How to Take Pictures Through Binoculars?

In the previous article, I talked about digital camera binoculars and their value in the real world. Although these binos do give you perfect photos, still, they are still good enough to give you a decent photography experience if you use them properly.

This guide is going to be dedicated to how you can take pictures and record videos through the camera of binoculars.  By combining the capabilities of your binoculars, and camera, you can snap breathtaking photos and share them with your friends and family when you get back home or reunite with them.

But how to take pictures through binoculars? Actually, there are two ways by which you can use binoculars to take photos. Either you hold the camera in front of an ocular lens manually by your hands and take pictures or use a tripod and smartphone adapter that will fit your binoculars in front of the eyepiece of binoculars and you will be able to take photos with ease.

It was a brief introduction, but I have a lot more information to share with you. So, whether you’re an amateur photographer, a nature lover, this guide is going to be interesting and knowledgeable.  

Related Article: Does Age Affect Image Brightness in Binoculars?

Two Methods of Taking Photos through Binoculars

As said earlier, there are two ways to capture photos and videos through the lenses of binoculars. In the below sections, I’ll be explaining these two methods of capturing the visuals through binoculars.

1- Capturing Photos through Binoculars Handheld

The first method that can actually help you capture photos through the binoculars is to keep your smartphone in front of the ocular lens of the binoculars. Although it is a difficult way; but still you will be able to capture the pictures of the target.

For this purpose, you will have to hold a camera or smartphone in your hands. When you use this method, getting a stable visual will be a real challenge. As you know, our hands shake slightly, so this shakiness won’t let you capture the picture easily. However, if you put in some effort and pay full heed, you will do it decently.

Tip: I suggest you use a tripod stand to get some stability. If you hold a binocular and camera in your hands, chances are high that you won’t be able to get visual stability.

2- Using Mobile Phone Adapter for Taking Photos

The second method is to use the binoculars smartphone adapter which will provide you with a perfect way to capture the photos without any sort of shakiness. You will have to attach the smartphone adapter to the eyepiece of binoculars and then attach your mobile phone to this adapter and start capturing the scenes. 

This method is perfect because you don’t have to hold a smartphone or camera in your hands. Instead, it will fit in the smartphone adapter. Don’t worry, the smartphone adapter is not very expensive and you will get it from any local store or from amazon.

Step by Step: How to Take Pictures Through Binoculars?

So you know the basic method that can be used to capture the photos and record videos through the binoculars. In the below sections, I’ll teach you in steps how you can take pictures through the binoculars

Step 1 – Arrange Tripod Stand

If you want to capture top-class photos, then you will need to arrange a tripod stand. The biggest advantage that you get while using a tripod stand is that your camera doesn’t shake by wind or by the movement of your hands. As a result, you get perfect stability. Once you’ve a tripod stand, put it in the place, in front of your targeted object.

Step 2 – Attach Smartphone Adapter with Tripod Stand

The second step is to mount your smartphone adapter on the tripod stand. The purpose of using this adapter is that you won’t have to hold your smartphone in your hands while taking pictures through the binoculars.

Step 3 – Attach Smartphone to Binoculars

Now you will need to fix or attach your smartphone to the smartphone adapter. Make sure that the camera of your smartphone perfectly aligns with the eyepiece or ocular lens of binoculars. You check the alignment of the camera and eyepiece and open the camera and see if you see the target perfectly or not.

In case you’re going to use a dedicated camera for capturing photos through the binoculars like a DSLR, then you will have to buy a special adapter that will hold your camera in front of the eyepiece of binoculars.

Step 4 – Check the Focus 

Most of the time, the camera of your phone does not pick up the visual through the improper focus adjustment of your binoculars. To avoid this problem you will need to adjust the focus accordingly by seeing through the camera attached to the eyepiece. Once you see the perfect picture, then stop adjusting it.

Step 5 – Start Capturing the Photos

When you see the perfect and well-zoomed visual on your camera, then it’s time for you to start clicking and capturing the beauty of the world through the binoculars. I suggest you set a capturing timer on your smartphone and don’t touch the smartphone with your hand to click the photo as the movement of your hand can disturb the focus.

Tabular Representation of Some Tips

Things to Do	Things Not to Do
Adjust the focus and magnification to get a clear image.	Point the binoculars directly at the sun to take the picture
Use a tripod to keep the binoculars stable and reduce hand-shake.	Zoom in too much as it will affect image quality.
Experiment with different angles and perspectives.	Ignoring  the weather conditions while shooting photos
Use a lens hood or cover to reduce glare and lens flare.	Neglect to clean the lenses before shooting as it can affect image quality.
Take advantage of good lighting conditions and shoot at sunrise or sunset.	Use a flash as it won’t help and will reduce the visual quality
Pay attention to image stability by using an adapter	Take photos in a hurry without taking time to set up the shot.

Should you buy binoculars with a camera?

If you ask me about binoculars with a built-in camera, I would say don’t buy them and this opinion will be the same for any day of the week. The camera which is used in such binoculars is of low quality, which affects the quality of visuals when you use them for capturing photos.

The technology behind these binoculars is not advanced till now, and to be honest, none of the optics brands is supporting this adventure of binoculars with a built-in camera. Almost all the binoculars which come with a camera fail to provide you with a decent photo-capturing experience.

Conclusion

Hoping that you’ve now learned how you can use the magnification of binoculars to take the picture of very far-placed objects. In this guide, I’ve mentioned all the information that you will need. I hope that this guide will be helpful to you. If you consider it helpful, do share it with your friends who like to do photography.