Spotting Scope Magnification

[Varnakov222]

The following does not make sense to me:

The highest magnification I have ever seen on a spotting scope regardless of class, price, and brand is 25X-125X.

This can be found on a low end Barska spotting scope that retailed for only a little over $200.00

The most expensive high end spotting scopes like Ziess, Leica, Kowa, and VisionKing among others only have magnifications going up to 25X-80X.

These things cost thousands of dollars.

I know that the lenses on this low end Barska are generic, nothing fancy like diamond coated lenses.

And I know that there is more to a spotting scope than just magnification.

But could someone please explain to me how any spotting scope with 25X-125X magnification can possibly be that cheap?

 

[bykfixer]

It's all about the glass. Great glass provides a sharper image. Cheap glass can have distortion many don't notice.

My Kowa at 60x is so clean you can see dust specs on the legs of a hawk. My cheap binoculars, you cannot.
Does that really matter? It really depends on the purpose of said spotting scope. My dad used to use the Kowa he gave me to spot targets down field after taking 10 shots with a rifle. The goal was to hit the exact same spot repeatedly. With his Kowa he could see if that were the case and dial in his powder recipe accordingly. He used to shoot varmints for farmers and wanted to make sure his shot did the trick first time instead of wounding the critter.

I used to use it hooked to a camera for wildlife photos. The sharper the image, the better the cropped images were. The issue I had was the printer I had couldn't produce the details well.

 

[Varnakov222]

Yes, I saw this use of a spotting scope in long distance shooting in a film, "Jack Reacher" with Tom Cruz and Robert Duvall.

 

[hsa]

The magnification is determined by dividing the focal length of the objective by the focal length of the eyepiece. You can put anything in there that you want to get a mag that you can advertise. You just can't see anything out of it at that magnification. Chromatic and Spherical abberation will eat you up. Seeing conditions (heat shimmer etc.) will usually keep you under 40x with good glass and much less with cheap stuff.

 

[hsa]

The long shots you see at sporting events are done with a Digisuper (Canon or Fuji). They use a 12 inch objective with a base price of about $200k.

 

[hsa]

If they point one of them at Saturn, the rings are clearly visible, even the Cassini division.

 

[troutpool]

hsa said it all in #4 above. I used a Kowa scope with 20-60 zoom lens for birding for years. Anything above 40x was difficult to use, not only for the reasons hsa mentioned but also because of the increasingly restricted field of view with higher magnification, and the more noticible effects of scope wobble and shake, even on a sturdy tripod.

 

[Varnakov222]

Is the image quality with the high end spotting scopes equivalent to like 4k or 8k resolution?

 

[orbital]

+

Extremely high magnification scopes are likely junk,
that high number is really just for people who don't know and get ripped off.
you have to understand the exit pupil size,, very important.

The objective lens size divided by magnification is your exit pupil size = that's your usable image seen by your eye.
Anything much smaller than 3mm is really unusable or an absolute hassle to use.

Eye relief is a factor too, you want as much as possible.

also, fixed magnification scopes can be a much clearer image since there are fewer moving parts to get out of alignment.

 

[KITROBASKIN]

Good stuff from orbital as well. If the exit pupil is a smaller diameter than the size of your pupil at the time of viewing, well that is going to be a cramped look.

Low light/night viewing requires scopes that have a larger exit pupil to accommodate an enlarged pupil.

Different people have various opinions but some consider 4 power to be maximum magnification for a handheld. Some way to steady the tool (like a tripod) is really needed to get a good image with higher magnifications. An image shaking around is hard to discern any kind of detail (as troutpool was saying)

Kind of like cheap flashlights making highly inflated dubious claims, an advertised super high magnification optic is pretty much junk unless it is really, really expensive.

 

[orbital]

+

If anyone is looking for a fixed magnification scope, this is a real good deal:

this scope from warehouse deal~Like New $186 (ditch the Zoom eyepiece it comes with)
a friend of mine has this exact scope, so I'v actually used it myself.

Amazon.com

this eyepiece $115

Amazon.com

approx, $300 total

Magnification comes out to 32X w/ an exit pupil of 2.5mm (a bit on the small side, but not impossible)
The eyepiece is very good in that is has 'flat field' technology in the lens grind,, edge to edge sharpness that has to be seen.
Most of the technology in what you see, in any scope, is from the eyepiece.

>>figuring out magnification on a fixed eyepiece is a bit tricky,
it has to do w/ focal lengths of scope & eyepiece together.

 

[hsa]

^^ Objective focal length is 480mm. Eyepiece focal length is 15mm. Doing the division renders 32x. I have heard good things about that eyepiece.

 

[hsa]

I use this eyepiece in a 65 mm spotter with ED glass for about 22 power but you can kind of wander around in the field of view.

Explore Scientific 68° Series 24mm Waterproof Eyepiece

Description Using advanced computer design, combinations of low dispersion and high refractive index optical glasses, and durable multilayer deposition coatings, Explore Scientific 68° Series Argon-Purged Waterproof extreme wide field eyepieces are optimized to produce high contrast, high...

explorescientificusa.com

 

[orbital]

^^ I have heard good things about that eyepiece.

+

I'v tested a Morpheus, the Ultima Edge are easily comparable ~ really special eyepiece.
Personally prefer the 18, even with the lower magnification,, just a fantastic joy to use/view