"Phonescoping" - the next step in the digital birding revolution?
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| Birder showing digiphoned image of Pine Grosbeak Pinicola enucleator Groningen, Holland 18-11-2004 © Marten van Dijl (martenvandijl (AT) chello.nl) |
In a new series of articles, we will be looking at the potential and techniques of Phonescoping. Birders on both sides of the Atlantic, have been busily reviewing the best camera phones on the market for Surfbirds readers. Over the next 2 months, we will be posting reviews of these phones here.
We've seen the digiscoping phenomenon over the last few years. It opened up bird photography to everyone. Not only could birders easily take good quality bird and wildlife photos on their birding trips but with the corresponding rise of internet resources, they could also share these photos quickly with other birders all over the world. The huge popularity of the Surfbirds galleries along with many other digiscoping websites and groups, are a good example of this. Sometimes, photos are posted just hours after someone has got back in front of a computer.
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| Lesser White-fronted Goose by Tommi Laurinsalo. Photo taken with a Nokia 7610 camera phone. See this and many more pics on Tommi's Phonescoping Website |
The benefits of wireless internet to birders have been on the near horizon for some time. A few years ago, cell phone companies started to introduce cameras in to their cell phones. The quality of the cameras in these first models was poor and they seemed more of a gimmick. However, with cameras becoming standard in most phones and the appearance of 1 Megapixel camera phones with zoom capabilities, the next step in digital birding might
be here. Some of these cameras even hold up to 1 hour of video (in fact the first independent movie has just been shot on a camera phone!) Now is the time for birders to start taking notice of the potential for these devices. As well as the fun of sharing images "live", tricky identification issues could be discussed and resolved directly in the field with birders literally on the other side of the world.
Our goal with our upcoming reviews of camera phones is to draw this topic out for discussion and experimentation amongst the birding community. We are currently beta testing a Surfbirds Phonescoping Gallery. Birders will be able to send their photos from the field directly to a gallery that will be accessible for everyone. Depending on the connection, photos will appear within a few minutes of being sent. We've been testing it and so far the results look very promising but we need your help. Whilst, we are in this experimental phase, we will welcome any shots (birds, animals, scenery) you can send, especially from a variety of models of phones. See below on details of how to send your photos to the gallery.
We would also like to hear from you (surfbirds (AT) surfbirds.com) if you've tried other phones or if you have any technique suggestions etc.
The History of Phonescoping
Coined "phonescoping" more than a year ago, András Fodor from Hungary started posting good record shots on the Surfbirds galleries with a camera phone pointed down a telescope (click here to see some of his pictures in the Surfbirds galleries).
The Method of Phonescoping
Tommi Laurinsalo from Finland has set up the first phonescoping website and has managed to get very impressive results using Nokia camera phones. He has been using the Nokia 7610 and the Nokia 6630
We asked Tommi to provide some tips on Digiscoping vs. phonescoping. One major consideration is the ease of use with no complex adjustments. Tommi has also gone one step further and made his own adapter (see photos below).
Tommi describes his method as the same as digiscoping. After placing the phone firmly to the scope eyepiece, re-focus the scope using the LCD display and then shoot the first photo using the capture key and shoot more pictures using the timer or sequence mode.
Tommi's Tips
Digiscoping vs. phonescoping:
- You always carry your mobile with you
- Mobile camera is simple to use, no complex adjustments
- Quality of the pictures are good enough to use in internet or other
electronic media
- You can immediately send your shot to your friends all around the world. You can instantly publish your photos to the Surfbirds Phonescoping Gallery (coming soon)
What do you need to get started:
- Mobilephone with integrated camera. Look out for Camera Phone Reviews coming soon on Surfbirds
- Spotting scope with stabile tripod
 - Adapter to connect your mobile to the scope
- ( PC, software and additional equipments to get pictures from your
mobile to your PC )
- ( Graphics sw and noise reducing sw )
In practice:
- find a bird in your scope
- focus the bird sharply
- fit mobile firmly to the ocular
- refocus using lcd-display
- shoot first photo using capture key
- shoot more pictures using timer or sequence mode
- if object is stable, check focusing between shots
- take as many pictures as possible to ensure your success to get
superfine results
How to process pictures:
- I use two methods depending on the need of use picture as
documentation purposes:
1. Identification purpose
- If picture will be used as part of ID I don´t process it at all except
balance of brightness ( original will be attached )
2. Pictures in my www-pages
- Pictures in my web-pages are processed using photoshop and noise reducing software with out no limits. I process pictures as much as I am satisfied to the result
- Noise reducing software has been a very useful tool
How to Get Involved
The possibilities are quite exciting. If you have a camera phone, you can help. Send us your feedback and send in your photos. Now you can send your photos directly from the field to our public Surfbirds Phonescoping Gallery. To test this out, please send your pictures from your phone to  and software will automatically grab these photos and post them to the gallery. The whole process takes just a few minutes from when the photo has been sent. Feel free to test it out as we can delete test images.
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| Phonescoping and Digiscoping a Pine Grosbeak, Netherlands, Groningen November 17th 2004 © Arnold Meijer (giantpitta (AT) wanadoo.nl) |
Acknowledgements
Many Thanks to Tommi Laurinsalo from Phonescoping.com for information in this article.
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