If your conventional binoculars aren’t giving you the magnification that you need, it’s time to check into obtaining a spotting telescope. You can bring distant objects into view whether you are studying wildlife, looking for ships or whales, hunting, birding or just viewing the landscape.

There are two things that determine the amount of magnification you can use in a spotting telescope. You have to factor in the environmental conditions that can reduce image quality. Dust, glare, heat waves, humidity and the air and wind currents will all influence the detail of your image at a distance. The optical system on the spotting scope also has limits. The greater the magnification of the spotting telescope, the higher the likelihood of reduced image quality.

Don’t make the mistake of buying more than what you need. Even on days when all of the environmental factors are cooperating with you and you can feel safe in getting a clear view at higher magnifications, there is just so far that you can go with realistic expectations.

If you think you should invest in a spotting telescope that offers a hundred times magnification, you may be throwing your money away because there are actually very few days when the conditions are good enough to use a magnification greater than 60X to 80X. That is why most of the spotting scopes that you can buy stop at 60X.
As you shop for a spotting scope you’ll notice that most of them have three numbers on the label. The magnification ranges of the scope are represented by the first two numbers and the last tells you the diameter of the front lens. For instance, if you are looking at a spotting telescope that is labeled 15-45×60 you know that the zoom magnification is a range of 15x to 45x and that the front lens is 60mm.

Before you buy your new spotting telescope, there are some other factors to take into consideration. If you wear eyeglasses you may not be able to bring your eye close enough t the eyepiece to bring the entire field into sight. Make sure that you buy a model that has a minimum of 14mm eye relief.
If you will be using the scope in all types of weather you may want to make sure that you buy a waterproof spotting telescope to not only protect it from moisture, but also from dirt and dust.

Shawn Kirby a professional product reviewer who has reviewed over 100 different types of products in the electronics category.

Barska BlackBlackhawk Spotting Scope review by Shawn Kirby

Rating: 3stars

Available on Amazon for $73.37 here

Spotting Telescopes are quite important for every nature viewer. They are very easy to use with great zoom capabilities. They can also be very easy to get use to. The Barska BlackBlackhawk Spotting Scope is a particularly great one.

This is curently on sale at Amazon for $73.37 though this link.

The Good:

• Easy to carry
• Reliable

The Bad:

• Not durable

The Features:

• Maksutov-Cassegrain optical design with multi-coated optics
• 45° eyepiece – zooms up to 75x
• 1.25" eyepiece adapter allows usage of any 1.25" eyepiece
• Table top tripod
• Soft carrying case

The Bottom Line:

TheBarska BlackBlackhawk 60mmRefractor Zoom Spotting Scope is a nice telescope because it is easy to get used to and carry. But sometimes it may not be durable enough, so be super careful.

If you want to buy this , I highly recommend you get it from Amazon here. Its the cheapest place online.

Actual Review by Susan Patterson :

love it. It arrrived in less than a week and allows us to view almost anything out in our lake. Great buy for the money Paraphrased for size – Read the original review here.

Spotting Telescopes can sometimes be a big investment, which is why you must know what to look for and what to void before you go straight into buying a spotting scope. It also helps to read a spotting scope review or check out some spotting scope ratings.

Let’s go from the basics.

What is a spotting scope?

It is much like a binocular or a telescope in which you use it to view distant object and they show up closer to you. The only difference from a telescope is that it can’t be used t view anything up in space. Not recommended to try either. They also don’t have as much as zoom as telescopes do, but however their zoom is much better than that of a binocular.

Here are 6 things that you want to check that your spotting scope include:

Let’s go into the details

1. Eye Relief – Eye relief is the maximum distance that you can keep the spotting scope away from your eye so much so that you don’t obstruct the entire thing you are viewing. Make sure you can have a long distance for maximum distances.

2. Field of View – A field of view is how much you can see in a specific frame. Make sure you can see a wide view with clear views of moving objects.

3. Exit Pupil – This is the size of the beam of the light that leaves the lenses. Make sure it is pretty big.

4. Coated optics – Make sure the coating is good because it can make it perform better and it will deliver lots better pictures. It will also lengthen the lifespan. Make sure the optics is coated.

