Best Spotting Scopes for Photography

By Yvonne Kohano |

Last Updated: July 15, 2019

If you’ve hiked the rainforest and hoped to catch a photo of the elusive bird no one will believe you saw, you might be disappointed to find your telephoto isn’t up to the task. Scanning through your camera lens can be an exercise in futility as you struggle to zoom in on the right branch.

If you have one of our recommendations on best spotting scopes for photography, however, you’ve removed headaches from your imaging process.

Spotting scopes are an adaptation of telescopes, designed to bring super high-powered tele advantages while allowing you to take nature photos through the lens. They work with all camera types, from a smartphone or point and shoot to a mirrorless or DSLR. Technically, capturing a digital image through a spotting scope is known as digiscoping.

Finding the scope you want to work with on a regular basis, though, takes consideration. Unlike the photo terms you’re familiar with, spotting scopes carry definitions and labels with unfamiliar meanings.

Here’s our take on the best spotting scopes for photography digiscoping in a variety of conditions, along with more information on what you’re assessing.

8 Best Spotting Scopes for Photography

• Best Overall – Straight: Vortex Optics 11-33×50 Razor HD
• Best Overall – Angled: Vortex Optics 20-60×80 Diamondback
• Best for Rapid Moving Subjects: Celestron Ultima Zoom 80
• Best Close-Up Fast Focus: Zeiss Conquest Gavia 85 with 30-60x Eyepiece
• Best Pro Level Modular: Swarovski STX 30-70×95
• Best Crossover Premium: Celestron Regal M2 100 ED
• Best Travel Compact: Celestron Hummingbird 9-27×56 ED
• Best Budget: Gosky 20-60×80 (2019)

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The Complete Spotting Scopes for Photography Buyer’s Guide

• What You Should Know about Photography Spotting Scopes
• FAQs about Spotting Scopes
• Selection Criteria for Spotting Scopes for Photography

What You Should Know about Photography Spotting Scopes

• Objective Lens
• Eyepieces
• Adaptors
• Exit Pupil
• Field of View
• Stability Factor
• Photo Functionality

Spotting scopes function as super-telephoto lenses when it comes to your nature photo work. They marry the advantage of that kind of focal length with the ability to point and shoot without searching once you’ve framed your subject. As with tele lenses, not all have the same quality optics or effectiveness in low light situations.

Let’s begin with the amazing part. Digiscope-ready spotting scopes can help you reach a magnification range 20 to 60 times larger than life. That puts them so far beyond super-tele camera lenses, it’s difficult to imagine the detail you’ll get until you see it for yourself.

The total realized focal range of the spotting scope is a sum of the scope itself, the eyepiece, the camera, and the camera’s sensor size, so actual results will vary, but they are in the realized range of 1250 to 3000mm focal length.

Arrays come in straight scopes and angled ones, and both can be used for digiscoping. Straight alignment is terrific at attaching to the camera in place of your regular lens, extending your reach on that one system (known as afocal photography), while angled is easier to use with a crowd of people of differing heights with individual cameras.

You can find an adapter to mount everything from smartphones, to cheap digital cameras, to budget DSLRs (OK, maybe not everything – like an instant camera), or you can shoot handheld through the eyepiece.

Objective Lens

Spotting scopes begin with the objective lens which is the front or subject-facing piece. These come in a variety of widths expressed in millimeters, with the wider ones in the range letting in the most amount of light.

That ability to capture more light is important, because the magnification range of the objective lens means you’re working with a longer tube, and that blocks all light from reaching the eyepiece and your camera sensor.

Wider objective lenses translate to more cost, more weight, and a bigger size. Balancing this front piece with your camera hanging on the back end becomes a challenge, but it can be well worth it when you can shoot a picture you otherwise would be unable to get.

Bigger can be better, but it is also more susceptible to mechanical vibration and movement of any kind, so a tripod, window mount or bean bag for the largest spotting scopes is a must.

Outweighing any discomfort or cost, though, you realize incredible distance benefits in your shooting capability, with 1250 to 3000mm as the norm on larger scopes. The sweet spot for digiscoping is considered a distance between you and your subject of between 100 feet away to slightly longer than a football field, the magical 1000 meters (more on this shortly).

A lens size of 80mm seems to give most photographers the best images across light conditions, even at higher magnifications.

Eyepieces

Many manufacturers make modular spotting scopes featuring interchangeable objective lenses and eyepieces. The eyepieces come as straight or angled, producing the body type of straight or angled systems.

In many of the better product lines, the parts may not be interchangeable, but common mags come both straight and angled.

All the magnification magic happens in the eyepiece, which come as fixed magnification levels and variable zoom magnifications. Fixed are not recommended for photogs because they lack framing flexibility. The magic happens for photographers at variable magnifications of 20-60x.

Adapters

Adapters hold your camera attached to the eyepiece. Their purpose is to center the camera over the lens to allow it to capture the image on the sensor.

