Watching the Wrens - An Easy Digiscoping Subject

For some time now we've had the necessary equipment for digiscoping. It's the practice of taking images with a point-and-shoot digital camera through a spotting scope. Many people have produced some very impressive images this way. I don't know how they do it.

In the field I've tried two approaches and both have proven frustrating and ineffecive. In Method A I start with the camera attached to the scope and try to locate the subject using the lcd screen on the back. Reflections off the screen make it difficult to tell what I'm looking at. The small size of the screen doesn't help much with making sure things are in focus. In Method B I start with the camera off the scope, get the subject in the field of view and in focus. I then quickly fasten the camera rig--which resembles the aparatus that imobilizes the accident victim's head in pretty much any television show--onto the scope. At this point the weight of the camera causes the tripod to move and/or the scope to tilt enough that the subect is no longer in view if it hasn't actually just flown off to find a better photographer.

Recently I set up the equipment to do an easy shot. On our deck, under the umbrella there wasn't as much glare on the lcd screen. The subject, the wren house in the garden, was stationary and about 50 feet away. I set the camera to shoot video clips and used an infrared remote to start and stop it. Here's one of the clips I got: