Spotting Scope Review

Zeiss PhotoScope 85 T FL

Don Jenkins — Thu, 04 Feb 2010 23:26:33 +0000

The Amazing Zeiss Victory Photoscope 85

The hot NEW diascope from Zeiss with digital camera built in — my review is coming soon!

Zeiss Diascope 65 T* FL

Don Jenkins — Thu, 04 Feb 2010 21:59:10 +0000

Zeiss 65 T* FL Straight Diascope

The Zeiss Diascope 65 T* FL LT 65 mm spotting scope, is another spectacular spotting scope from Zeiss. This is the straight version of their 65mm Diascope, which comes with magnificent optical quality and resolution.

Main Features:

Legendary Carl Zeiss quality.
FL Glass for vivid, clean, bright colors in any light.
Dual ratio focus: rapid and precise.
Fully waterproof and fog proof.
Straight Viewing.
Includes 15-45x Wide Angle Zoom Eyepiece.
48-67° Apparent Field Of View.
Made in Germany.

My Review of Zeiss Diascope 65 T* FL LT 65 mm Spotting Scope With Vario 15- 45x Eyepiece:

The Zeiss 65mm Diascope T* FL LT Spotting Scope is one of the outstanding spotting scopes made by Zeiss. This new fieldscope from Zeiss is simply so good— so bright, so compact and so field-worthy—that in most birding situations you wont find a reason to carry a larger scope! Since the make of this diascope is Zeiss, it goes without saying that the optics are brilliant. This scope guarantees to give you a perfect view even in extremely low light conditions; with absolutely no color fringing. To top it up, the wide angle zoom is remarkable and gives naturally crisp views.

The straight alignment is an added advantage, as it is easier to spot the subject from a straight view. However, this entirely depends on personal opinion and experience.

When compared with other 65mm scopes, this one is unquestionably the best. The sleek and the compact design give it an extra edge, and in most cases the view is much brighter and clearer as compared to the rest. However the Swarovski is not far behind. If offers similar quality and portability; the view is almost as crisp and sharp as that of the Zeiss. The major drawback with this straight scope that most people notice is that you have to get a bigger tripod and have to get the scope very high in order to use it.

The Zeiss 65mm Diascope T* FL LT is an absolute must have! Almost all customer reviews for this product are favorable. The average price for this scope is around $1600. You can easily buy it from many websites. But make sure you do your research right before you buy it because some websites offer you a very good discount. And even otherwise the prices at different websites are not usually the same.

Zeiss Diascope 85 FL

Don Jenkins — Wed, 03 Feb 2010 20:09:15 +0000

The angled body Zeiss Victory Diascope 85 FL

The Carl Zeiss Victory Diascope 85 FL is undoubtedly one of the best 85mm scopes available. Needless to say, like all Zeiss diascopes, it is equipped with magnificent Zeiss optics for outstanding magnification, high resolution and exceptional brightness.

Main Features:

Legendary Carl Zeiss quality.
FL Glass for vivid, clean, bright colors in any light.
Dual ratio focus: rapid and precise.
Extra wide fields of view at all powers, 20x-60x.
Fully water proof and fog proof.
Lens coated with oil, water and dirt resistant coating of LotuTec.
Made in Germany.

My Review of the Zeiss 85FL Diascope (with vario eyepiece – angled 20-60x):

This Zeiss diascope is the full-sized version of Zeiss’ premier quality spotting scope. Surprisingly light and compact for an 85-mm scope. The build, quality and portability of the Zeiss fieldscope are most impressive. Another important feature of note is the easy-to-use, well-designed double focusing system. The diascope uses the Carl Zeiss Advanced Optics System (AOS) to give an outstanding experience in focusing.

This angled diascope is exceptionally useful if you do a lot of standing still kind of birding. An angled scope also makes sharing the view with others much easier, as people of different heights can bend down to one position for a sighting. This kind of an angled scope is also very advisable for seawatching, as you can sit down low and keep out of the wind.

One major downside to an angled model is using it in a hide – unless there’s room for you to put up a tripod, there isn’t a particularly easy solution for much of the time.

The eyepiece is spectacle wearer friendly. Needless to say, like all Zeiss optics, it gives outstanding clarity and magnification, avoids color fringing and also gives extra wide fields of view at all powers, 20x-60x.

