Making the Connection
How you elect to “connect” your camera to your spotting scope will depend on the scope you use and your primary photographic goals.
Quick and easy approaches:
If birding is your main emphasis then you will want to consider options
that offer a quick change between spotting scope and telephoto
lens.
The easiest and quickest approach is to place the lens of the camera
directly against the eyepiece of the spotting scope. Some
spotting scopes have a rubber edge on the eyepiece, in which case the
direct approach can work well without the use of a special
adaptor.
In other cases the eyepiece is hard plastic or metal and some kind of
cushioning device can be placed between the camera lens and spotting
scope eyepiece. Many birders have found that cut-out
plastic bottle caps often work well and can be glued directly to the
eyepiece of the scope. Others carefully place the camera
lens directly against the lens of the spotting scope.
Commercial adaptors:
Commercial adaptors of numerous designs have been developed, and some provide "quick change" capabilities. Typically, a metal ring is attached to the eyepiece of the scope and a corresponding piece is attached to the lens of the digital camera. (This is only possible if the digital camera has a threaded port for attaching adaptors or lenses. ) The two pieces slip easily together and the mated pair can be quickly separated. This method is only slightly slower than no adaptor at all and insures proper alignment between camera and scope.
The Pivot mount:
Pivoting camera bases have been developed to facilitate the conversion from birding scope to telephoto lens and back again. The device is mounted between the spotting scope and tripod. When purchasing a pivot mount makes sure it is compatible with your particular brand of scope and camera.
Selection aid:
The Scopetronix Web site provides a digital camera adaptor/spotting scope wizard to assist users in selecting the correct adaptor from their product line. The Wizard includes many different camera and spotting scope brands.
