the lowest magnification I can use when shooting through the scope, which sometimes means I can be too close and can’t get the entire subject in the shot.

 

 

 

In Pictures 4 and 5 I have increased the magnification on the scope to 40x. As you can see, when there is good light, 40x magnification can produce an excellent “macro” shot without having to be inches away from the subject. Can you imagine being only inches from those talons? Notice the matching red on both the beak and the talons!