Reviews

iPhonescoping with the Meopta MeoPix iScoping Adapter

July 9, 2012 by Corey 6 Comments

I’ve already written about trying my hand at iScoping through my binoculars using the Meopta MeoPix iScoping adapter and, since then, I have spent quite a bit of time coupling my iPhone with my Swarovski scope using a slightly larger version of the handy new adapter. I must say, I like the results!

Using the 55 mm adapter with the 20-60X zoom eyepiece on my scope means that the adapter is rather loose, so I used a strip of folded paper bag wrapped around the eyepiece to make it large enough that the adapter could fit snugly. I think it works rather well.

I have mostly been shooting video with my iPhone simply because I find the quality of photos I can get with my SLR to be much better than I can get with my iPhone. That only makes sense considering that the sole purpose of a camera is to take pictures while an iPhone has to perform many other tasks as well. What I do like about taking pictures with the iPhone through the scope is how easy it is to get record shots of even extremely long-range birds. Just crank the scope up to 60X and zoom the iPhone all the way in as well and it is kind of amazing how far away a bird can be and still be easily recognizable, even without processing the image.

The Indigo Bunting image above is unaltered in any way, except for being reduced in size to fit on the blog. (Click it for the  full-size version.)  The bird was at least sixty meters away and sitting on top of a very tall tree. Not bad for an iPhone, no?

As for the video I have been taking, the beginning of each clip is a bit shaky because I am still touching the iPhone screen to start taking video, though this is apparently easily worked around by plugging a pair of headphones into the iPhone and using the volume up button to start and stop taking video. I just keep forgetting to bring headphones. That workaround doesn’t help with having to sometimes touch the screen to help the iPhone find the exact spot you want it to focus on, but hopefully you can do that prior to starting shooting video. I find the quality to be exceptional, and when I was visiting a friend who knew how to sync my iPhone to his large screen television I couldn’t believe the detail in, for example the video below. Sadly, YouTube compression robs these videos of much of their detail. Despite that the video is pretty cool. After all, pooping hummingbird!

It’s been great fun shooting video with my iPhone through my scope. There will be lots more video on 10,000 Birds because of this cool little adapter. As I said in my previous review:

If you are a birder and you regularly carry your iPhone in the field you should own one of these adapters. Period. Even if $60 seems a bit steep for what is essentially a piece of plastic it is well worth it.  Go buy one right now.

What are you waiting for?

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Meopta provided me with three different MeoPix iScoping adapters to use for review purposes.

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Written by Corey
Corey is a New Yorker who lived most of his life in upstate New York but has lived in Queens since 2008. He's only been birding since 2005 but has garnered a respectable life list by birding whenever he wasn't working as a union representative or spending time with his family. He lives in Forest Hills with Daisy and Desmond Shearwater. His bird photographs have appeared on the Today Show, in Birding, Living Bird Magazine, Bird Watcher's Digest, and many other fine publications. He is also the author of the American Birding Association Field Guide to the Birds of New York.