Phone Scope Adapter Review 2017-2018

What is the best phone scope adapter?

I recently started a quest to find the best Phone scope adapter, I have been purchasing every phone scope adapter for filming through my binoculars on my hunts I could find. I had always been a big fan of the Outdoorsman’s phone scope adapter but ever since the invention of the dual camera and larger heavier iPhone 7 plus I became a bit frustrated with the unit so it sparked me to look into the other products on the market here is my 2 cents:

Phone Skope:

This unit is very nice, its seamless in function, and there are zero issues with lining up the phone with your optics. Its locking system is very nice as well you do not have issues with the phon

e adapter falling off. However this comes at a cost both literally and figuratively. You must leave the locking end of the phone scope on your optics all the time which I find very cumbersome.

The unit itself is not low profile and again very cumbersome to keep the phone adapter locked on your phone all the time (not comfortable in your pocket). Also the phone skope is not suited for any phone which means if you are like me and get the newest greatest phone each year then you will need to buy a new adapter each time you buy a phone. The Phone Skope system in my opinion from a function standpoint is one of the best but from a user standpoint it falls short

Tines up Phone Cam:

This unit is actually one of my favorites because it has a lot of the benefits of the Phone Skope adapter without some of the drawbacks. It is easy to use, not cumbersome, no line up issues. However, just like the phone skope you will need to buy a new adapter every time you switch phones. Also we found that when using the phone horizontally (which is the proper way to take a video to get the right aspect ratio for filming) the phone would slip and sometimes fall off completely. But all in all from a user stand point this is a great set up.

Snake Look Universal Phone adapter:

This universal phone scope adapter at first glance looks like the end all product. It has a locking eyepiece attachment that self centers with a conical thread design for perfect center shot. The easy on easy off system makes it so that it doesn’t need to be attached to your phone all the time. And of coruse being “universal it works on virtually any phone. It all sounds great but its not… I was the most disappointed with this unit out of all that we tried and looked at. Aside from the locking mechanism on the eyepiece I found it very unfriendly to use having to line up the unit every single time you took it out cost me several shots in the field. Moreover you cannot use this unit horizontally because the locking nut for the eyepiece arm isn’t strong enough to hold it in place so the weight and leverage of the horizontal phone would pull the eye piece out of adjustment each time we set it up. Although not heavy by any means the phone scope adapter was large and not something you could leave attached and throw in your pocket. Lastly the eyepiece adjustment isn’t large enough for high end spotting copes so its strictly for binoculars and spotters with very small eye pieces. In my opinion stay away from this one guys..

Carson Hookups phone scope:

Honestly Bang for the buck this is a great set up works a lot like the Tines up system, its low profile and easy to use. The provided rubber phone case is sleek and offer some protection for your phone, the slide on eyepiece slips on with ease and usually self aligns without much fuss. The drawbacks are the eyepiece connection isn’t as precise of a fitment as the Tines up or the Outdoorsman models so you have some slippage on the binos again especially in the horizontal position. As I mentioned it usually self aligns but there were many occasions where it didn’t making it frustrating to capture the image I was after. Moreover after time the rubber phone case becomes stretched out and further complicates the phone alignment issues. Lastly, as with the phone skope and the Tines up phone cam you will need to buy a new adapter for each new phone but at under $20 who cares.

Nova Grade Phone universal adapter:

This universal phone scope adapter is a precision unit that lines up perfectly and holds the adjustment once locked into place. It is suitable for virtually any optics and any phone. Drawback, its not a quick setup for those quick “I need to get this shot” moments, its heavy and big. Again we have the same issue with taking horizontal shots the phone and extra added weight of the phone scope adapter wont allow it to stay in place with any kind of consistency, lastly its double the price of all the others..

Outdoorsman’s Phone scope adapter:

I return to where I began this journey back to the Outdoorsman’s phone scope adapter or Digiscoping adapter as its called .  Let me start with “My rubs: My issues with the unit began with the iPhone 7 plus weight and its dual camera. Before this phone I had zero issues with this unit. The larger heavier phone seemed to slip from time to time off the eye piece off my binoculars which was annoying and not being able to zoom in on the subject because of the dual camera (which is more of a phone issue than and issue with the adapter) was just unacceptable for me. I brought this to the attention to guys at Outdoorsman and they had already come up with a solution with a new flocking element which was super easy to install so my slippage issue was resolved and with some poking around I found using a different app to capture my videos and images resolved my dual camera issue. The app is called Pro Camera   The app allows you to chose which camera you want to take the image with and allows you to zoom when you have the adapter set up on the right side lens. Plus it has “DSLR” features like ISO, shutter priority and RAW settings.

With my issues resolved let me tell you why I prefer The Outdoorsman’s Digiscoping phone adapter over the rest: 1) Its light weight 2) Its low profile and I keep it on my phone year round without it bothering me 3) I can use interchangeable eye cups to go from my binos to my spotter with ease. 4) Its super fast setup pull it out and stick it on no clips or extra pieces nor do you need to adjust every time 5) I buy it once and I can use it from phone to phone without having to buy a new one every-time 6) because it sticks to my phone case I can chose any phone case I want and I am not limited to the phone case the manufacture wants me to use. 7) As the time goes on and the eye cup starts to lose its grip all you need to do is change the flocking which is super easy and you always have a good connection 8) They have integrated a tripod adapter on to the back of the digiscoping phone adapter that allows you to set up your phone for taking grip and grin photos or just capture some moments out in the field of you do you things.

Conclusion:

They all have some positives and negatives and with so many phone manufactures and optics manufactures its hard to come up with solutions for everyone’s set up so you may have to do some poking around to find out what works best for you. All in all I still think its the best unit out there overall is the Outdoorsman’s Digiscoping Adapter.

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