| The primary uses for spotting scopes are:o birding,o | | | | optics matters more. When in doubt, go for higher |
| surveillance and landscape viewing,o wildlife | | | | quality rather than a larger lens; this includes different |
| management and sport hunting.o Marine use (on ships | | | | grades of specialized glass in the second lens. |
| and lakes)o shooting ranges for riflery and archery,o | | | | Like binoculars, spotting scopes are usually refractors |
| light duty manual astronomy,o extreme range | | | | for their optical mounts, with a prism arrangement. |
| telephoto lenses. | | | | This allows the scope to be smaller, more rugged and |
| Spotting scopes have a numerical code; the first two | | | | waterproof than a comparable reflector telescope. |
| numbers are the range of magnification available, the | | | | Reflectors can achieve higher magnifications and focal |
| second is the diameter of the outer lens in | | | | apertures, which is why they're preferred for |
| millimeters. Most spotting scopes start with | | | | astronomy. |
| magnifications that are a bit beyond with sporting | | | | Most of the prisms in spotting scopes are the Porro |
| binoculars will get. More magnification lets you see | | | | design; the kind of glass in a prism is important, the |
| more detail and identify things further away; more | | | | most common kind for medium grade on up is |
| magnification also means that any imperfections in | | | | Bak-4-glass. BK7 glass is a lower grade used for |
| the viewing conditions (dust, heat waves, hand | | | | cheaper spotting scopes, and should be avoided. |
| tremors) are also made worse. There are times | | | | Another type of prism mount is a roof prism spotting |
| when 60x magnification will work, there will be times | | | | scope, which are more compact and transportable. If |
| when 20x magnification simply won't. Pretty much, | | | | you use a roof prism design, make sure you get |
| anything past 60x magnification is usable only at night | | | | phase-coated (PC) optics. |
| when looking up at the sky. As a general rule of | | | | As with any optical device, keep your expectations in |
| thumb, higher quality optics translates into better | | | | accordance with the price, and keep your demands |
| viewing quality, and significantly higher prices; the | | | | (and price) in line with your needs. If you don't need |
| ones that have as sharp an image at 60x zoom as | | | | an absolute top of the line scope, don't buy one. |
| 20x zoom can cost a few thousand dollars. | | | | Look for the added features you do need (camera |
| The other factor is the size of the second lens; | | | | adapters, additional weather proofing) before you |
| larger lenses pull in more light and greater amounts of | | | | look for 'more magnification for the sake of |
| resolution and detail. While size matters, quality of the | | | | magnification. |