• Welcome to BirdForum, the internet's largest birding community with thousands of members from all over the world. The forums are dedicated to wild birds, birding, binoculars and equipment and all that goes with it.

    Please register for an account to take part in the discussions in the forum, post your pictures in the gallery and more.
Where premium quality meets exceptional value. ZEISS Conquest HDX.

Binoculars with built in digital camera? (1 Viewer)

First let me say that I have both a 35mm digital camera and a compact camera which both suit different needs.
I also have a reasonable camera on my phone.
However I have sometimes hit a use case where these are too slow and/or cumbersome to get the photo that I want.

First time recently was when I say something next to a hedgerow.
I looked through the binoculars and confirmed that it was a fox, and quite close.
After a couple of seconds of looking back at me it legged it into the distance.

Second time (on the same walk) I was watching a hare (and also a photographer with a huge lens walking along a hedgerow) when a deer suddenly appeared.
Presumably spooked bu the photographer approaching.
The hares legged it as well.
Anyway the sequence was roughly "Ooh! A deer!! 2,3,4 gone in the hedge.".

I've seen raptors perch in nearby trees but move on just as I've got the binoculars focused.

In all these cases I haven't had time to identify through binoculars, then reach for a camera and sight up and focus.

It occurred to me that the ideal solution would be to capture the view through the binoculars whilst still using the binoculars.
Ooh! Look at that!! Click.

Looking on line there do seem to be binoculars with built in digital cameras but very little information on the detail of how they work or how effective they are.

Has anyone investigated these?
 
A look on Amazon and the like will throw up lots of binocular/camera hybrids and they are universally tat. Bad binoculars attached to bad cameras.

Sony did a more high end combo some years ago but it wasn't a success and was swiftly discontinued.

Swarovski have recently launched a monocular/camera device, the dG, which also can send the pictures to your phone. https://www.swarovskioptik.com/gb/en/birding/products/binoculars/dg

There is a Birdforum thread about it here
 
Looking on line there do seem to be binoculars with built in digital cameras but very little information on the detail of how they work or how effective they are.
Hi,

My impression is that these are not satisfactory.

My approach would be to combine standard binoculars with a standard action cam, but as the latter usually feature wide angle rather than tele lenses, I haven't actually put that idea into practice yet.

That's my 3D-printed solution:


I've also created a version with a GoPro-compatible mount:


With the proper camera, I'd think that should work quite well.

Regards,

Henning
 
Warning! This thread is more than 4 years ago old.
It's likely that no further discussion is required, in which case we recommend starting a new thread. If however you feel your response is required you can still do so.

Users who are viewing this thread

Back
Top