Great Android smartphone for digiscoping? (1 Viewer)

[cavalorn]

Hi there,

since a couple of years I am digiscoping using a Swarovski BTX, a 115 mm module and a Samsung Galaxy S10.

Now I was wondering whether I can upgrade this setup. I want to stick to smartphones, no professional cameras for me (this would be the one toy too much).

I recently tested the Samsung Galaxy S22 and I must say: That thing really has issues to focus, no matter whether it is a small bird or a large one like a black kite filling 30% of the picture. So newer apparently is not necessarily better. Smartphone manufacturers of course do not give a damn about some birders doing digiscoping and optimize their cameras for other use cases.

For me it should definitely be an Android, not an Apple smartphone. Can anyone suggest something that really created amazing pictures and that is good at focusing?

Attached a couple of pictures I took within the last year with the old phone (Samsung Galaxy S10).

Thanks in advance for your suggestions.

 

[bobwhitebarry]

I am going through the same thing right now. My old Samsung S7 was great for digiscoping, but they quit doing updates. So I upgraded to a new Google Pixel 7 Pro. It is a great phone but horrible for digiscoping.
I called Phone Skope since I use their cases. They said the best new Android phone for Digiscoping is the Samsung S21 FE.
Mine is supposed to come in today and I am listening the Pixel 7 on eBay. I'll be waiting for the Phone Skope case and adapter to give it a go.

 

[Mono]

The actual camera hardware on modern smartphones are all much of a muchness. The big difference is in the post-processing that the phone can do, this depends on the oomph of the phone, more expensive more recent phones will produce better looking images as a result.

The main consideration for digi-scoping is how well and sturdily you can mount the phone to the scope, this hangs on the where the camera is mounted on the phone and how this ties in with the adjustability of the mount.

Another consideration is that modern smartphones use multi-lens cameras for different focal lengths. Only one of these lenses will be aligned correctly when mounting your phone to your scope. Some phone camera apps will allow you to specify which lens to use but some apps will switch between lenses on their own, which cam mess up one's setup.

 

[Digbee]

I am going through the same thing right now. My old Samsung S7 was great for digiscoping, but they quit doing updates. So I upgraded to a new Google Pixel 7 Pro. It is a great phone but horrible for digiscoping.
I called Phone Skope since I use their cases. They said the best new Android phone for Digiscoping is the Samsung S21 FE.
Mine is supposed to come in today and I am listening the Pixel 7 on eBay. I'll be waiting for the Phone Skope case and adapter to give it a go.

Do you still use this phone for digiscoping or was it a flop ?

 

[David55]

I am going through the same thing right now. My old Samsung S7 was great for digiscoping, but they quit doing updates. So I upgraded to a new Google Pixel 7 Pro. It is a great phone but horrible for digiscoping.
I called Phone Skope since I use their cases. They said the best new Android phone for Digiscoping is the Samsung S21 FE.
Mine is supposed to come in today and I am listening the Pixel 7 on eBay. I'll be waiting for the Phone Skope case and adapter to give it a go.

Have you used the Samsung S21 FE and if so how did you get on with it?

 

[bobwhitebarry]

Do you still use this phone for digiscoping or was it a flop ?

I returned the Samsung S21 FE. The screen was too dark to see what was going on. I ended up buying an iPhone 14 Pro Max. Phoneskope has an app you can use that keeps the phone from trying to do everything automatically. I have been super happy with the phone and the digiscoping results.

 

[bobwhitebarry]

Have you used the Samsung S21 FE and if so how did you get on with it?

I returned the Samsung S21 FE. The screen was too dark to see what was going on. I ended up buying an iPhone 14 Pro Max. Phoneskope has an app you can use that keeps the phone from trying to do everything automatically. I have been super happy with the phone and the digiscoping results.

 

[David55]

I returned the Samsung S21 FE. The screen was too dark to see what was going on. I ended up buying an iPhone 14 Pro Max. Phoneskope has an app you can use that keeps the phone from trying to do everything automatically. I have been super happy with the phone and the digiscoping results.

Thanks very much for taking the time to reply, that clarifies it for me, much appreciated, David.

 

[ColinD]

I am going through the same thing right now. My old Samsung S7 was great for digiscoping, but they quit doing updates. So I upgraded to a new Google Pixel 7 Pro. It is a great phone but horrible for digiscoping.
I called Phone Skope since I use their cases. They said the best new Android phone for Digiscoping is the Samsung S21 FE.
Mine is supposed to come in today and I am listening the Pixel 7 on eBay. I'll be waiting for the Phone Skope case and adapter to give it a go.

Can I ask, in what way was the Google Pixel 7 pro horrible for digiscoping?

 

[bobwhitebarry]

Can I ask, in what way was the Google Pixel 7 pro horrible for digiscoping?

I couldn't see the screen out in the sun to focus. I amd using an iPhone 14 Max Pro. PhoneSkope has software that I downloaded to control the focus and determine which lens works. I have been super happy with it. It also takes much better pictures. The Pixel always required post processing but the pictures were grainy. After cropping and processing they were really grainy.

 

[ColinD]

I couldn't see the screen out in the sun to focus. I amd using an iPhone 14 Max Pro. PhoneSkope has software that I downloaded to control the focus and determine which lens works. I have been super happy with it. It also takes much better pictures. The Pixel always required post processing but the pictures were grainy. After cropping and processing they were really grainy.

Thanks, I'm disappointed to hear that. I'm close to buying a Google pixel 7 Pro, based on the fact that the camera is often reviewed as being one of the best there is on an android. Not sure what to do now.

 

[Elpha8888]

Thanks, I'm disappointed to hear that. I'm close to buying a Google pixel 7 Pro, based on the fact that the camera is often reviewed as being one of the best there is on an android. Not sure what to do now.

iPhone are always a good option, android phones all have their quirks, personally I wouldn't go pixel or Samsung, Sony will give you great video and pics, the previous flagship model can be had cheap and has excellent camera but it runs hot. Latest one has addressed issue and has stunning video capture and natural photos.
Plenty of brands out there to look at, OnePlus, Xiaomi, Vivo, oppo, I'd even suggest an older Huawei but from the p40 onwards no Google support but still you can do most things and the cameras were ahead of their time.