They are optimized for crop sensor cameras, which means if you have a full frame sensor, your image will appear with vignetting (or set your camera to crop sensor shooting and avoid that problem).

There is an adapter for every type of camera, from DSLR to smartphone. If you have a single camera, the choice is easy, while if you are a guide spotting for a group of people, you might be better off practicing handheld centering for a variety of cameras.

We don’t cover adapters in this article; pick your spotting scope first, then buy the one that brand recommends for your specific camera.

Exit Pupil

Exit pupil is one of those terms that is not intuitive to photographers. Think of it this way – the objective lens is the window, and the exit pupil is the beam of light coming through the window. The higher the magnification level you want to zoom in with, the wider your objective lens needs to be to allow the same amount of light on the beam.

This is a vital point for digital photography, since our cameras need optimal light to capture an image. Some of this can be adjusted through manual ISO settings in the camera (sensor sensitivity to light) and shutter speed (aperture value setting on the camera).

It takes practice to find the best combination on your camera based on what you’re shooting, and you often realize you get the best results by keeping your camera’s settings on manual.

We photogs want an exit pupil value of at least 1.33, which is calculated as the objective value of the lens divided by the maximum magnification amount of the eyepiece. For example, sweet spots of 80mm on the objective lens and 20-60x on the eyepiece magnification produce the exit pupil value of 1.33 (80/60).

If you had a 95mm lens, you could go up to 70mm magnification and produce the same exit pupil value.

Field of View

Recall the magic maximum distance of 1000 meters between the photographer and the subject. A lower magnification amount allows you to see a wider field of view, while the max narrows what you can see. If you’re searching for something in the landscape, you’ll keep things wider to help you find what you’re looking for.

Once you locate the subject, you zoom in, magnifying the subject, which narrows what you can see around it. Spotting scopes are rated according to the standard of how wide the field of view is at 1000 meters. Field of view is of less importance to most of us as we image except when it comes to detecting movement at a distance.

Spotting scopes also have minimum focus distances like our camera lenses do. If you photograph birds in the trees, you aren’t as concerned about how close you can get as when you like to zoom in on insects at a distance. Note the minimum if your usual shooting circumstances make this important.

Stability Factor

Spotting scopes are hefty in weight because of their significant optics. Like a long telephoto lens, the focal length translates into a certain amount of cumbersome weight. That much elongated weight is difficult to balance and even harder to hold still without something on which to rest it.

If your preference is a portable scope you can tuck into a jacket pocket or pull out of a backpack for quick use, you’ll probably be better off using it as an afocal tool (camera attached). That at least eliminates the two hands holding two portable pieces, both of which are prone to vibration.

If you’re going to use the system for imaging you hope to sell or turn into art, go with a tripod mount to avoid disappointment.

Photo Functionality

Do the pictures taken with a spotting scope look great? They can be phenomenal, in large part because there is no other way to come this close to magnifying your subject without one. Super-telephoto lenses generally available on the market today max out at 800mm (though there are stronger ones in the ‘exotics’ category).

The second advantage to the nature photographer is durability in a range of outdoor conditions. Good to great spotting scopes are not just weather-resistant but waterproof and fully sealed using inert gasses to keep moisture from building up inside.

If you’ve ever found your interchangeable lenses fogging up in extreme humidity, you know what a blessing this is.

Finally, a good scope will last you for years without becoming obsolete or aging out in terms of innovation and technology. It’s priced at a fraction of what a super-tele will set you back. You can continue using the same scope even as your camera body and lens mount change.

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FAQs about Spotting Scopes

• Is a modular spotting scope better than a fixed system?
• How significant is chromatic aberration and noise with digiscoping?
• Is the level of detail the same with a spotting scope and a super-tele?
• What are the optimal camera settings for photography through a spotting scope?
• What’s not to love about spotting scopes for photography?

We can’t emphasize this enough – you won’t be terrific at imaging through a spotting scope right out of the box. It takes practice, along with a solid understanding of the settings on your camera and basic photography terminology and functions.

Even then, each time you encounter a new combination of circumstances, you’ll need to verify what you’re doing using test shots.

Here are some of the common questions people have about using spotting scopes for digital photography. Digiscoping isn’t perfect, as you’ll find softer image results and sometimes more artiness than clarity. It has its place, though, in a photographer or videographer’s gear bag of tricks.

Is a modular spotting scope better than a fixed system?

The advantage of a modular spotting scope system is flexibility through incremental investments. You buy one or more objective lenses, and each gives you different widths and therefore light sensitivity. You buy one or more eyepieces and have fixed or zoom capability and at different magnifications.

Choice is the primary benefit of the modular brands, while lower cost, becoming familiar with and confident in one combo of settings, and travel photography portability are usually the benefits of fixed units.

In our book, flexibility will be more important to the serious photog upping their game, while the casual user who wants more spotting functionality and ease of use will go for the fixed system.

However, it is a matter of preference and your photography circumstances. It’s sometimes good to test how much you’d use a spotting scope for imaging by beginning with a low-price option.