If you’re looking for an outstanding scope with ultrafine optics and flawless images in any light, then my rating for this Zeiss spotting scope is an absolute must buy! With the impressive size and portability, Zeiss beats most of its counter parts with an extra edge. You can buy it from many websites; some of them even offer attractive discounts. The list price for this scope is $2500 approx, though you can check a number sites before you buy it because there’s a small difference in the price everywhere.

Angled Spotting Scope vs. Straight

Don Jenkins — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 22:45:29 +0000

The angle is great for low viewing

Angled and straight are the two basic body designs of the refractor spotting scope.

In a straight scope the eyepieces are aligned to each other while in an angled scope, the eyepiece is at an offset of 45 degree or 90 degree from the barrel. However, straight design is preferred by many.

straight body designed scopes can be easily mount on the glass window of a car to follow birds. It is also easy use at elevated position. While if you tall, you might prefer the angled scope. It depends on how you want to use your scope.

Some of the basic differences between a straight and angled spotting scope:

A straight scope your eyes are in straight line with the object under observation while in an angled scope you can look down into the scope observing the object, or you can even look from its side. With an angled scope you can do birding at different heights. You can rotate an angled scope to any of the sides. However, in a straight scope you have to adjust the lens according to the height.

With a straight scope, you have to bend on your knees to look through the scope while in an angled scope you just have to turn your head a little bit. An angled scope can be mounted lower for a better and steady image formation. A straight scope should be mounted at the height of your eye. angled scope can also work with a light-weight tripod. However, straight scope is preferred for birding from cars. The scope can be mounted on the car’s window and birding can be done easily. Some may even prefer an angled scope because of its larger arc of use.

Lastly, I would advise you to choose a light weight scope which is portable and easy to carry.

Weigh the cost of the scope against the benefits of the same to choose the best deal for yourself within your budget. If you can’t afford a Swarovski or Zeiss, you can look for a Nikon or Pentax. Buying a scope may be a onetime expenditure but will serve as a long term investment later.

There are a number of accessories which come along with the scope. Be smart enough to choose the right ones, according to your needs. Wait! Do not let your bank balance run out before you could buy a tripod for your scope. It increases its durability and stability.

Where to buy the best spotting scopes

Don Jenkins — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 21:20:19 +0000

Check each site I mention or you'll miss the best deals!

Over the past few years I’ve purchased over 10 different spotting scopes online for myself and my family. The best selection, prices and overall shopping experience has been at the following stores.

Best shops to buy scopes from

Frugal shopper tip: I’ve linked you right to the best deals below. Visit each store using my links for one click access to the biggest discounts.

Binoculars Shop [recommended!] – This site offers some of the best deals you’ll find online and at times has that hard to find scope in stock when others don’t. Also useful for reading reviews and for buying other related optics products.

Amazon – The selection at Amazon, and often the prices as well can’t be beat. The lengthy customer reviews are also a great help when selecting a spotting scope.

No related posts.

Spotting Scope vs. Telescope

Don Jenkins — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 18:10:17 +0000

Spotting scopes can be used for Telescope sights

From the point of view of the design, a spotting scope and a telescope are not very different altogether.

Both are used for magnification and are constructed with an eyepiece lens and an objective lens. Both are used to be able to see long distance images clearly. Both the spotting scope and the telescope are designed in such a way that they can be mounted on tripods. However, this is where the differences arise.

The basic purpose of a spotting scope is to observe terrestrial targets, whereas that of a telescope is to study celestial objects. Spotting scopes are lighter to make them portable and are armed with rubber reinforcements. They also sport a more ergonomic design, as compared to telescopes, and are more rugged and durable. As compared to an astronomical telescope, a spotting scope has lesser magnification and a smaller aperture. However this enables the spotting scope to have a wider field of view.

Telescopes are optimized for being placed at one place and hence tend to be heavier than a spotting scope. A major difference between the two is that spotting scopes are designed to be mounted on generic camera tripods while telescopes require special mounts, which are quite expensive, to support them. The image produced by a telescope is always inverted and a spotting scope always produces a right side up image.

How to decide whether to use a telescope or a spotting scope? As mentioned earlier, a spotting scope is meant for terrestrial observations. Typically, when there is a need for high magnification, a spotting scope is chosen over a pair of binoculars. Due to the wider field of view that spotting scopes offer, as compared to telescope, they are better suited for observing moving targets. This makes them ideal for birding, hunting, surveillance etc. Spotting scopes are also used with guns for targeting. They can also be paired with a camera to shoot pictures of distant objects. In fact a spotting scope can also be used for star-gazing but will not provide as much clarity as a telescope would.

