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The Ollin Digiscoping System is hands-down the most efficient digiscoping setup available.
Digiscoping has grown by leaps and bounds in popularity over the last 10 years. It makes filming wildlife from afar accessible for anyone that has a smartphone.
Whether you’re using one of the many digiscoping systems on the market or simply trying to hold your phone as still as possible behind your optics, it’s rewarding to share these memories with people. The advances in digiscoping technology make it easier than ever to share images and videos directly to social media since you’re already using your phone.
On top of everything else, honestly, it’s just plain fun. If you’ve made it this far and are confused as to what digiscoping even is, let me enlighten you.
Digiscoping is essentially a method of photography or videography that uses an external form of magnification. To put it into simpler terms, in a way most people use it today, it’s taking a pic with your phone through a spotting scope or binoculars.
Up until now, digiscoping setups have been good, but not excellent. Most systems were better than holding your phone to the optics, but there was a lot of room for improvement. They typically have these awkward, oversized cases for your phone, they’re hard to connect and disconnect from your optics, and they never seem to seamlessly line up with your glass.
Ollin has solved all this and changed the game in digiscoping for the better.
In short: If you can swallow the price tag of the Ollin Magnetic Digiscoping System, it’s well worth the investment and makes digiscoping wildlife easier and faster than ever.
Ollin Digiscoping System Review
Overview
The Ollin Digiscoping System was born out of frustration, really. Founder Nathan Goodworth had a heartbreaking experience out in the field with a different system as the biggest rocky mountain bighorn he’d ever seen stood on a distant hill.
In short, the system completely failed and left Nathan with subpar footage of a once-in-a-lifetime ram. He wanted something faster and more efficient to take advantage of these special moments. His answer is Ollin.
Ollin is a magnetic digiscoping system that ensures perfect and secure alignment every single time, all within about a second. There are three main parts to the system: an eyepiece that goes over the ocular lens on your optic, a cover for that eyepiece, and a very low-profile case for your phone (Magcase). These pieces work together to provide the most streamlined and efficient digiscoping experience.
Via the Ollin website, folks can build their own system. Ollin offers Magcase options for both iPhone(iPhone X and newer) and Samsung devices(Galaxy S10 and newer), as well as spotting scope Ollin adapter options for Swarovski, Maven, and Vortex.
Compatible Spotting Scopes for Ollin System
Ollin Digiscoping System Features
Ollin solved some pretty big issues in digiscoping with a few simple features.
Perfect Alignment
One of the most frustrating things about previous digiscoping systems was getting the proper alignment from your phone to the optic. There was always some tweaking that took valuable time away from getting great footage.
With the Ollin system, it’s absolutely failproof. The magnetic relationship between the Magcase and the Ollin adapter damn near forces perfect alignment. You literally can’t make it go out of alignment. It won’t let you.
Landscape and Portrait
Another great feature is that this magnetic system works perfectly in both landscape and portrait modes. So, whether you’re gathering precious footage for a hunting film in landscape mode or snagging some portrait shots for TikTok or IG Reels, the Ollin system can do it flawlessly.
Nonintrusive Phone Case
Lastly is the phone case. Never before has there been a digiscoping phone case this low profile. As thin and sleek as it is, it doesn’t give up any functionality. The part that holds your phone is the same size as any low-profile case you’d buy at the store.
And the magnet is barely noticeable, making this fit in a pocket easily without feeling like an oddly shaped brick.
My Experience
I’ve been digiscoping now for some time but have always had mixed feelings about the efficiency of doing so. In fact, I stopped doing it for a while because of the struggle to get any level of quality. The downsides just weren’t worth dealing with.
When I saw the Ollin, though, I felt like they heard my thoughts and made this product just for me. All of my complaints about digiscoping seem to be answered by this system.
I used the Ollin system on a recent backcountry mule deer hunt. My first time pulling out my spotting scope and using the adapter left me saying, “that’s it?”
And I mean that in a good way. I was filming mule deer a mere second after spotting them — no readjusting in the least. Just placing my phone on the spotting scope and hitting record left me with focused, usable footage. It was unreal.
I also carried this around the backcountry for days. Never once did I feel like the Magcase was cumbersome in my pocket. In fact, I kept forgetting to take it off after my trip because it resembled my regular phone case so much.
What’s Wrong
Nothing is perfect and the Ollin is no exception to that. There are a few downsides.
Price
The first thing that struck me was the price of this system. It’s not cheap. I’m sure the price tag will keep more than a few folks from pulling the trigger on it — $179 is quite an investment for someone if they’re just looking to digiscope for fun.
And with it not being a universal system, you’ll have to fork over even more green for different optics and perhaps a new phone. With that being said, we do pay much more for other pieces of hunting gear that we use far less.
Angled Spotters
In order to not have to keep adjusting my tripod legs, I’ll often rotate the angled portion of my spotter to one side or the other. When doing this on my recent mule deer hunt, I wasn’t able to attach the Ollin system how I wanted it without also having to turn the Ollin Adapter — so it would marry up with the Magcase properly. This is not an easy task because the Ollin fits so snugly on the scope.
No Binocular Option
As you may have noticed there isn’t a binocular adapter option with Ollin. Well, not yet. So, for those looking to shed weight and not carry a spotter, you won’t be able to use the Ollin system.
Limited Options
At the moment, there are only a limited amount of spotting scopes that the Ollin system is compatible with. I’m sure this is something that Ollin will tackle to make the system more accessible for a broader range of folks, but it’s still worth mentioning.
Final Thoughts
We are pretty lucky as hunters. The things we see out in the field are nothing short of amazing and few others will experience the sights we see. Ever since digiscoping came on the scene, the ability to capture these memories and bring them home with us has been a treat.
Sometimes those moments are fleeting and tough to both capture and experience. The Ollin Digiscoping System caters to that and allows us to more quickly and efficiently capture these memories than ever before.
And while the Ollin is a bit high on the price end of things, those memories we capture in the field are truly priceless. This purchase is a no-brainer for me.
If you can find the space in your budget, this system is an obvious choice.