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Michael
and Diane
hear
lots of pleas for specific advice on which scope to buy. They
always advise prospective scope owners to try out any scope
before laying down cash for it.
But
if you aren't sure where to begin in choosing a scope, here
are some concrete suggestions for particular situations.
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Situation:
I want a decent spotting scope for birding, but my budget
is under $500. Is there anything out there for me?
Advice:
Check out the Vortex Skyline. It's a good, light-weight, full-sized, waterproof scope
within your price limitation. It comes with a 20-60 zoom eyepiece.
At 20X the resolution is remarkably good. And although you could not expect this scope to resolve as well as $1000-and-up models, it does a decent job even at maximum 60x magnification. It's a considerable improvement on the very popular Eagle Optics Raven, which has been discontinued.
And for a rock-bottom priced scope, please consider the Vortex Nomad. It's a smaller scope, with a 60mm objective lens. It may be just what you're looking for in a lightweight, waterproof scope you can backpack with.
Situation:
I want to get my husband the very best full-sized spotting
scope that money can buy.
Advice:
There are several great scopes out there. Our pick of scopes in
80mm range is the
Zeiss 85mmDiascope with 20-60x Vario eyepiece. This a sublime
spotting scope. In our tests, we found that the Zeiss was brighter
at dusk than the other top scopes. And it got the highest resolution
score we've ever seen for any scope of its size.
On
top of that, it's one of the lightest-weight scopes of its size.
And yes, it's waterproof, as are all Zeiss optics.
Situation:
I'm going to hike and carry my new scope a long, long way. So
I want a lighter-weight, smaller scope, in the 60mm range.
But I still want it to be the greatest, no matter what it
costs.
Advice:
You're looking for the Swarovski
ATS65 HD Scope, with a 20-60x eyepiece. It provides amazing
clarity, contrast, and detail. The Swarovski zoom eyepiece gives
20-60 power with this small, highly maneuverable scope. (It's great
for using out the window of a car, too.)
In contrast, the Zeiss 65mm Diascope and Leica 62mm APO-TeleVid
scopes get only 15-45x with their zoom eyepieces. The Swarovski's
60x magnification lets you see finer detail than you can with the
small Zeiss or Leica.
Situation:
OK, I am not willing to compromiseon clarity. It's got to be
sharp, even at maximum magnification. But no way can I pay
Swarovski or Zeiss prices. Help!
Advice:
Pentax makes a birders' spotting scope with outstanding optics and
a much lower price. It's the Pentax
PF-80ED. It usually comes with the zoom eyepiece included in
the price, which the other makes usually don't, so be sure to figure
that in when you compare the prices.
You
do sacrifice one thing with the Pentax, though. That is compactness.
This is a noticably larger, heavier scope. If you're willing to
put up with that, you can enjoy high-end optics at a mid-range price.
We've seen schools and nature centers buy this scope. The weight
is not such an issue if the scope is going to be staying put most
of the time.
Situation:
My problem is that I can't find any advice on the merits of
angled vs. straight scopes. Which one is better for birding.
Advice:
It's a personal decision. But we favor the angled scope for birding,
especially if two or more people are sharing the same scope, and
they don't happen to be the same height. See a fuller discussion
of angled vs. straight.
Well,
what do you think? Do you like this kind of name-naming advice?
Shall we put up more of it? Do you want to see this kind of thing
for binoculars?
Let
us know.
--Michael
and Diane Porter
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