Digiscoping – what is it and why do it?

Have you ever wondered how they get those detailed photos of birds and other critters you see on web pages?  Well a lot of times the photographer is using some huge lens set up that sits on the front of the camera like a bazooka. You often see these at sporting events where press photographers are taking pictures.  Nature photographers like to use these as well.  I have spoken here about Yellowstone several times and have indicated that there is a need for significant lensatic enhancement if you want to view the wildlife found in YNP.  It is not a requirement but it will enhance the joy of you visit considerably. But you say, I can’t afford a $1,500 – $5,000 lens for a every couple of years trip to one of our national parks. Amen brother neither can many of the rest of us. 

And this is where digiscoping comes in. Digiscoping is fundamentally using an inexpensive point and shoot camera attached to a spotting scope to achieve similar lens characteristics to those of much more expensive camera and lens set ups.  Before anyone gets too high on their horse, it is not the same, but for $400 ($250 for the spotting scope and $150 for the point and shoot camera) it is close enough for those of us who do not have our photos published in national periodicals. These set ups can provide upwards of 1,000 mm lens equivalence.  Now the light (f-stop) issues are going to be intense so depth of field will be an issue and chromatic (color) integrity won’t be as good as a high dollar lens but for the average viewer it will be amazing and reasonably priced.

The hobby of digiscoping has had its impetus from the birding community.  The birders have been putting more and more pressure on themselves to be absolutely certain of the species of bird they are documenting. To this end they require an inordinate amount of magnification out of their photographic equipment to be absolutely sure that that is a hooded merganser versus a northern shoveler.  Thanks to them this whole hobby has flourished and is quite fun whether you are a birder or some other kind of critter watcher.

Let’s spend a few minutes considering the stuff you need to make this happen.  First a point and shoot camera.  I use a Nikon CoolPix P5000 and a Nikon D 70.  Lest we get into a discussion about stuff that does not matter, any camera over 5 mega pixels will do fine so don’t worry about pixel counts. The bigger concern is the magnification needs to be down under 5X! You can google all of this stuff and find out lots more than I know about it but suffice it to say that cameras with less than 5X magnification will let enough light into the camera and keep aperture size large enough to make your photos not vignetted.  When photos vignette you get a picture of the object with a dark circle around the object which then has to be cropped out with some fancy or not so fancy software.  Keep your camera under 5X ( I never go over 3X) and you will much happier. 

Spotting scopes come in all sizes and flavors.  Something to consider is actual cost.  Sounds obvious but it is not.  Some scopes come without a lens which means you buy a scope for what seems like a good price $300 – $500 and when it shows up in the brown truck, and low and behold you need a lens.  So $150 later your reasonably priced scope is now pretty expensive.  Now here is the real kicker.  It is as important what tripod you use as it is what scope you buy.  Expect a good tripod to have a $300 – $400 price tag.  Now do you have to have that, nope, but eventually that is where you are headed.  So run to Wally World and pick up a Velbon that will get you by but know that it is just the hors d’oeuvre.

Other things to concider include scope lens caps, rain covers, camera mounts and adapters, a bag or case to carry this stuff. Cabela’s and Bass Pro are good places to find cases and whole kits that will get you ready for digiscoping. So shop around and see what bargains you can find. A tip. check out the bargain caves at Cabela’s and Bass Pro for returned stuff that you may be able to latch onto for a really low price.

Now a few comments on spotting scopes.  You are looking for something in the 20 – 60 power.  This is usually noted as 20 – 60x. Which means that stuff looks 20 – 60 times magnification.  There are fixed power scopes that are 28x or 35x or 60x and there are variables that are noted as 20 – 60x and so on.  I like the 20 – 60x variables.  They let me “find” things at 20 power and then get in real close at 60x. A word about the other end of the scope this is also much ballyhooed.  60mm and 80mm are the 2 most popular but you will find everything under the sun from 35mm to 105mm. 60 and 80 both work great and will do everything you want for most digiscoping needs.  and even if you pick out a 20 – 60x X 80mm you will only use it at 20x for digiscoping. But for just fun viewing, and there will be lots of that, you will want a high power magnification.  When that grizz is 3/4 of a mile away the 60x will be in use quite a bit. And folks will be walking up awkwardly and saying, “would you mind if I looked through your scope?” And you puff out your chest a little and say, “sure go ahead, my wife just got me this for our anniversary.”

So who makes these spotting scopes?  Bushnell, Kowa, Leica, Nikon, Leupold, Swarovski and a host of others. If you Google digiscoping you will be amazed.  B & H Photo and Eagle Optics and others provide valuable help in picking out your “package.” I mention these two because I have purchased equipment from both and have found them to be honest and trustworthy in their products and their service before and after the sale. One final word about scopes, Swarovski is the creme de la creme.  There stuff is known the world over as really high quality stuff and their prices reflect that quality.  Do some surfing and you will see what I mean. So if you wish to spend $2,500 – $3,000 you can but I use Bushnell products and have been very happy. I have an Legend spotting scope in 20 – 60X60 and an Elite in 20 – 60 X 80 and find them both to be excellent.

So we have a scope, a camera, a tripod and more memory cards than we think we can use and wonder, am I ready to go? Maybe an entry on photo storage devices is coming soon huh?  Nope you are missing the one ingredient that Mr. Golderg is working on as we speak.  You have to hook the camera to the spotting scope or (and there are a number of really good digiscopers who do it this way, Laurence Poh the father of digiscoping) be able to hold the camera very still while taking your pictures. These adaptors are found in every form and price range.  From $35 – $500 (Swarovski again) and attach your camera via the screw at the base of the camera to the lens via a compression screw system.  None of these are perfect, although the Swarovski one appears to be pretty close, They will allow you to take very nice photos of things so far away you cannot tell with the naked eye what it is you are looking at.

And the real fun of it all is having that stranger come up and say, ”what are we looking at? I promised my daughter she would see a grizzly while we were on vacation and we are leaving today without seeing one, are you guys watching a grizzly.”  And your response is, “yeah, right down there is a grizzly laying on its back and over to the left of it are 15 wolves from the Slough Creek pack, sunning themselves.  Bring her over and let’s let her see some wildlife.” At that moment the price of all of that stuff is completely forgotten and it is all about humans relating with humans about the wonder of nature.