# Phone Scope Issues



## Slockem (Nov 29, 2016)

I have a iPhone 10S and I use a phone scope adapter for photos through my spotting scope. When I zoom in with my phone or with the spotter, the phone blacks out, sometimes I can get the video to zoom in all the way but never with the photo, super frustrating. I tried cutting out the opening for the phone scope figured if I made a wider opening for the camera lens it would help but it didn't change a thing. I'm pretty sure that it something to do with light and the two camera lens's on the iPhone 10's, but I don't want to get a new phone, any suggestions or ideas on what to do? Anyone else ran into this and figured it out? I use to use a universal adapter and it was complicated and took forever to set up but at least it worked, it is too small for my iPhone 10s tho!


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## DallanC (Jan 13, 2009)

Screw your eye cup in all the way. Your phone is too far away from the eyepiece focal point.


PS: Apple has lost the phone war. They have around 10-11% of the global phone market sales. Go android, enjoy life and not a phone / company that goes out of its way to control its users.




-DallanC


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## Kwalk3 (Jun 21, 2012)

You can also pay $5 and download the ProCamera App. It lets you select the lens your camera is using so there are no issues through the phone slope. It's what I did and it works flawlessly.

I use the Phoneskope with an iPhone X.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## BigT (Mar 11, 2011)

I had similar issues to you with the larger iPhones that have the dual camera set-up. I know of others that have experienced issue with the plus size phones.

I believe the issue is with the phone, and not the PhoneSkope personally. I got the iPhone 8 plus, had those issues, and sold it and went to the iPhone 8 and haven't had any issues with the phone. I switched to the PhoneCam through TinesUp and love it much more than any PhoneSkope I ever had. 

Dallan is right though.. You can get a much better phone. I still run iPhone, but more because of the airpods, apple watch, and all the stuff I've got on iCoud. And I run an actual camera through my spotter now with the ScopeCam through TinesUp. Good luck... That can be frustrating!


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## MuscleWhitefish (Jan 13, 2015)

I would just be careful. I lost a phone falling off of the adapter face first into a rock.


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## BigT (Mar 11, 2011)

MuscleWhitefish said:


> I would just be careful. I lost a phone falling off of the adapter face first into a rock.


That's terrible! Was it with the PhoneSkope or PhoneCam? I know the PhoneCam is threaded so it's in there pretty good with the adapter. The PhoneSkope is kind of a twist and lock which isn't as secure.


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## DallanC (Jan 13, 2009)

MuscleWhitefish said:


> I would just be careful. I lost a phone falling off of the adapter face first into a rock.


Interesting. I guess that would be a reason to point people to "angled" spotters. If they digiscope often it would hold the phone a bit more, less chance to "fall off" vs straight models.

-DallanC


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## Slockem (Nov 29, 2016)

Thanks for all the feed back! I'm going to try doing this with the phone scope app and see if I can get the set up I have to work. I'll let you know how it goes. Thanks again!


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## bowdude (Aug 11, 2019)

What you are experiencing is a common thing called Vignetting. I have an I phone XS Max. You have to use your zoom to adjust for it. As you zoom, it will fill the view finder. If you zoom too much it will do the same thing. You want about a 3.5 zoom. It will vary a little. Here is a little copy and paste section from the net that gives some explanation and how to overcome it:

Selecting a digital camera for digiscoping is different than picking one for general use. Excluding the professional digital SLR cameras, the best cameras for general use have large objective lenses with large apertures. For digiscoping cameras, however, large objective lenses lead to one of the biggest problems in digiscoping - vignetting.

Vignetting is the effect caused when the entire frame of the image is not illuminated, leaving a circular image with surrounding black. It occurs when either the objective lens of the camera is larger than the exit pupil of the scope, or when the curvature or mounting of the objective lens of the camera is farther away from the eyepiece of the scope than the scope's eye relief. For this reason, most digiscopers prefer cameras with small objectives, which can be brought very close to the scope's eyepiece. In general, pocket-sized digital cameras with large zoom ranges are also problematic, as their zooming lens elements recede from the eyepiece when zooming to larger magnifications.

The only way to solve the vignetting problem without changing the physical parameters of the camera and scope is to crop the image. Cropping can be done in a photo-editing program, which reduces the size of the image, *or by zooming in with the camera while taking the photo. Zooming in maintains full resolution of the image file, but lowers image brightness.*


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## olibooger (Feb 13, 2019)

Wow. Nice find bowdude!


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## bowdude (Aug 11, 2019)

I just upgraded to the I-phone 11. I went with the regular size instead of the max this time. It is barely smaller and still a duel lens. I was able to make the same phone scope work even though it is slightly larger than the phone. Still works well. I have been experimenting with the eye cup distance. It will work at any distance, focus is sharper the closer the camera lens is to the scope. Might be the scope as well, I am using a 27-60 x 85 Vortex Razor HD with an angled lens. I want to upgrade to a better camera to use with it. I am looking at a Cannon Powershot G9 X Mark II to use in its place. The Cannon has a 1 inch high-sensitivity CMOS processor sensor. The majority of small cameras have a 1/2 inch. The 1 inch will reduce noise and should improve clarity considerably at longer distances.


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