In the Field with the Zeiss PhotoScope

The new PhotoScope is due out from Carl Zeiss Sports Optics in late October. (For product information go to Photoscope.) It is a revolutionary product, that advances both observation and long range photography. It is not like any spotting scope you have ever used, and it is not really like any method of capturing images you may be familiar with. It is totally new, and provides a totally unique experience in the field.

I have been part (a very small part) of the PhotoScope developement efforts since the idea was first proposed at a Zeiss vision retreat over four and a half years ago, and I have watched it progress from a dream to a reality over the years since. I am now involved in field testing the final versions of the imaging software before product release. The images shown here are from a pre-release version of the software and product.

So what is it really like using the PhotoScope? I just spent several days in the field with the PhotoScope along the shores of the Pacific on Monterey Bay, in California.

Great Horned Owl

At Pajaro Dunes, near Watsonville, I walked up under a Great Horned Owl, sitting and drying its feathers on a high open tree branch in the early sun after a misty night. Climbing to the top of the dune put me right at eyelevel with the Owl. The light was strong low early sun from the side and the background dark. Not quite ideal for imaging, but close enough to make this bird impossible to resist.

The view through the PhotoScope is so stunning that I just about forgot to take pictures. It is hard to imagine a view this wide (up to 40% wider than a normal scope) and natural…with such extreme clarity and detail. There is none of the strain of using a normal spotting scope. My eye centered easily behind the large eyepiece and, even though I wear eye-glasses, I have no problem seeing the full field. And then, when I zoom up, the image remains almost as bright as at low power (most people will not notice any change in brightness at all), the field remains exceptionally wide, and the extreme clarity is maintained, so the high power view is just as impressive as the low. This is a scope that you will use more like you use the zoom on your camera than like you use the zoom on a conventional spotting scope. Most spotting scopes are used at low power for the brightness, or high power for the reach, and rarely anywhere in between. With the PhotoScope I found myself using the zoom at all powers, to effectively frame my view, and enjoying the constantly fine view at every setting.

When I remembered to take pictures, nothing could have been easier. My first shots were at the 15x or 600mm setting of the zoom. With the image in the eyepiece focused as sharply as possible, and with the Auto Focus Assist engaged, I pressed the shutter release half way down until the focus indicator square showed that focus was correct on the sensor, then pressed the rest of the way to take the image. The dark background behind the bird made for a slow shutter speed at ISO 100, so the fact that the shutter release is on the wireless remote where it will not cause image blurring camera motion when pressed, is a big help. (This shot was at 1/40th second, far shower than anyone would like when shooting at 600mm equivalent…but it clearly worked.)

This is far different than using a conventional digiscoping set up…where you have to focus the scope, mount the camera, establish focus through the camera, and finally take the image, often using the shutter release on the camera body, or even the self-timer if you want to eliminate camera motion. It takes a very cooperative bird to sit still that long, and, if you are using the self-timer, you have no control over what the bird is doing when the image is actually captured.

At the same time is far different than using a conventional DSLR and long lens combination. First, the PhotoScope starts at 600mm, where most long lenses (even the $7500 ones) leave off. And it is a zoom, continuously increasing in power to an 1800mm equivalent. What is more, you can actually see, and see stunningly well as outlined above, what you are photographing. Anyone who has peered through the viewfinder of a DSLR with a 600mm lens and a 2x extender knows that it is not a very satisfactory view of your subject (small and dim is a pretty good description)…certainly not a view you are going to enjoy. And nothing about a DSLR view compares to the bright easy, live view you get on the rotating OLED monitor, which allows you to easily watch for the behavior you want to catch.

Great Horned Close In

When I zoomed in to full 1800mm equivalent, it gave me just a head shot. I wanted to catch the owl looking straight at me, and it kept swinging its head to the side as it warmed itself in the early light. I was able to watch the bird on the large OLED monitor, rotated so I could easily see it from a full standing position, rather than keeping my eye at the eyepiece. I kept the shutter release half pressed to lock focus and waited. I only pressed when I had the owl’s eyes right were I wanted them. This shot was at 1/35th of a second. That is only possible because of the remote shutter release, and absence of a DSLRs mirror bounce. (The beam splitter in the PhotoScope replaces the moving mirror in a DSLR, and eliminated one important source of image blurring camera motion.)

