Read The Best Spotting Scope Reviews Before Buying

Being one of the people to have viewing jobs like wildlife observers, it is necessary to have an aid to help you view your subjects without the need to get too close. A pair of binoculars might do the job but they deliver only a small amount of magnification incomparable to your needs same goes with rifle scopes. If you want something more fitting then you are surely going to want spotting scopes. There are a lot in the market and choosing one is quite tricky since they differ variably on specifications that are not generally better compared to others. If you want to get the best in terms of your needs, you must first read the best spotting scope reviews before buying.

A Table of the Probable Choices You might want to pick from

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The Road to the Purchase of your Spotting Scope

As I’ve said, there are a lot of features that can be found in a spotting scope and one may not be better than the other. They have their own unique purpose which differentiates them from the others that places them in different categories. The goal is to determine which category your needs fit into so that we can choose the most fitting spotting scope along with the aid of spotting scope reviews.

• Angled vs straight spotting scopes – there are two types of spotting scopes in terms of structure. They do not differ on performance but are just designed to fit personal preferences of people. If you want something at eye level then go with the straight one but if you are going to deal regular movement then it is preferred to go with the angled one.
• Lens coating – if you want to guarantee the best view then look for lenses that have magnesium fluoride coating. This prevents light reflection and glare resulting to minimal light loss for a brighter image.
• Exit pupil – the larger the exit pupil, the more is the light that can enter your scope which results for a brighter image. It also means that you have a wider field of view compared to smaller exit pupils.
• Eye relief – this is the distance between your eye and the scope that still allows you to get a full-view of what you are looking at. You might want something that has an extended field of view if you are wearing glasses or if you want to be still aware of your surroundings while you observe your subject.
• Magnification – as an observer, you want something that allows you to view something very far away and that is solely dependent on the magnification of a spotting scope. The magnification is dependent on the sizes of the lenses so look for the ones with a larger lens size.

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4 Best Spotting Scope Recommendations

Price: Under 300
Quality: From 4.0-5 stars.
Brand: Celestron, Barska and Firefield

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Spotting scope reviews of the top 4 best products in the market

1. Celestron 52252 100mm Ultima Zoom spotting scope

If you are willing to sacrifice a little bit of that versatility for an additional brightness as well as increased field of view then you might want to consider this scope. It has an exit diameter of 100mm that is also equipped with multi-coating for reduced glare and increased brightness of image.

Along with its large exit pupil comes strong magnification. It has a max magnification of 66x while a minimum of 22x. If you are using the minimum magnification, its exit pupil diameter decreases to 4.5mm which allows you to observe 32 meters worth of width range. If you are using its maximum magnification then expect that there is a decrease of viewing range of up to 18 meters since its exit pupil will decrease from 4.5mm to 1.5mm.

For people who are wearing glass, you are still able to have a clear image of the observed area as long as you don’t go more than 18mm from your eye piece when using the minimum magnification. This allows people with glasses to be able to do their job without much of a hassle.

Additionally, it is water proof and fog proof to be still functional in any condition you might need to work on with uninterrupted image quality. It has a total length of 19 inches which is the total of the portions since this is an angle spotting scope with an average weight of 4.5 pounds. It fits the average range for a versatile spotting scope and all comes at a price of .

2. BARSKA Blackhawk 20-60×60 Angled Spotting Scope Reviews

BARSKA is one of the leading companies in the optical business industry delivering quality optic tools for nearly a decade. This just gives you an idea of how much they already know about the needs of their customers and using this, they have perfected their design to deliver the best spotting scopes.

It has a 60×60 specification which means it has a maximum magnification of 60x times with an objective lens that has a size of 60mm and is multicoated. If you don’t need that much magnification, you can always adjust it with the knob just found near the eye-piece. It can reduce its magnification down to 20x.

Using different levels of magnification means having different ranges of field of view. At its minimum magnification of 20x, the exit pupil reduces to a size of 3mm. This allows you to observe a total width of 91 feet. When you are maxing it out on the other hand, its exit pupil reduces to nearly just 1mm allowing you to view only 45 feet worth of field.

Don’t worry if you are wearing glasses since it has a very good eye-relief of 18mm when using the minimum magnification and 15mm if you are maxing it out. This is quite a big distance which makes it good for people who are far sighted or have thick glasses.

Additionally, it has a shock absorbing exterior, 100% fog proof and water proof capabilities for rugged use. At an average weight of 2.86 pounds and total length of 15 inches, this scope is easily maneuverable and versatile fit for any wildlife observer. All these quality specifications are then backed up with a limited lifetime warranty.

3. Celestron 52250 80mm Ultima Zoom Spotting Scope

This scope is not too different from its other relative in this list. They are basically the same in build material, multi-coating and etc. other than the objective lens. This scope only has an 80mm lens as opposed to the 100mm of the 55252. This in turn affects the maximum magnification, field of view and eye relief.

With this minor change, the scope now has a magnification range between 20x to 60x with a field of view of 35 meters for the minimum magnification and 18 meters with the max. Though the eye relief has maintained to be at 18mm under the minimum magnification.

4. Firefield 20 – 60×60 Spotting Scope Reviews

A shorter spotting scope is always better and this can be achieved when utilizing a folded light path for a compact length. The firefield 20 just does that and this also does not risk the quality of your image or your field of view.

With its specification of 60×60, it has a maximum magnification of 60x and has an objective lens of 60mm. The ratio between the two is good, and it is vital to not have a disproportionate max magnification to lens size because this can affect the image quality and field of view. A ratio of 1:1 is best and anything close to it is also great.
Along with its strong maximum magnification is a field of view worth of 19 meters of observable area. If you are using the minimum magnification of 20x then you will be able to observe a wider area of 37 meters. Eye relief is also affected along with the changes of magnification power, eye relief is at 17mm in minimum magnification and 13.5 if used in maximum.

Additionally, it is rated IPX6 for waterproof which is equivalently resistant to a force of 100 liters of water sprayed per minute for 3 minutes. This condition cannot be replicated in the field but gives you an idea of how resistant it is to such factor. It is also nitrogen purged to prevent internal fogging during cold and humid weather.
Expect quality image with its BAK-4 prism which is made from Barium crown glass for better light transmission and edge to edge sharpness of your viewing field. With a total length of 350 mm and weight of 22.5 ounces, it is still portable. 

Conclusion

Being one of the few people who have specialized jobs, you are also one of the few people who are going to be in need of spotting scopes. If you are new to this kind of stuff, you are going to have difficulties choosing and differentiating one type from the other especially that there is deep technology involved in these kinds of devices.

If you are still new to such, you would want to take note of the most basic components that you understand the most, like material build, magnification capacity and field of view. You would want to know its adaptability to situations like being water proof and fog proof. Other specifications like prism structure is going to require a longer explanation but is not usually that big of a deal for people who are still new to this kind of stuff.

The most basic to remember when looking for a spotting scope is its magnification to lens size ratio. They must be 1:1 or something relatively closer. If they are highly disproportionate then you will be experiencing dimmer and low quality images which you don’t want as an observer.

Overall, it is a tricky task to look for a spotting scope that will fit your needs. The task involves more than just looking at specifications and comparing them from one another. Their performance might differ when in the field but don’t worry since spotting scope reviews are always there to broaden your knowledge.

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