Digiscoping is a

neologism In linguistics, a neologism (; also known as a coinage) is any newly formed word, term, or phrase that has achieved popular or institutional recognition and is becoming accepted into mainstream language. Most definitively, a word can be considered ...

for

afocal photography Afocal photography, also called afocal imaging or afocal projection is a method of photography where the camera with its lens attached is mounted over the eyepiece of another image forming system such as an optical telescope or optical microscope, ...

, using a (

digital Digital usually refers to something using discrete digits, often binary digits. Businesses *Digital bank, a form of financial institution *Digital Equipment Corporation (DEC) or Digital, a computer company *Digital Research (DR or DRI), a software ...

) camera to record distant images through the

eyepiece An eyepiece, or ocular lens, is a type of lens that is attached to a variety of optical devices such as Optical telescope, telescopes and microscopes. It is named because it is usually the lens that is closest to the eye when someone looks thro ...

of an

optical telescope An optical telescope gathers and focus (optics), focuses light mainly from the visible spectrum, visible part of the electromagnetic spectrum, to create a magnification, magnified image for direct visual inspection, to make a photograph, or to co ...

. Digiscoping usually refers to using either a

digital single-lens reflex camera A digital single-lens reflex camera (digital SLR or DSLR) is a digital camera that combines the optics and mechanisms of a single-lens reflex camera with a solid-state image sensor and digitally records the images from the sensor. The reflex des ...

with lens attached or, more often, a fixed lens point and shoot digital camera to obtain photos through the eyepiece of a birdwatcher's

spotting scope A spotting scope is a compact lightweight portable telescope optimized for detailed observation of distant objects. They are used as tripod mounted optical enhancement devices for various outdoor activities such as birdwatching, skygazing and ...

. The term has also been associated with the use of a digital camera and spotting scope equipped for prime focus photography.

Origins

The portmanteau term "''digiscoping''" (= digital camera + telescoping) was coined in 1999 by French birdwatcher Alain Fossé. Less notable neologisms for this activity are ''digiscope birding'', ''digiscopy birding'', ''digi-birding'', ''digibinning'' (using digital camera with

binoculars Binoculars or field glasses are two refracting telescopes mounted side-by-side and aligned to point in the same direction, allowing the viewer to use both eyes (binocular vision) when viewing distant objects. Most binoculars are sized to be held ...

), and ''phonescoping'' (using a digital

camera phone A camera phone is a mobile phone that is able to capture photographs and often record video using one or more built-in digital cameras. It can also send the resulting image wirelessly and conveniently. The first commercial phone with a color c ...

with a spotting scope or binoculars). The origins of the activity called ''Digiscoping'' has been attributed to the photographic methods of Laurence Poh, a birdwatcher from the Malaysian Nature Society, who discovered in 1999 almost by accident that the new generation of point and shoot digital cameras could be held up to the eyepiece of a standard spotting scope and achieve surprisingly good results. He spread his findings through birding internet discussion forums and one member, French birdwatcher Alain Fossé, coined the name "digiscoping" to describe the technique. Laurence Poh is sometimes credited with "''inventing''" the technique although his contribution may be more along the lines of popularizing the idea and refining the technology. Using a camera with its lens attached at the eyepiece of optical devices such as microscopes or telescopes, creating an

afocal system In optics, an afocal system (a system without focus) is an optical system that produces no net convergence or divergence of the beam, i.e., has an infinite effective focal length. This type of system can be created with a pair of optical elements ...

(technically called ''afocal photography'' or ''afocal projection'') had been used for nearly 100 years and digital camera afocal photography was already being employed in the amateur astronomical community. This form of afocal photography became more common in general photography in the 21st century with the spread of point and shoot digital cameras because of the ease of use of this type of setup. Several companies sell couplers and other devices for mounting digital cameras afocally.

References

External links

laurencepoh.com, website of the man attributed as the developer of “Digiscoping”

Website of Alain Fosse who coined the word “digiscoping”

{{Photography Astrophotography Birdwatching Ornithological equipment and methods Photographic techniques Neologisms 1990s neologisms

Origins

See also

References

Further reading

External links