|
Phoneskope's Tips on DigiscopingAsk any successful mule deer hunter their secret and you will most likely find out that it almost always boils down to his or her preseason scouting. Since most trophy bucks and bulls killed annually are not a chance encounter it is imperative to find them during pre-season scouting, then learn their travel pattern, and strategically place yourself in the best position during the short window of the hunting season. It’s no secret that one of the most common mistakes made by trophy hunters is making a hasty decision as an animal is making his escape. This can lead to the dreaded “ground shrinkage” scenario. Even though this may not be a huge mistake while hunting a general unit, it can be devastating if the tag took 15-years to draw. With this in mind, what is the most important tool you can have for your pre-season scouting? Well, without question that would be quality hunting optics. |
A good pair of ten power binoculars for glassing, some stronger 15’s for increased distances, and of course, a good spotting scope for assessing antler size at long distances. We all know, once you have a big buck spotted getting a photo becomes critical for your success. Heck I can’t lie, that’s when scouting gets fun!
Until a few years ago hunters struggled to get a great live photo. While expensive telephoto lenses for large format cameras have provided great photos for quite some time, you had to crawl within bow range to get a quality picture. As equipment advanced, video became more popular. While it was great to replay those videos, until just a few years back retrieving a quality still-image from them was difficult, if not impossible. Who could have ever known that It would be a most unlikely change in technology that would alter the hunting industry forever. Like everything else in society, the smart phone transformed the hunting world as well. In the beginning a cell phone was more of a safety issue, a way to call for help in case of an emergency, and to take an endless number of pictures. Then came the invention of the Phone Skope which perfectly aligned all of the picture taking and filming technology of a smartphone with quality optics. Predictably, an explosion of digiscoping soon followed with no end in sight. In a very short period of time the smartphone became one of a hunter’s most important pieces of equipment, and hunting has changed forever.
With the fast-growing popularity of sharing your digiscoping experience on Social Media, digiscoping with a smartphone has rapidly become one of the most popular ways to capture high quality photos and videos of wildlife. Digiscoping is the act of taking pictures or video using a camera centered over your optics. More recently digiscoping with a smartphone has become more popular, we call this “Phone-Skoping”. We have seen a diverse selection of moments captured via digiscoping over the last few years. Everything from the moon coming up over the ridgeline to sporting events. One of the biggest factors that play into getting the best quality content possible is having an up to date smartphone. Even more importantly is having the best optics and knowing how to properly use them. Using the correct Phone Skope products with the best optics and knowing how to utilize them together makes a huge difference.
For those who haven’t used it, the Phone Skope System is a two-piece system. The first piece required is a Phone Skope case for whatever phone you may have. Each case is made specifically for the make and model of your phone and will only work with the make and model it is designed for. So it is very important that you know exactly what phone you have. The second part of our system is an optic adapter. These adapters are cut to the thousandth of an inch to fit a specific optic. With that being said, it is crucial that you have all the correct parts required in order to have optimum success digiscoping with our product.
One of the biggest mistakes we see made is improper adjustment of the zoom on your phone. Case in point, when using your binoculars to digiscope, you are obviously limited to the fixed power of the binocular. In this situation the phone itself is all you have to zoom with. However, when using a spotting scope with a variable zoom eyepiece it is a much different story. When you zoom via your spotting scope, it is an optical zoom, which will result in high-definition footage versus using the digital zoom on your phone. When zooming digitally on your phone you begin to see quality loss and your content quickly becomes blurry and pixelated. The best way to combat this is by getting the most out of the optical zoom on your scope. Before ever zooming on your phone you should zoom the scope in as far as needed without creating vignetting or limiting your field of view. Once you have done this you will want to zoom your phone minimal amounts, just enough to create a full screen picture. While thousands of amazing pictures and videos have been taken manually by tapping the phone screen, with the addition of our wireless Bluetooth Shutter Button and optimizing the optical zoom of the scope, you can bet you will take the quality of your content to the next level.
One of the most frequently asked questions we get is, “What is the optimal zoom for digiscoping?” The answer to that question is really broad. We have found that typically you are best being somewhere in the middle of your zoom range, or as we call it, the scopes “sweet spot.” For most scopes this is in the 30-50 power range. Obviously this is going to depend on the distance you are shooting as well. You will see as you adjust the zoom the amount of vignetting you are getting will change as well. The sweet spot is where you get the least amount of vignetting without being over zoomed (noticeable by having a somewhat blurry image), but still being zoomed enough to have a full screen image.
A commonly asked question that correlates with the last question is, “How far can I actually digiscope?” This is not a cut and dry question and varies depending on your optics. For instance, if you are using 10-power binoculars you are going to get your highest quality content at 200 yards and closer. If you are using 15-power binoculars you are going to be good out a little farther. With 15-power binos you should be able to get great content out to 500 yards without having to sacrifice quality. As for using a spotting scope, you are truly limitless. For us to put a number on how far you can digiscope with a great quality optic would be impossible. I personally have digiscoped around 1500-yards without seeing much quality loss. A lot of key factors come into play when shooting content that far though; such as lighting and, of course, what I referred to earlier about an up to date smartphone and high-quality optics.
