Scope Cam Comparison - Side-Shot v. Skoped Vision

[Rat Sniper (AKA: PaulT58)]

I purchased the Side-Shot Scope Cam Mount a few months ago and just recently purchased a Skoped Vision Cam Mount to see if one had any advantage over the other.  Price wise, they are both close to the same with the Skoped Vision currently being a few dollars cheaper.   

Hardware:

The Side-Shot uses a universal type mount for your phone and ships with your choice of bracket for your scope, they offer 1”, 30mm and 34mm.  One bracket comes with the Side-Shot and shipping is free.  The construction of the Side-Shot is aluminum and a hard plastic.  It is light weight, but feels very durable.  The bracket attaches firmly to the body of the scope and hold the phone mount in place with a very solid feel.  To move the Side-Shot from one scope to another, you would need to remove and remount the bracket, or purchase an additional bracket.   

The Skoped Vision uses a phone specific case to mount the phone to the scope adapter.  The scope adapter itself mounts to the eyepiece of the scope with a ratcheting rubber strap.  I thought this type of mount might not be as secure at the brackets used on the Side-Shot, but they have proven to be quite secure.  To move the Skoped Vision from one scope to another you just release the strap, slide it off and move to the next scope.  Construction is primarily hard plastic, but it’s well constructed and feel very durable. 

Video:

The Side-Shot mounts of the side of your scope, so video is oriented horizontally when filming.   This is great for when you have someone who is watching you shoot because they can stand off to one side.  The down side is the video is horizontal, so the crosshairs are rarely in the center of the frame and when zoomed, more of the sight picture seems to be out of the visible frame area.  I did comparison videos shooting my Gauntlet with both mounts, but I have no way of uploading video, so it’s hard to show that here.  I did take still shots with both and those are below for comparison. The photos seemed to be darker when taken with the Side-Shot.

The Skoped Vision mounts either on the side or top of the scope.  It’s just a matter of swiveling it to the position you want.  I mounted it so my phone sits directly on top of the scope.  I found the advantage of mounting it this way was the pictures and video are oriented vertically which for some reason results in a clearer brighter picture or video.  The crosshairs are also closer to the center of the viewing area than with a horizontal orientation.  The Skoped Vision also comes with a nice padded carry case to keep everything together in one place and safe from damage.

Accessories:

The Skoped Vision also has a companion App that can be downloaded for free.  I downloaded it after I took the videos and photos below, so those were all done with the iPhone Camera App.  The Skoped Vision App has some unique features that can actually be used with both Scope Cam Adapters.  Both use prisms to capture video and that flips everything to where it appears backward.  The app has a function that flips it back to the proper orientation.  It also has the ability to rotate the viewed area so you can ensure your crosshairs are straight.  It also has manual focus, white balance controls and stabilization that give you a bit more flexibility and control when recording your shots.

To operate the camera and minimize shake, I purchased a cheap Bluetooth remote from Amazon.  It normally sells for $7.99, but right now there is a 50% off coupon you can apply and get it for $4!  I like this because I can start and stop my recording while looking through the scope at the target and don’t have to mess with the phone at all.  Here’s a link to the remote: 


Price:

When I purchased the Side-Shot a couple months ago, it was selling for $269.99, it’s now listed for $199.99, so it’s now a few dollars cheaper than the regular price of the Skoped Vision.  The additional brackets for the Side-Shot sell for $59.99 each. Here’s a link to the Side-Shot website:
https://www.side-shot.com/online-store

The price of the Skoped Vision is $179.99, the phone specific cases are $49.99 each and they charge $9.99 for shipping.  Skoped Vision does offer a Military Discount of 20% off, so if you served, be sure to ask about it.  With the discount, the Skoped Vision came in a couple dollars cheaper than the Side-Shot at $193.97.  If you upgrade your phone, you will need to purchase another phone case and they sell for $49.99 each.  Here’s a link to the Skoped Vision website:
https://www.phoneskope.com/skoped-vision/

Pros/Cons:

Skope Vision Pros:
1.   Easily adaptable to any size scope
2.   Easy to move from one scope to another
3.   Can be oriented either horizontal or vertical
4.   Customer Service at Skoped Vision is amazing! 

Skope Vision Cons:
1.   Phone cases are make and model specific
2.   If you don’t have a Lifeproof or Otter Box Defender case, you have to remove your phone from it’s case to use the Skoped Vision Case

Side Shot Pros:
1.   Very sturdy design.
2.   Easy to move from one scope to another if you have multiple brackets
3.   Universal phone mounts design allows upgrading phones without having to purchase additional parts.

Side-Shot Cons:
1.   For me, the videos just aren’t as clear, but that may just be me!
2.   To easily move from one scope to another you have to purchase additional brackets
3.   Brackets are specific to the size of the scope tube.  Although the spaces that come with some scope rings that accommodate both 1” and 30mm scopes would probably work on these brackets as well.

Summary:

Over all I like both and between the two I can put a scope cam on any one of my scoped air rifles.  If I were to do it all over again, and only wanted to purchase one Scope Cam adapter, I would probably choose the Skoped Vision for ease of use, even though I know I will be buying a new case adapter every time I upgrade my phone.  If Skoped Vision offered a universal phone adapter, they'd be pert near perfect! Not sure if that will ever happen, but one can hope... 

I hope this is helpful for anyone considering purchasing one of these scope cam adapters.  Let me know if you have any specific questions I may be able to answer. 

[Rat Sniper (AKA: PaulT58)]

Here are pictures of the Side-Shot mounted on my Gauntlet using an iPhone 6s:

[Rat Sniper (AKA: PaulT58)]

Here are pictures of the Skoped Vision mounted on my Gauntlet using an iPhone 6s:

[Urbanhunter001]

Just what I was looking for! Thx a ton for the info!