5. Objective lens size – Make sure it has a huge size for the objective lens size. This means that the image will be very bright and will have greater contact and clarity.

6. Magnification – See how much it can magnify. This means the closer it can get to the thing you are trying to view or the target.

If you check the above 6 things and make sure that you check and see that your spotting score has good features so that you don’t pay over or under for what your spotting scope costs.

Also make sure that you get a little tripod to have better stability on your scope. Buying a spotting scope, as I mentioned above, a be a little investment. Also make sure that you don’t over or even underpay for the features. The cheaper versions aren’t worth spending money on.

A spotting telescope isn’t a very complex thing; it is simply a small telescope that is a bit better than a binocular. It can be used every day, so its portability is great! It is however, very low key compared to a astronomical telescope.

It has many differences when compared to an astronomical telescope. Here are the differences:

* It produces an upright image. Other telescopes will have an upside down image.
* Much smaller
* Less zoom
* Lower magnification
* More portable
* easier to carry
* Lighter
* Fits on any tripod
* Can use in daytime
* Waterproof
* Fog proof

Along with all those specifications, they also have many uses. Astronomical telescopes are only used for stars and planets, but these can be used for much more things. You can use them for biding and hinting. Another use is viewing nature or landscape. You can even view wildlife. Sometimes they can also be useful for surveillance. Now remember, they are different from binoculars because they are bigger and have way more zoom. These are recommended if you are interested in professional viewing, not just for use here and there.

Also if you buy a waterproof one, it will be more expensive. Keep in mind that this is not a needed feature unless you are dealing a lot with water. If will add life to your telescope with the feature, but if you are worried about paying the extra, don’t worry about it.

These spotting telescopes are really growing in popularly because of their great price and features. Make sure you read spotting telescope reviews.

Spotting telescopes are very helpful pieces of equipment when it comes down to birding or hunting. They are usually waterproof and can also sometimes be fog proof. They are lightweight for easy carrying and have a ergonomic design. They have great zoom and they are very easy to use and very convenient at the same time!

Shawn Kirby a professional product reviewer who has reviewed over 100 different types of products in the electronics category.

Celestron 52238 C70 Mini Mak Spotting Scope review by Shawn Kirby

Rating: 3stars

Available on Amazon for $73.37 here

Spotting Telescopes are quite important for every nature viewer. They are very easy to use with great zoom capabilities. They can also be very easy to get use to. The Celestron 52238 C70 Mini Mak Spotting Scope is a particularly great one.

This is curently on sale at Amazon for $73.37 though this link.

The Good:

• Easy to carry
• Reliable

The Bad:

• Not durable

The Features:

• Maksutov-Cassegrain optical design with multi-coated optics
• 45° eyepiece – zooms up to 75x
• 1.25" eyepiece adapter allows usage of any 1.25" eyepiece
• Table top tripod
• Soft carrying case

The Bottom Line:

The Celestron 52229 60mmRefractor Zoom Spotting Scope is a nice telescope because it is easy to get used to and carry. But sometimes it may not be durable enough, so be super careful.

If you want to buy this , I highly recommend you get it from Amazon here. Its the cheapest place online.

Actual Review by Susan Patterson :

love it. It arrrived in less than a week and allows us to view almost anything out in our lake. Great buy for the money Paraphrased for size – Read the original review here.

Spotting Telescopes are very good pieces of equipment to use. They can help you view nature from really far away with their great zoom. They are also easy to use and are usually very cheap. They have good zoom eyepieces and are usually waterproof. They can also gave great glass and usually be very light and easy to carry. They come with carrying cases as well. Really recommended buy.

Shawn Kirby a professional product reviewer who has reviewed over 100 different types of products in the electronics category.

Celestron 52252 100mm Ultima Zoom Spotting Scope review by Shawn Kirby

Rating: 5 stars

Available on Amazon for $239.95 here

If you are on the lookout for a good spotting telescope with many features, than the Celestron 52252 100mm Ultima Zoom Spotting Scope is the right one for you. There are many features in this spotting telescope. It is waterproof and is also very strongly built. It is definitely a recommended buy.