Astronomy telescopes are far better suited at observing stationary objects due to their narrower field of view. Also, due to their greater aperture and magnification than a spotting scope, they are suited for viewing objects at great distances such as stars, planets and the Moon. Although a telescope can be used to view terrestrial objects, it is not a recommended practice as not only is a telescope bulky but also produces an inverted image.

Using a Spotting Scope for Astronomy

Don Jenkins — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 18:06:07 +0000

Try a spotting scope for astronomical views

Over recent years, the use of spotting scope has gained popularity due to its portability. Moreover, it often results in clear images and is much cheaper than a conventional scope. Spotting scope is a durable telescope which is used for bird watching, hunting and even digiscoping. Depending on the configuration of the lens and eyepiece, it can be either used with or without a tripod. The major difference between a spotting scope and a telescope is that telescope gives inverted images unlike spotting scope.

The length of the spotting scope is around 300-400mm and the diameter of the lens is 60mm. Most lenses are of diameter between 60-80mm. A clear and sharp image is formed by a large lens while a small lens makes the scope portable and can be used without a tripod. The eyepiece of the spotting scope is set between 25x-35x while as the cost of the spotting scope increases the highest possible magnification also increases.

You can also choose a scope which offers variable zoom lenses. However, it is important to note that with the increase in magnification many other factors lowers; field view, image brightness, image sharpness etc. With a high magnification, the field of vision gets shortened and the amount of light collected also reduces, thereby decreasing the quality of the picture. It is advisable to use a scope with the lowest available magnification to gain a clear image. Scopes can also be fitted with the eyepiece of the telescope to increase the range of use.

Spotting scopes are best for nighttime stargazing and viewing heavenly body located close to earth. If the conditions are suitable, they can also be used to spot planets. However, a conventional telescope proves to have an edge over the spotting scope for viewing the other heavenly bodies in the sky. If you have to choose between a spotting scope and a conventional scope, think of the 80/20 thumb rule. According to the thumb rule, if you have to spend 80% of your time in viewing terrestrial objects and 20% of your time in watching stars, go for a spotting scope. However, if you are looking for your scope to perform a variety of functions like: electronic tracking, the ability to get sync to a computer, or studying deep astronomy, then you should go for a conventional scope. You should base your choice depending upon how you will use the scope.

Tips for Birding using a Spotting Scope

Don Jenkins — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 17:50:59 +0000

A spotting scope will widen your horizon for most bird watching. You can see a bird more clearly with spotting scope. All of us know that sometimes we need more than the usual 7x to 10x binoculars to locate those rare species of bird which we missed otherwise. However, it is not only used for rare species of birds but you can use a spotting scope for all kind of birding. The best thing about a spotting scope is that you can watch the sensitive species from a friendly distance; not disturbing them in their natural habitat. Some may feel that using a spotting scope is much difficult than a binocular but this idea of theirs can be debunked with a little practice.

Higher the magnification lower is the sharpness and the brightness of the image. Many other things are also lost in favor of higher magnification. More emphasis should be given to sharpness and clarity of the image rather than magnification. You should know how to use a spotting scope with a higher magnification. Make sure that you always start using the scope with the lowest available magnification and gradually increases it to the highest possible. Lining up with the target is the basic skill which is required to master the spotting scope. The best solution to the narrow scope is wide field of view, which can be achieved by wide- field eye pieces.

Spotting scopes are available in two different designs: straight and angled. straight designed scopes are the most preferred one and is characterized by an eyepiece that is in line with the body of the scope. While the angled scopes have the eyepiece aligned at an angle of 45 degrees to the barrel of the scope. straight designed scopes are considered best for birding from cars as they can be easily mounted on the car’s window. On the other hand angled scopes are best for bird watching at a height and they are also easy to use for watching stars at night time. All you need is practice, no matter which ever scope you use.

Some of the things which you should keep in mind for a better view are: keep your both eyes open while observing, wear your glasses if you suffer from astigmatism, use the stronger and the sharper eye as your scope eye, relax the muscle around the eyes while observing. However, if you cannot keep both the eyes open, try to keep the other eye partially open. This is considered to be a good practice and with little practice you can master the technique.

