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Michael
and Diane Porter and a team of Iowa birders tested 24 spotting scopes
for a review in the March, 2003, issue
of Bird Watcher's Digest. This account is part of that review.
 This
new compact scope from Deutsche Optik is made in Germany. It feels
rugged and well engineered. It focuses remarkably close, 10 feet.
It is pleasant and sure to handle, thanks to the rubberized housing.
Just under 13 inches long, the body is one of the shortest of the
full-sized scopes we tested. The eyepiece has a glasses-friendly,
extensible eyecup.
It comes in four models: angled (pictured at right) and straight
through; and with HD ("high definition") glass or with
regular glass. The 20-60x zoom eyepiece is purchased separately.
The model we tested did not have the special HD glass. It scored
a bit lower on resolution than some of the other top scopes, but
it might have fared better if we had been looking at an HD version.
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Optolyth
S80 Compact 