Thread: Spotting Scopes

I have a nikon ED50 very lightweight scope. I bought the body and eye piece separately out of Japan via ebay to save coin and come in under customs limits. They have been around for a while but still rate pretty well Vortex Razor HD 50 vs Nikon ED50 vs Minox MD50

Originally Posted by yerimaginaryM8

I have a nikon ED50 very lightweight scope. I bought the body and eye piece separately out of Japan via ebay to save coin and come in under customs limits. They have been around for a while but still rate pretty well Vortex Razor HD 50 vs Nikon ED50 vs Minox MD50

what kind of distance is it good for?

Just adding what others have said , spend more money I had a Bushnell a few years ago & the only thing it was good for is at the range , trying to evaluate a tahr or cham 1k away with cheap optics is hopeless

is it worth starting off with a cheap one or not?

No mate,it's not...... if I had taken the $$$$$ that I've spent on cheap shit over the years and just bought something that was a bit more expensive,had great reviews and the groundwork done by others , I would have been way ahead of the game.The respondents here on this thread have given some bloody good advice,advice that is worth listening too.

Originally Posted by Lukeduncan

is it worth starting off with a cheap one or not?

I've just purchased the .. Nikon Monarch HG 10x42 binoculars.... $900 US.... let me tell you this ... the clarity and the optics quality is unbelievable compared to the 2 other cheap binocs that I have.... seeing is believing

Something to consider with spotting scopes is their optical clarity is limited by the glass used and build quality. Unlike a given rifle caliber which has an effective range between X & Y, a viewing instruments capability really is endless. While you may have an idea in your mind that you want to view game up to X metres, in reality, when you are sitting in a large braided river bed, or up on a mountain face and you spot something of interest in excess of your predetermined distance, it is wonderful being able to assess it clearly. As an example, a few weeks back I noticed a brown animal which looked like a deer with my binoculars from the lounge window. I pulled out the spotter and confirmed it as a free range hind. I then noticed 3 additional animals. One hind had a small circular ear tag about the size of a $2 coin in each ear. The distance was in excess of 2.5km! (range finder maxed out at 2556 yds). The spotter was a high end brand but this example is to illustrated that with quality optics, you can assess objects a long way out. As has been stated above, you are really throwing your money away if you purchase a cheap spotting scope. You will use it two or three times, realise its not worth lugging around your chosen hunting ground, and leave it behind to save weight. Sadly you have to fork out reasonable coin to get quality. My advise is to save until you can afford a reasonable unit, and then save some more and purchase a quality scope...u wont regret it in the long run! Oh and don't forget about the tripod...no point forking out good coin on a spotter if you then purchase an unstable tripod which wobbles around in the wind or worse still blows over and your expensive spotter bounces off down the hillside...
Regardless of what you end up with, watching and evaluating game is an enjoyable activity so good luck!

I experimented with Nikon and Optolyth spotters in the past, however neither make gave me the image clarity I was looking for to be able to ascertain the sex and assess the quality of deer at a few hundred metres.

I restarted my search again this year and looked at all sorts of options having having heard good things about the budget Vortex and also Hawk spotters which are now on the market. A member from a UK forum who lives fairly close very kindly gave me a demo with his Swarovski STS HD spotter and I was sold, took me a few months to save up and buy one but well worth the investment, but you really need to think of it as investing your hard earned cash in good quality kit that will last a lifetime and perform.

A good quality tripod is also essential. You can get some very light carbon tripods but they are expensive for the minimal weight saving over aluminium. The Manfrotto Befree lightweight aluminium travel tripods are well worth a look.

Where's the best place price wise to buy Swarovski or Leica spotting scopes generally?

Have heard rumours taphapi sports is the place for scopes

Originally Posted by Snowgrass

Where's the best place price wise to buy Swarovski or Leica spotting scopes generally?

Ebay is good, especially if you have someone in the states that can receive for you and then send over, or bring over

Forum member sarvo is the man with the deals


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Originally Posted by Smiddy

Forum member sarvo is the man with the deals


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Ssshhh - not so loud

Bloody NZ$ making deals difficult - the Jacinda/North Korea effect hurting imports

Anyone wanting Range Binos at pre "Jacinda effect" PM me ASAP to save 200$ at the minimum - cause next lot be 3800+

Originally Posted by Lukeduncan

Are many people using cameras?

Yep the superzoom cameras are very good option and way better than cheap or even mid range price spotting scopes .
Added advantage is they are light & compact. If your budget is under $1k then I'd go with digital superzoom every time.
They don't quite match the optical quality of a Leica or Swarovski top end spotter. But they are very good.