Another one of our most popular questions pertains to the orientation of your phone. People commonly ask if it is better to have your phone in a vertical portrait position, or in a horizontal landscape position. We recommend you use your phone in a landscape position for one main reason; when you save the content and want to put it on your computer or TV, this allows you to have your content full screen. If you were to use your device in the portrait position you would have a small skinny video or picture on the middle of the screen. A lot of people run into a problem keeping the phone horizontal due to the eye cup of the optic moving. There is a simple fix for this. If your phone is falling down when left in the horizontal landscape position, simply switch sides of the optic. For example, if you have your phone out to the right of your optic, put it on the left, and vice versa. The reason this works is because it will hit the eyecup stop preventing it from rotating any further. Essentially, this locks the phone in place.
As I mentioned earlier, one of the hidden jewels in our product line that will take your digiscoping to the next level is our Bluetooth Shutter Remote. This button allows you to take pictures and video hands-free, while it is linked to your phone via Bluetooth. Being able to capture content hands-free is so important since the slightest bump of your optics will cause it to shake. This results in blurry photos, shaky videos, and quite possibly some seedy language! Of course, trying to start and stop the video by touching the phone screen while attempting to harness the excitement of watching a giant buck will also cause your setup to shake. Because of this, we suggest that all of our customers have one of these. It truly is the “game-changer” in digiscoping with a smartphone, you literally can take perfect pictures during even the most severe cases of “Buck Fever”!
As I said in the beginning, the concept of the PhoneSkope has forever changed hunting and scouting for the better. There is no more sneaking in close and spooking the deer you have been crawling up on just as you’re about to get the perfect picture. Since you can watch the video and look at the pictures you took a thousand times before the start of the season there is significantly fewer split-second decisions and ground shrinkage scenarios. Also, there is no more fighting over the spotting scope when a big buck is in the crosshairs since several people can watch on a smartphone screen as the moment of truth approaches. Not to mention, the entire event is being captured in amazing detail at the same time! Also, it is the fast frame rate on all smart phones that is responsible for those amazing vapor trails commonly seen in so many shooting scenarios captured with the PhoneSkope. Maybe most important of all, the data recorded during the shot has been responsible for the recovery of so many animals that may have been lost without it since a quick review of the shot placement and the animal’s reaction can go a long way in knowing how to approach it after the shot.
I hope this has answered a few questions and helps you better understand digiscoping and our product. Remember all of these key factors that play into getting quality content using the Phone Skope. We sincerely appreciate all of our loyal customers and the support we have received over the years. There is truly no industry like the hunting industry and we are very fortunate to be a part of it, and we look forward too many more great years to come. We appreciate Ryan and his crew at Muley Crazy for all of their continued support over the years.
Until a few years ago hunters struggled to get a great live photo. While expensive telephoto lenses for large format cameras have provided great photos for quite some time, you had to crawl within bow range to get a quality picture. As equipment advanced, video became more popular. While it was great to replay those videos, until just a few years back retrieving a quality still-image from them was difficult, if not impossible. Who could have ever known that It would be a most unlikely change in technology that would alter the hunting industry forever. Like everything else in society, the smart phone transformed the hunting world as well. In the beginning a cell phone was more of a safety issue, a way to call for help in case of an emergency, and to take an endless number of pictures. Then came the invention of the Phone Skope which perfectly aligned all of the picture taking and filming technology of a smartphone with quality optics. Predictably, an explosion of digiscoping soon followed with no end in sight. In a very short period of time the smartphone became one of a hunter’s most important pieces of equipment, and hunting has changed forever.
With the fast-growing popularity of sharing your digiscoping experience on Social Media, digiscoping with a smartphone has rapidly become one of the most popular ways to capture high quality photos and videos of wildlife. Digiscoping is the act of taking pictures or video using a camera centered over your optics. More recently digiscoping with a smartphone has become more popular, we call this “Phone-Skoping”. We have seen a diverse selection of moments captured via digiscoping over the last few years. Everything from the moon coming up over the ridgeline to sporting events. One of the biggest factors that play into getting the best quality content possible is having an up to date smartphone. Even more importantly is having the best optics and knowing how to properly use them. Using the correct Phone Skope products with the best optics and knowing how to utilize them together makes a huge difference.
For those who haven’t used it, the Phone Skope System is a two-piece system. The first piece required is a Phone Skope case for whatever phone you may have. Each case is made specifically for the make and model of your phone and will only work with the make and model it is designed for. So it is very important that you know exactly what phone you have. The second part of our system is an optic adapter. These adapters are cut to the thousandth of an inch to fit a specific optic. With that being said, it is crucial that you have all the correct parts required in order to have optimum success digiscoping with our product.
