My iPhone 5 Digiscoping Setup [+video]

[Doyputasos]

Wanted to share my setup with anyone interested. I wanted to digiscope on a budget.

Spotting scope: Celestron 52252 100mm Ultima Zoom Spotting Scope
http://amzn.com/B0002862UW

Mount: Celestron 93626 Universal Digital Camera Adapter
http://amzn.com/B0007UQNWW

iPhone tripod adapter: http://www.studioneat.com/products/glif

Camera: my iPhone 5.

I have not had a chance to observe any shooting through the setup yet but I was pleasantly surprised with the clarity (considering the mirage) of the Celestron Ultima. The scope fades drastically at ~50+ zoom but is still useable. I was happy with the quality of the Celestron mount considering the price. Check out the video below for a short preview of video through the scope.

http://youtu.be/--NDR1WiAsQ

 

[glock24]

Nice! Not bad at all considering the small camera lens, and the mirage. And that mirage will help you see bullet trace.

The drastic fade around 50x may mean your camera isn't perfectly centered on the eyepiece. The smaller exit pupil at 50x will cause that fade if the lens is off center by mere millimeters. You might try adjusting the camera position while it is faded to see if you can improve things. I had that same Celestron adapter for a while, and I was constantly moving my camera to keep it centered.

If you could get them to tell you the thread diameter, something like this would be a vast improvement.


EDIT: I actually found a better one. Check this out. Way cheaper, and offers a female 37mm lens thread. All you need now is a male 37mm to female 42mm thread adapter. This would allow you to thread directly to your spotting scope. Hey, I found one!

 

[Gunn-Fighter]

I would like to see photos of the set-up with phone attached

 

[Doyputasos]

I would like to see photos of the set-up with phone attached

The way I'm set up: small house in town.

The way my parents are set up: big house big land big open spaces 15 miles away in the country. So my long guns and scopes and reloading room are out there. I'll take a picture when I get up there next, maybe tomorrow.

 

[Doyputasos]

Nice! Not bad at all considering the small camera lens, and the mirage. And that mirage will help you see bullet trace.

The drastic fade around 50x may mean your camera isn't perfectly centered on the eyepiece. The smaller exit pupil at 50x will cause that fade if the lens is off center by mere millimeters. You might try adjusting the camera position while it is faded to see if you can improve things. I had that same Celestron adapter for a while, and I was constantly moving my camera to keep it centered.

If you could get them to tell you the thread diameter, something like this would be a vast improvement.


EDIT: I actually found a better one. Check this out. Way cheaper, and offers a female 37mm lens thread. All you need now is a male 37mm to female 42mm thread adapter. This would allow you to thread directly to your spotting scope. Hey, I found one!

And a big THANK YOU to Glock24! Good guidance and follow up help. SuperHider for sure.

 

[glock24]

And a big THANK YOU to Glock24! Good guidance and follow up help. SuperHider for sure.

Ah yes, more flies with honey my man!

One last thought . . . if you are thinking about getting that Phocus Accent mount for your phone, you might end up with the camera lens too close to the eyepiece. As you can see, that short thread adapter mated directly to the Phocus mount and then directly to the eyepiece puts the camera lens awful close. Kinda like having a riflescope that is positioned too close to your eye.

Never fear, all you need to do is add some 42mm spacer tubes between the eyepiece and the Phocus mount to achieve perfect eye relief for your I-phone camera. I found a cheap set of three spacers here, and here. It includes a small, medium, and large spacer. I'm betting either the small or medium would be about right. You can test it by holding your phone directly over the spotting scope eyepiece and estimating the eye relief.

 

[Doyputasos]

I would like to see photos of the set-up with phone attached

Here ya go Gunn

http://youtu.be/QrdiiisxXmY

 

[Gunn-Fighter]

Awesome Doyputasos, thanks for the video

 

[Raptorx]

Awesome idea. I have been using a tasco telescope as a spotting scope for longer ranges and my biggest gripe with it has been the eye relief on it. If I could do something like this with my phone It would keep me from ever having to buy a real spotting scope.