How-to pick a Spotting Scope for Birding

Don Jenkins — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 17:41:03 +0000

Get closer when birding with a scope

There are many kinds of scopes available. Birding spotting scopes come with many features and its price generally ranges from $100 to $2,000. The costlier ones are characterized by large objective lens and special coated optics.

While purchasing a spotting scope, one should consider many factors. The factors include: the objective lens’ size, alignment of the eyepiece, total magnification and even the money one can spend on the scope. If you willing to purchase a scope you can visit the Scope section for acquiring detailed information about spotting scopes and can compare them as well . You can also take a tour to the Cornell lab of Ornithology to read authentic reviews of the latest spotting scopes available from a variety of manufactures.

Apart from the factors stated above, you should go for a spotting scope with a suitable eyepiece’s angle. Spotting scopes which come with an eyepiece angle of 45 degrees is more stable as they tend to lower the tripod stand. Increase in stability reduces vibration.

There are two designs for spotting scopes: straight and angled. straight design is the best option for those who is fond of birding from cars. For mounting the spotting scope on the window, many types of window mounts are available in the market. Moreover, a straight designed spotting scope is also easier to use from an elevated position.

Using the spotting scope with a zoom eyepiece is preferred by many birders. With the help of the zoom, the user can easily switch from a lower magnification ( say 20x) to a higher magnification (say 60x). It is a known fact that the higher the magnification the more is the light collected, the less the magnification the less is the light collected. If the vibration affects are not reduced the images captured at high magnification can result into poor images.

Expensive scopes come with a special optical glass and coating to prevent the images from getting blurred at high magnification.

Generally, images captured at 20x level results into best photographs. However, images at 60x level are very useful for identification of birds.

The adapters for digital camera are very expensive. Often the adapters designed for the digital camera by the manufactures is suitable for only that line of scope. It is advisable to check the price of the adapter before purchasing the spotting scope, so that later you don’t end up paying huge amount for the adaptor.

Alpen Digital Camera Adapter Review

Don Jenkins — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 17:34:32 +0000

The Alpen Digital Camera Adapter for spotting scopes is mainly used for taking pictures while using your spotting scope to target the subject of the image. There may be times when you would want to take still images of the scenes and the objects that you are viewing. In that case the Alpen Digital Camera Adapter for spotting scopes comes in handy. The Alpen Digital Camera Adapter for spotting scopes makes it possible for you to shoot fast moving targets which would otherwise be impossible to shoot without an adapter. The Alpen Digital Camera Adapter for spotting scopes not only makes it easy for you to shoot moving targets but also relieves much of the strain of shooting for a long time.

Product Details

The Alpen Digital Camera Adapter for spotting scopes is quite easy to use and comes with a manual that provides all the instructions step by step on how to use the adapter.The instructions although a bit lengthy, make using the Alpen Digital Camera Adapter for spotting scopes much simpler and more convenient.The durable metal body of the Alpen Digital Camera Adapter for spotting scopes means that it can be used in all situations even the toughest ones like those in the jungles while shooting wildlife. The exterior is so designed that it can be cleaned very easily and does not let dust accumulate all that fast. In addition to that, the Alpen Digital Camera Adapter for spotting scopes is compact and portable having dimensions of 8 x 18 x 12 inches and weighing just about 2.6 pounds. This indicates that the Alpen Digital Camera Adapter for spotting scopes will not add much to the weight of your travel bag and nor will it take up too much space. So you can easily carry it around wherever you go. The strong metal design also holds the digital camera firmly in space and helps in taking extra sharp images. In addition to the convenient contours and design the Alpen Digital Camera Adapter for spotting scopes also folds up to fit into any small and narrow place. Another great thing about the Alpen Digital Camera Adapter for spotting scopes is that it can swing in and out of alignment with the spotting scope. This makesit simpler for you to repeatedly use the spotting scope alternating with the digital camera adapter. You can focus with the spotting scopeand shoot with the digital camera by one swing of the adapter.

Adaptability and Prices

Although the Alpen Digital Camera Adapter for spotting scopes works well with almost all spotting scopes the best performance is provided when used with an Alpen spotting scope. The price for this very convenient and useful device is 63 dollars which may a little exorbitant in the beginning but will seem perfectly normal after you learn of all the features of the Alpen Digital Camera Adapter for spotting scopes.