Spotting Scopes
Where-as the choice for Digiscoping cameras is quite limited almost any spotting scope and eyepiece combination will produce results. This is handy as the whole method is based around utilising what you have, rather than buying new equipment.
The ‘high-end’ spotting scopes will produce results of a higher standard than the more basic scopes, as a digiscoped photo will place high demands upon your scope’s optical abilities, the final image showing weaknesses that the naked eye often corrects for, such as colour fringing (though colour fringing can be removed in-computer).
Another aspect to consider is that you will need to focus the scope onto the subject via the camera’s monitor, a bright high contrast image from the scope will make it easier for you to judge when the subject is perfectly in focus.
An important criteria for a good Digiscoping spotting scope is the objective lens diameter, modern mid-sized spotting scopes make the most of every bit of light available and can give exceptional results, but even these 60mm- 66mm scopes struggle to allow a fast shutter-speed to be used on the camera when the light is starting to dwindle.
A scope with an objective lens of 77mm or above is desirable, especially if you want to capture more active birds. As a Digiscoper your over-riding priority will be to get a shutter-speed fast enough to freeze the movement of the bird and/or movement at the camera end. In addition, the diameter of the objective lens does relate to the amount of detail that the scope will resolve, at 30x on an 80mm scope you will reveal more detail than at 30x on a 65mm scope.
Eyepieces
Ideally, the scope’s eyepiece should be the one you use for general viewing. Only consider a zoom eyepiece if you have a scope of the very highest quality, they do offer a degree of flexibility in that they allow you to drop down to 20x to gain more light than a standard 30x fixed eyepiece. In general, a low magnification eyepiece will allow you to zoom back further on the camera before vignetting is evident, therefore ideal for larger birds at closer ranges.
One point to consider is the curvature of the eyepiece, they are made for the human eye and are consequently not designed for a flat image capture device like a camera, this can result in a central in-focus hotspot with a slightly out of focus surround. Some eyepieces seem to be flatter than others and reduce this minor problem, also keep in mind that the flattest part of the eyepiece is in the centre, this will be where your subject will be for the most part. This slight quirk of design is almost totally irrelevant when you zoom in with the camera, it’s only a consideration when your camera is at wider angles and seeing a larger area of the eyepiece glass.
Where-as the choice for Digiscoping cameras is quite limited almost any spotting scope and eyepiece combination will produce results. This is handy as the whole method is based around utilising what you have, rather than buying new equipment.
The ‘high-end’ spotting scopes will produce results of a higher standard than the more basic scopes, as a digiscoped photo will place high demands upon your scope’s optical abilities, the final image showing weaknesses that the naked eye often corrects for, such as colour fringing (though colour fringing can be removed in-computer).
Another aspect to consider is that you will need to focus the scope onto the subject via the camera’s monitor, a bright high contrast image from the scope will make it easier for you to judge when the subject is perfectly in focus.
An important criteria for a good Digiscoping spotting scope is the objective lens diameter, modern mid-sized spotting scopes make the most of every bit of light available and can give exceptional results, but even these 60mm- 66mm scopes struggle to allow a fast shutter-speed to be used on the camera when the light is starting to dwindle.
A scope with an objective lens of 77mm or above is desirable, especially if you want to capture more active birds. As a Digiscoper your over-riding priority will be to get a shutter-speed fast enough to freeze the movement of the bird and/or movement at the camera end. In addition, the diameter of the objective lens does relate to the amount of detail that the scope will resolve, at 30x on an 80mm scope you will reveal more detail than at 30x on a 65mm scope.
Eyepieces
Ideally, the scope’s eyepiece should be the one you use for general viewing. Only consider a zoom eyepiece if you have a scope of the very highest quality, they do offer a degree of flexibility in that they allow you to drop down to 20x to gain more light than a standard 30x fixed eyepiece. In general, a low magnification eyepiece will allow you to zoom back further on the camera before vignetting is evident, therefore ideal for larger birds at closer ranges.
One point to consider is the curvature of the eyepiece, they are made for the human eye and are consequently not designed for a flat image capture device like a camera, this can result in a central in-focus hotspot with a slightly out of focus surround. Some eyepieces seem to be flatter than others and reduce this minor problem, also keep in mind that the flattest part of the eyepiece is in the centre, this will be where your subject will be for the most part. This slight quirk of design is almost totally irrelevant when you zoom in with the camera, it’s only a consideration when your camera is at wider angles and seeing a larger area of the eyepiece glass.