One of the biggest mistakes we see made is improper adjustment of the zoom on your phone. Case in point, when using your binoculars to digiscope, you are obviously limited to the fixed power of the binocular. In this situation the phone itself is all you have to zoom with. However, when using a spotting scope with a variable zoom eyepiece it is a much different story. When you zoom via your spotting scope, it is an optical zoom, which will result in high-definition footage versus using the digital zoom on your phone. When zooming digitally on your phone you begin to see quality loss and your content quickly becomes blurry and pixelated. The best way to combat this is by getting the most out of the optical zoom on your scope. Before ever zooming on your phone you should zoom the scope in as far as needed without creating vignetting or limiting your field of view. Once you have done this you will want to zoom your phone minimal amounts, just enough to create a full screen picture. While thousands of amazing pictures and videos have been taken manually by tapping the phone screen, with the addition of our wireless Bluetooth Shutter Button and optimizing the optical zoom of the scope, you can bet you will take the quality of your content to the next level.
One of the most frequently asked questions we get is, “What is the optimal zoom for digiscoping?” The answer to that question is really broad. We have found that typically you are best being somewhere in the middle of your zoom range, or as we call it, the scopes “sweet spot.” For most scopes this is in the 30-50 power range. Obviously this is going to depend on the distance you are shooting as well. You will see as you adjust the zoom the amount of vignetting you are getting will change as well. The sweet spot is where you get the least amount of vignetting without being over zoomed (noticeable by having a somewhat blurry image), but still being zoomed enough to have a full screen image.
A commonly asked question that correlates with the last question is, “How far can I actually digiscope?” This is not a cut and dry question and varies depending on your optics. For instance, if you are using 10-power binoculars you are going to get your highest quality content at 200 yards and closer. If you are using 15-power binoculars you are going to be good out a little farther. With 15-power binos you should be able to get great content out to 500 yards without having to sacrifice quality. As for using a spotting scope, you are truly limitless. For us to put a number on how far you can digiscope with a great quality optic would be impossible. I personally have digiscoped around 1500-yards without seeing much quality loss. A lot of key factors come into play when shooting content that far though; such as lighting and, of course, what I referred to earlier about an up to date smartphone and high-quality optics.
Another one of our most popular questions pertains to the orientation of your phone. People commonly ask if it is better to have your phone in a vertical portrait position, or in a horizontal landscape position. We recommend you use your phone in a landscape position for one main reason; when you save the content and want to put it on your computer or TV, this allows you to have your content full screen. If you were to use your device in the portrait position you would have a small skinny video or picture on the middle of the screen. A lot of people run into a problem keeping the phone horizontal due to the eye cup of the optic moving. There is a simple fix for this. If your phone is falling down when left in the horizontal landscape position, simply switch sides of the optic. For example, if you have your phone out to the right of your optic, put it on the left, and vice versa. The reason this works is because it will hit the eyecup stop preventing it from rotating any further. Essentially, this locks the phone in place.
As I mentioned earlier, one of the hidden jewels in our product line that will take your digiscoping to the next level is our Bluetooth Shutter Remote. This button allows you to take pictures and video hands-free, while it is linked to your phone via Bluetooth. Being able to capture content hands-free is so important since the slightest bump of your optics will cause it to shake. This results in blurry photos, shaky videos, and quite possibly some seedy language! Of course, trying to start and stop the video by touching the phone screen while attempting to harness the excitement of watching a giant buck will also cause your setup to shake. Because of this, we suggest that all of our customers have one of these. It truly is the “game-changer” in digiscoping with a smartphone, you literally can take perfect pictures during even the most severe cases of “Buck Fever”!
As I said in the beginning, the concept of the PhoneSkope has forever changed hunting and scouting for the better. There is no more sneaking in close and spooking the deer you have been crawling up on just as you’re about to get the perfect picture. Since you can watch the video and look at the pictures you took a thousand times before the start of the season there is significantly fewer split-second decisions and ground shrinkage scenarios. Also, there is no more fighting over the spotting scope when a big buck is in the crosshairs since several people can watch on a smartphone screen as the moment of truth approaches. Not to mention, the entire event is being captured in amazing detail at the same time! Also, it is the fast frame rate on all smart phones that is responsible for those amazing vapor trails commonly seen in so many shooting scenarios captured with the PhoneSkope. Maybe most important of all, the data recorded during the shot has been responsible for the recovery of so many animals that may have been lost without it since a quick review of the shot placement and the animal’s reaction can go a long way in knowing how to approach it after the shot.
I hope this has answered a few questions and helps you better understand digiscoping and our product. Remember all of these key factors that play into getting quality content using the Phone Skope. We sincerely appreciate all of our loyal customers and the support we have received over the years. There is truly no industry like the hunting industry and we are very fortunate to be a part of it, and we look forward too many more great years to come. We appreciate Ryan and his crew at Muley Crazy for all of their continued support over the years.
