“All of my digiscoping photos are out of focus” is pretty much the most common thing that digiscopers say to me. This normally has very little to do with focus, and everything to do with camera shake. Camera shake is a killer, and shutter speed its blade. Now in normal daylight conditions, pretty much anyone can take a half decent (sharp) photo with a digital camera. Just keep it on that little green square (full automatic mode), and away you go. As easy as that. Digiscoping is something completely different. Focal lengths in digiscoping typically range from long (say 800mm) to the ludicrous (5000+ mm) and this brings with it a whole pile of issues. Professional telephoto photographers deal with these issues all the time and digiscoping is no different. It requires the digiscoper to commit time and energy to start to think more like a serious photographer. To understand what shutter speed, aperture, ISO and all those other fantastic things are all about. So, what shutter speed do I need to get a good, sharp digiscoping photo? This is, unfortunately, not a simple question to answer and depends on many factors including: – type of camera (DSLR with a flapping mirror, or little compact camera?), – how steady your setup and hand are (just had a Red Bull and espresso?) – how much your subject is moving (tortoise or hare?), and – luck (had to add that 😉 – DSLRs have a flapping mirror = need more shutter speed As the name suggests, DSLRs have a mirror that flaps about all over …