Owl at 200 ISO

Because on the PhotoScope you have easy access to the commonly used menu settings right on the bottom of the monitor, without opening the full menu system, I was able to experiment with different ISO settings quickly and easily. I simply scrolled to the ISO setting using the remote’s horizontal arrow keys, and set the ISO using the vertical arrow keys. As you will read below, this on screen access also makes it easy to adjust exposure compensation when needed. This image is at ISO 200 for a faster shutter speed.

I took way more images of this owl than I really needed, simply because it was such a delight to look at through the PhotoScope.

Leaving Pajaro Dunes, you cross a small tidal creek that runs behind the dunes. There I found a variety of Heron’s and Egrets…as well as few ducks to tempt me.

Snowy Egret: Pajaro Beach CA

A white Egret against dark water or foliage is one of the harder exposure challenges in long lens photography. If you are not careful, you will end up with a white cut out of the bird shape…with all the feather detail burned completely out. This is where the easy access to the exposure compensation settings on the PhotoScope came into play. I was able to just scroll over to the EV setting and then adjust it until it looked approximately right on the OLED monitor. I am still learning this camera, and my settings were just a bit too dark, but easily usable once processed in Lightroom (my image processing software of choice). I will do better next time.

High Speed Egret

The Egrets were actively feeding, moving all the time, and often stabbing down into the water for fish. However the light here was much better and the Photoscope was giving me shutter speeds in the 1/300th of a second range. The main issue then became getting the birds in focus and getting the shot fast enough to catch them in a still pose. Here I could not use the half press and hold method with Focus Assist. I had to rely on the Focus Assist being fast enough to catch the still poses. As with any long lens photography, the key in this kind of situation is to take a lot of images. If I had remembered, I could have turned on serial capture…a mode that takes five consecutive images with one press of the shutter release…very rapidly…and increased my chances. As it was, I got about half the shots I attempted sharp enough to satisfy. The bird above was in full sun, and the exposure was 1/4000 of a second…fast enough to stop action as the bird lunged for a fish.

Head Shot of Egret

This is challenging shot for any long lens photographic outfit. The bird takes up too small a portion of the frame for any system to lock on focus very rapidly. Still, the PhotoScope caught it well.

See the Sea Otter See You

A few days later I visited Jetty Road on the backside of the harbor at Moss Landing, CA. This year 35-40 Sea Otters have been congregating in the inlet there every day, playing and lounging and feeding. Friends had put me on to it, and it certainly was a sight. The Otters were about 200 yards off shore when I arrived and drifted further as the morning progressed. This shot, taken soon after I got there at the full 1800mm range of the PhotoScope zoom shows the potential of the PhotoScope on larger wildlife than birds. Too cute. This is a case where I really had to pull myself away from the view the scope provided…so rich in detail, so breathtakingly satisfying…in order to actually take some pictures.

Of course there were birds along Jetty Road as well. I PhotoScoped this Long-billed Curlew at about 1400mm in the early sun as it warmed itself along one of the banks of the tidal stream.

Long-Billed Curlew in early Sun

A few moments later it moved into the deep shade of the bank and began to actively dig crabs. It was much closer, and I zoomed in to about 25 power, which is approximately 1000mm equivalent. Even at that I still had head shots of a rapidly moving bird…a real challenge…but I wanted to catch it as it manipulated a crab up its bill to swallow. Again, I should have remembered series capture. Next time! In this tight shooting situation, with a moving target, especially one this tricky in this light, I had to keep my eye at the eyepiece and my hand on the focus ring, continuously focusing. Even in this very difficult situation, with no time to prefoucs, and no time to get my hands off the PhotoScope, several of the shots were sharp enough to satisfy. This one, with the crab caught crosswise, is, I think, pretty special.

Curlew with Crab

So, after these two outings, by the evidence, I couldhave gotten every shot here with a conventional digiscoping rig or, if I couldhave gotten significantly closer, with a DSLR / long lens combo. However, it would have been muchharder (I would have had to be a lot luckier), and not nearly as enjoyable. The PhotoScope makes long range photography as easy as it possibly can be…and it does it at the same time that it provides absolutely stunning, captivating views of whatever you observe in nature.

Your main problem will be remembering to press the shutter release.

For lots more, and more recent, exmples of PhotoScope images, I have created a gallery for all of my PhotoScope images to date on my WideEyedInWonder site. Zeiss PhotoScope 85FL.