Digiscoping is aneologism forafocal photography, using a (digital) camera to record distant images through theeyepiece of anoptical telescope.
Digiscoping usually refers to using either adigital single-lens reflex camera with lens attached or, more often, a fixed lenspoint and shoot digital camera to obtain photos through the eyepiece of abirdwatcher'sspotting scope.[1] The term has also been associated with the use of a digital camera and spotting scope equipped forprime focus photography.[2]
The portmanteau term "digiscoping" (= digital camera + telescoping) was coined in 1999 by FrenchbirdwatcherAlain Fossé. Less notable neologisms for this activity aredigiscope birding,digiscopy birding,digi-birding,digibinning (using digital camera withbinoculars), andphonescoping[3] (using a digitalcamera phone with a spotting scope or binoculars).
The origins of the activity calledDigiscoping has been attributed to the photographic methods ofLaurence Poh, a birdwatcher from theMalaysian Nature Society, who discovered in 1999 almost by accident that the new generation ofpoint and shoot digital cameras could be held up to the eyepiece of a standard spotting scope and achieve surprisingly good results.[citation needed] He spread his findings through birdinginternet discussion forums and one member, French birdwatcher Alain Fossé, coined the name "digiscoping" to describe the technique.[4] Laurence Poh is sometimes credited with "inventing" the technique[5] 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 anafocal system (technically calledafocal photography orafocal projection) had been used for nearly 100 years[6] and digital camera afocal photography was already being employed in the amateur astronomical community.[7] This form of afocal photography became more common in general photography in the 21st century with the spread of point and shoot digital cameras[8] because of the ease of use of this type of setup.[9] Several companies sell couplers and other devices for mounting digital cameras afocally.[10]
