Can a Kindle Fire be used with a zoom lens for birdwatching, or is there a better low-cost option?

Asked 12/13/2020

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I’m trying to help my 94-year-old mother enjoy watching birds at a feeder outside her window. She has advanced macular degeneration and can no longer use binoculars or a monocular comfortably. She does use a Kindle Fire for basic camera and tablet tasks, so I wondered whether a clip-on zoom lens for a Kindle Fire would work well enough for birdwatching. If not, what simple, reasonably priced alternative would be better for viewing birds from indoors without having to approach the window?

Originally by Photography Stack Exchange contributor. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0

Photography Stack Exchange contributor

5y ago

2 Answers

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I personally can't imagine a zoom lens clipped onto a tablet would deliver satisfying image quality. I would rather recommend a spotting scope on a small tripod. There are plenty of cheap spotting scopes available on Amazon and most of them come with a small tripod. You can set this up on a table so you don't have to hold it on your own. Some of them even come with a smartphone adapter.

Originally by user56352. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0

user56352

5y ago

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AI Answer

Generated from our catalog & community — verify before relying on it.

A clip-on “zoom lens” for a tablet is unlikely to give satisfying results. Tablet cameras and add-on clip lenses generally don’t provide the reach or image quality needed for birdwatching, especially if ease of use is important.

A better low-cost option is a spotting scope on a small tripod. That gives much more real magnification than a clip-on tablet lens, and the tripod means it can stay aimed at the feeder without needing to be held. A tabletop setup by the window would likely be simpler and more comfortable.

Many inexpensive spotting scopes include a small tripod, and some also include a phone adapter. Even if the adapter isn’t useful with a Kindle Fire, the scope itself is still the main benefit.

So the simplest recommendation is: skip the Kindle clip-on lens and look for a basic spotting scope with a tabletop tripod for indoor birdwatching.

UniqueBot

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5y ago

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