Review: Meopta MeoPix iScoping Adapter

There are a lot of accessories out there for iPhone cameras: fisheye lenses, tripods, color filters. The mighty Olloclip is a big favorite.

But nothing is quite as unique – or promises such dramatically different results – as Meopta's MeoPix iScoping adapter for iPhone 4/4S and iPhone 5. This little $60 plastic shell for your iPhone is unlike most things on the market because it's designed to pair your phone with a set of binoculars or a spotting scope. This has the effect of turning your normal, wide-angle smartphone lens into a mega-zoom.

You can imagine the implications. This is the type of device birders would flip for. Hunters, too. Remember that enormous elk that got away? Previously, your friends would never have believed you, but with a MeoPix adapter on your iPhone, you can collect photographic proof.

Also, as Dan Chung, a staff photographer with The Guardian proved last summer, the adapter opens up some fun possibilities for snapping sports photos. Many of the photos he made with his iPhone, the MeoPix and a set of binoculars at the London Olympics were nearly as good as those made my photographers with their DSLRs and massive 300mm f/2.8 lenses.

The spotting scope I tested with the adapter was Meopta's MeoStar S2 82 HD angled scope with a 30x-60x WA eyepiece. To put the magnification of the eyepiece into perspective, a 400m lens on a full-frame DSLR is the equivalent of 8x magnification, so 30x-60x magnification has the potential to bring you pretty damn close to things that might otherwise be a spec in your Instagram photos.

Both of those items (scope and eyepiece) are sold separately, and neither is cheap. So I'm guessing only the outdoor crowd that already has this level of equipment will want to use their iPhone this way. That said, if you are in the target audience, this set up is pretty sweet. Also, the iScoping adapters are available in six different eyecup sizes, so it shouldn't be difficult to find the correct size that positions your phone's lens properly in the center of the eyepiece.

During a recent camping trip to Chaco Canyon National Historical Park, I slapped my iPhone on the scope and pointed it at whatever was farthest away. One of the cottonwoods down by the creak was filled with vultures, and the scope let me get right in the bird's grill.

I was lucky, however, that the bird sat still. Because the scope has such a powerful magnification, and therefore a narrow field of view, it would have been impossible to follow a vulture in flight.

Later that night while sitting by the campfire, the moon came out. Using the MeoPix and scope to gaze up wasn't like having a telescope, but it was certainly the next best thing. I hadn't seen the moon's craters that clearly in a long time, and as soon as I posted the picture to my Instagram feed – identifying it as an iPhone snap – my followers started begging me for details.

Because it's a beast, the spotting scope has to be used with a tripod. But not so with the binoculars. For this review, Meopta also sent me a pair of its 10x42 binoculars (10x magnification). It was easier than I expected to hold and focus the binoculars with my right hand while snapping the photos with my left. Both my wife and I enjoyed using the setup during a recent birding trip to Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge.

But don't let my adventures with the gear fool you. I'm not going to be trading in my DSLR equipment any time soon. But for those of you who already own a set of binoculars or a spotting scope, it's worth it to pick up the $60 adapter. For the rest of you who think it's a fun way to hack around a pricey DSLR, don't waste your money. Start investing in good camera equipment and keep making photos the old fashioned way.

WIRED $60 for a super-zoom iPhone (provided you have access to binoculars or a scope) = worth it. You'll see the world in a whole new way. All your Instagram friends will be jealous.

TIRED If you don't already have a set of binoculars or a scope, don't spend the money. Photographing anything that moves is hard unless you're Dan Chung. The ergonomic arrangement takes some getting used to.