Digiscoping is a neologism 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. Technology and computing Hardware *Digital electronics, electronic circuits which operate using digital signals **Digital camera, which captures and stores digital i ...

) camera to record distant images through the eyepiece of an optical telescope. 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 the mechanisms of a single-lens reflex camera with a digital imaging sensor. The reflex design scheme is the primary difference between ...

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. 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 which 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 color cam ...

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 (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.Dennis di Cicco, Afocal What?, SkyandTelescope.com
/ref> An industry has sprung up selling 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