Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Backpack Hunting Leaving the spotting scope home

You guys who pack a spotting scope might want to try this to see if it works for you. It'll lighten the load.

My pocket camera has 30x optical zoom plus another 2x digital for a total of 60x. After taking a pic, I can blow it up on the screen another 8x. Keep in mind that 30x on a camera isn't the same thing as 30x on a scope.
I can locate something on a far hillside with the binocs then take a pic for a better look. The 1st pic is my neighbor's mule at a distance of about 200 yds (he's right about in the center). The 2d is on full optical+digital zoom of 60x. The 3d pic is blown up on the screen another 8x. It's very fuzzy but it's enough to see some good detail on antlers.
It's actually a little clearer on the camera. By the time I load it into Photobucket to post here, it degrades somewhat.

My camera weighs 8oz and my Gorillapod another 3 or 4 oz.

Care to share the equipment specs?

Somebody better clean that mule's ears...

My camera is a Panasonic DMC-ZS40. It has a 30x lens and 18mp. It's nothing fancy and there are better ones on the market if you want to spend the money. Mine only cost about $200.
Last year I used a 10x, 10mp camera to take some shots of goats about 1/2 mile away. I didn't have a tripod so they were all hand held. I couldn't blow it up clear enough to be useful. My current camera with a tripod would have worked nicely.

My guess is that combination won't do well in poor light.

If you set the ISO to 400 or 800, it does quite well.

It is a nice idea... but I don't think I'll be leaving the spotter home any time soon.

Very often - especially with sheep - you are staring through a spotter for several minutes to several hours just waiting to get "the look". That 1/2 second that is the perfect view which tells you to either shoot or go look for another one. I can't imagine trying to capture that on a camera.

Goats, in my (very) limited experience, would be a more practical use. Moose and bears, it sounds like a recipe for frustration, but I guess it would depend on the scenario.

To consider such a thing, clearly your method of glassing is foreign to me.

Does your camera have an optical viewfinder?

I spend a lot of time with the binocs. When I need a closer look, I get out the camera.

Yes. I find used for both that and the view screen. The screen is better for what this thread is about. I can set it on a tripod if needed and use the timer.