This Spotting Telescope is curently on sale at Amazon for $239.95 though this link.

The Good:

• Good lighting
• Good preformence
• Waterproof

The Bad:

• Not great zoon

The Features:

• Multi-Coated Optics
• Zoom Eyepiece
• Sight tube for quick targeting
• Soft Carrying Case
• Limited Lifetime Warranty

The Bottom Line:

This Is a great scope. It is a really recommended buy if you want something with good performance.

If you want to buy this Spotting Telescope, I highly recommend you get it from Amazon here. Its the cheapest place online.

Shawn Kirby a professional product reviewer who has reviewed over 100 different types of products in the electronics category.

Celestron 52229 60mmRefractor Zoom Spotting Scope review by Shawn Kirby

Rating: 5stars

Available on Amazon for $62.29 here

Spotting Telescopes are quite important for every nature viewer. They are very easy to use with great zoom capabilities. They can also be very easy to get use to. The Celestron 52229 60mmRefractor Zoom Spotting Scope is a particularly great one.

This Spotting Telescope is curently on sale at Amazon for $62.29 though this link.

The Good:

• Easy to carry
• Reliable

The Bad:

• Not durable

The Features:

• Maksutov-Cassegrain optical design with multi-coated optics
• 45° eyepiece – zooms up to 75x
• 1.25″ eyepiece adapter allows usage of any 1.25″ eyepiece
• Table top tripod
• Soft carrying case

The Bottom Line:

The Celestron 52238 C70 Mini Mak Spotting Scope is a nice telescope because it is easy to get used to and carry. But sometimes it may not be durable enough, so be super careful.

If you want to buy this Spotting Telescope, I highly recommend you get it from Amazon here. Its the cheapest place online.

Actual Review by Szalasi Ferenc :

I recently purchased this spotting scope. The first I was skeptic when I did see that $45.00 low price. But tell you what, this spotting scope is amazing. I purchased for target shooting purpose. I did test it for 300 yard target, and I can see the 308 bullet holes on my paper nicely, at sunny daylight. I think it would work easily 500-600 yard range. Now not just that, I did try to look the moon at night with it. You can see the bigger crates so clear. This scope well worth the money. It comes with a nice hard case too. The tripod is a junk to be honest. I’m using my camera tripod, and works well. I do recommend this spotting scope. You can’t beat that price. Paraphrased for size – Read the original review here.

Shawn Kirby a professional product reviewer who has reviewed over 100 different types of products in the electronics category.

Celestron 52250 80mm Ultima Zoom Spotting Scope review by Shawn Kirby

Rating: 4 stars

Available on Amazon for $298.95 here

The Celestron 52250 80mm Ultima Zoom Spotting Scope is a great scope for viewing nature. It has great features and eye relief. It is also waterproof with great magnification. The clarity is also exceptionally clear. The price is also great and the features are jam packed.

This Spotting Telescope is currently on sale at Amazon for $298.95 though this link.

The Good:

• Eye relief
• Waterproof
• Exceptional clarity

The Bad:

• higher magnifications the image deteriorates

The Features:

• Multi-Coated Optics
• Sight tube for quick targeting
• Soft Carrying Case
• Zoom Eyepiece
• Limited Lifetime Warranty

The Bottom Line:

If you want a good spotting telescope with many features, than the Celestron 52250 80mm Ultima Zoom Spotting Scope is the one for you. But the only problem is that if you zoom, the image deteriorates.

If you want to buy this Spotting Telescope, I highly recommend you get it from Amazon here. Its the cheapest place online.

Actual Review by John Meagan :

I originally bought a Raven from Eagle Optics. But I returned it. Raven was $400. It had poor eye relief and poor image quality but very good scope construction (housing, cordura case etc). I went to Cabela’s and tried the usual high-end suspects as well as Meopta, and Cabela’s ED (Big Sky?). Thought I was going to have to resign myself to spend the big bucks Paraphrased for size – Read the original review here.