Editing Digiscoping (section)

==Origins==
The portmanteau term "''digiscoping''" (= digital camera + telescoping) was coined in 1999 by French [[Birdwatching|birdwatcher]] [[:fr:Alain Fossé|Alain Fossé]]. Less notable neologisms for this activity are ''digiscope birding'', ''digiscopy birding'', ''digi-birding'', ''digibinning'' (using digital camera with [[binoculars]]), and ''phonescoping''<ref>[http://www.ornithomedia.com/pratique/equipemt/equipement_art42_1.htm Ornithomedia - Pratique - Equipement, A new step in ornithology Digital]</ref> (using a digital [[camera phone]] with a spotting scope or binoculars).

The origins of the activity called ''Digiscoping'' has been attributed to the photographic methods of  [[Laurence Poh]], a birdwatcher from the [[Malaysian Nature Society]], who discovered in 1999 almost by accident that the new generation of [[Point-and-shoot camera|point and shoot]] digital cameras could be held up to the eyepiece of a standard spotting scope and achieve surprisingly good results.{{citation needed|date=May 2014}} He spread his findings through birding [[Internet forum|internet discussion forums]] and one member, French birdwatcher Alain Fossé, coined the name  "digiscoping" to describe the technique.<ref>[http://longexposurephotographytips.com/digiscoping/, Digiscoping: What is it?]</ref> Laurence Poh is sometimes credited with "''inventing''" the technique<ref>[http://www.allaboutbirds.org/netcommunity/page.aspx?pid=1171 Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Birding Basics, Digiscoping]</ref> although his contribution may be more along the lines of popularizing the idea and refining the technology.

Using a camera with its lens attached at the eyepiece of optical devices such as microscopes or telescopes, creating an [[afocal system]] (technically called ''afocal photography'' or ''afocal projection'') had been used for nearly 100 years<ref>[http://www.sover.net/~nvmug/news/enews01-04-21.html NVMUG eNews 4/21/2001 Bill Amos’ Digital Photography Presentation and Warren Walker's Photo Editing - "''in the 1930s Bill used afocal photography when taking pictures through a microscope''"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080907093256/http://www.sover.net/~nvmug/news/enews01-04-21.html |date=2008-09-07 }}</ref> and digital camera afocal photography was already being employed in the amateur astronomical community.<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=WTKcbdR-2h8C&dq=afocal+photography+digital&pg=PA243 Michael A. Covington, Astrophotography for the amateur, page 243, afocally video imaging from 1997]</ref> This form of afocal photography became more common in general photography in the 21st century with the spread of point and shoot digital cameras<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=V3tyCXsCCkMC&dq=afocal+astrophotography&pg=PA198 Michael W. Swanson, The NexStar user's guide, page 198]</ref> because of the ease of use of this type of setup.<ref>[http://www.skyandtelescope.com/howto/astrophotography/3304336.html Dennis di Cicco, Afocal What?, SkyandTelescope.com]</ref> Several companies sell couplers and other devices for mounting digital cameras afocally.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Digiscoping Adapters {{!}} B&H Photo Video |url=https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/buy/Digiscoping/ci/14671 |access-date=2023-03-18 |website=www.bhphotovideo.com |language=en}}</ref>