How significant is chromatic aberration and noise with digiscoping?

While digiscoping allows for some amazing realized focal lengths, they come at a price, and one of the biggest is chromatic aberration.

A symptom of the longer focal length is that telltale purple fringing, the result of the lens being unable to bring all wavelengths of different colors of light to the same spot. Usually, working within the sweet spot of an 80mm objective lens and 60x magnification or less can minimize the worst distortion.

Noise and graininess occur when photos are taken at the extremes of a lens’ and eyepiece’s ranges. The higher the magnification, the greater the distance, the less light allowed in the lens – all produce negative effects on the results. That’s why it’s important to monitor the exit pupil ratio in what you’re shooting.

Is the level of detail the same with a spotting scope and a super-tele?

Clarity will always be an issue when shooting with the same effective focal length from a spotting scope and a true super-tele camera lens.

This is because the spotting scope focal length is a summation of objective lens size, eyepiece magnification, camera and sensor size, while the results on a true camera lens are the result of the lens focal range and the camera sensor size. The former won’t be as crisp and highly detailed.

Within and below the sweet spots, digiscoping can produce phenomenal results. It’s technique as much as anything else. Other factors come into play too, such as stability on a tripod, lack of vibration from shutter release or other movements, and focusing skill.

Note that the autofocus on the camera will not work with the spotting scope. It’s up to the photographer to set a general focus on the camera (ergo, the recommendation to shoot manual settings) and fine-tune that with the focusing mechanisms on the spotting scope.

These can be a single setting, or a combination of coarse (fast adjustments) and fine (slow changes).

What are the optimal camera settings for photography through a spotting scope?

Professionals note the following: manual everything, fast ISOs of 800 to 3200, aperture set to the widest possible, and shutter speed at 1/1000th. Set your camera to silent mode on anything you can and use a tripod for stability. A remote shutter release or a self-timer of 10 seconds helps avoid vibration.

The other factor most recommend is testing the center of gravity of the spotting scope plus camera on the tripod or mount. It will be closer to the camera than you think, and you don’t want to be struggling to keep things still because that creates shake, too.

Shooting when conditions produce the least amount of haze, heat waves, or wind movement also helps.

What’s not to love about spotting scopes for photography?

Some people are discouraged that they can’t produce good images on the same day they take the scope out of the box. All cameras don’t shoot the same through spotting scopes, which makes providing blanket advice impossible. We don’t have space to cover the numerous nuances in technique, and learning those are important to effective photography.

The issue of detail clarity is another point people complain about. You won’t see the fine hairs on the hippo at effective 3000mm focal range with a spotting scope – but then you wouldn’t be shooting more than a blob in the water at that range with a standard 800mm tele lens.

It depends on what you want to photograph and what your tolerance for imperfection can be, given that you could get that close to the animal in the image in the first place.

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Selection Criteria for Spotting Scopes for Photography

• Body Type
• Objective Lens Diameter
• Eyepiece Choices
• Magnification
• Minimum Focusing Distance
• Weight

As with camera lenses, you can learn a lot about a spotting scope from its name. Interpreting the numbering system in names is universal, with the first digits before the ‘x’ providing the magnification range, and the last listing the objective lens diameter (but not all manufacturers put the numbers in the name).

Higher end systems are modular, offering you the ability to build or alter the system to meet your needs.

Body Type

Body types can be straight or angled. Straight aligns the eyepiece with the objective lens, while angled mounts the eyepiece at a 45- to 90-degree angle to the lens line of sight. Angled offers more flexibility in height when mounted on a tripod and variability when multiple people are using the scope at the same time.

Objective Lens Diameter

Greater diameter equates to greater light allowed in. Many photographers prefer 80mm as it produces the best balance between clarity of images and magnification flexibility. If you primarily shoot subjects that are closer or portability is an issue, you can go with less; keep the ideal exit pupil calculation of 1.33 in mind.

Eyepiece Choices

Modular brands offer straight or angled eyepieces to go with their objective lenses. Fixed refers to the eyepiece being permanently attached to the lens. We list recommended combinations for photographers in our selections.

Magnification

While “magnification” is usually listed in the name of higher-priced spotting scopes, this is not always the case. We’ve called out the magnification to make sure you get what you need for your style of photography. Magnification can be fixed or variable (zoom); zoom is better for photogs, which is why no fixed mags are on our list.

Minimum Focusing Distance

At the other end of our photo needs, we should consider how close we can be to a subject and still be able to focus. This is particularly important if you are shooting small critters or nature features from close range, intent on capturing as many of the fine details as possible.

Weight

Because you’re working with long focal length optics and a unit you’ll be carrying around, you want to consider the weight of the scope by itself, with any adapter and camera attached, and with any assembly of tripod and other equipment.

Consider not only the pounds but the center of gravity when you’re shooting to avoid vibrations. Being able to add an adjustable slide instead of a single-point ball and socket for attachments is a big plus, too.

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