HookUpz 2.0: Carson Updates its Universal Digiscoping Adapter

As imaging and video recording capabilities in smartphones continues to improve, it was only inevitable that optics enthusiasts would try to use them to capture the images they saw through their lenses. It came to be called digiscoping, and a new category of equipment came into being for the purpose—everything from telephoto lenses for iPhones to adapters that connect smartphones to telescopes.

Carson Optics recognized the need for a universal adapter to attach smartphones to binoculars, spotting scopes, telescopes, and other devices with the Carson HookUpz, which could be used with all of them and more, but it couldn’t accommodate some larger smartphones on the market.

Now, Carson has introduced the HookUpz 2.0, with a new configuration that fits the largest phones and “phablets,” even with their cases on.

Like its predecessor, the HookUpz 2.0 clamps to any binocular, monocular, spotting scope, or telescope that has an eyepiece with an outer diameter of 25mm to 58mm, positioning the phone’s own lens so that it can record still images or video through the larger optic.  Also like the original, the soft rubber clamping pieces of the new model glow in the dark for ease of use in low-light situations.

But the HookUpz 2.0 features several additional upgrades: it fits phones up to 3.75" wide, its patented spring-loaded clamp has twice the clamping force of the original model for a tighter grip, and there’s now a cam lock that further secures the connection between phone and the optic. Lining up the camera with the optic eyepiece is smoother and more precise, thanks to the variable screw adjustment, which also makes it easy to change from an iPhone (camera in the corner) to Android (camera in the middle) devices. The new design keeps the clamp away from the phone’s side buttons and the 2.0 is 20% smaller than the original, and therefore more portable.

So whether you’re looking at a specimen on a slide, a bald eagle on a branch, or a distant galaxy in the night sky, the HookUpz 2.0 allows you to capture the image with virtually any phone.