Best Spotting Scope Under $700

[Marble]

For that price, that Maven S2 has far superior glass to the Razor, Ares, CS1.

Glass quality > Magnification

That ED50 is a fantastic little scope also, but struggles at max magnification, where I felt the S2 did not. Very comfortable viewing experience.

This is true! My SLCs are better than my razor @20 power or my buddies vortex 16 binos.

The shitty thing about looking through the really good glass for a day is you now know what you've been missing. It is hard for someone to understand until they experience it.

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[OspreyZB]

For that price, that Maven S2 has far superior glass to the Razor, Ares, CS1.

Glass quality > Magnification

That ED50 is a fantastic little scope also, but struggles at max magnification, where I felt the S2 did not. Very comfortable viewing experience.

The S2 is nice, but the 27x max magnification felt way too restrictive for me, and the lower end of the magnification range (12x to about 20x) felt useless when I was carrying 10x binoculars. I may have kept it if it went up to around 35x. I always thought they would be cool to make a set of big-eyes with.

 

[ZackP]

This is true! My SLCs are better than my razor @20 power or my buddies vortex 16 binos.

The shitty thing about looking through the really good glass for a day is you now know what you've been missing. It is hard for someone to understand until they experience it.

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Agreed. I am now an optics snob, without an optics snob budget

 

[ZackP]

The S2 is nice, but the 27x max magnification felt way too restrictive for me, and the lower end of the magnification range (12x to about 20x) felt useless when I was carrying 10x binoculars. I may have kept it if it went up to around 35x. I always thought they would be cool to make a set of big-eyes with.

That’s understandable, but honestly I’ve always run my scopes in the lower end of the mag. Depending on weather, or mirage, I generally stay in that 30-40x anyways. Just depends on the OP’s glassing style I suppose.

I hunt mostly open desert country, as soon as the sun is up for a bit, anything over 30X (regardless of make) is pretty much a haze.

I run my Swaro ATS at 25-30 as we speak. 50X only comes out if I’m absolutely trying to figure something out.

 

[OspreyZB]

That’s understandable, but honestly I’ve always run my scopes in the lower end of the mag. Depending on weather, or mirage, I generally stay in that 30-40x anyways. Just depends on the OP’s glassing style I suppose.

I hunt mostly open desert country, as soon as the sun is up for a bit, anything over 30X (regardless of make) is pretty much a haze.

I run my Swaro ATS at 25-30 as we speak. 50X only comes out if I’m absolutely trying to figure something out.

Agreed. I have a big 82mm Nikon fieldscope, and it's tack sharp all the way up to 75x when conditions allow (which is almost never) but I use the 30x fixed power eyepiece almost exclusively. It's a thin line for me, with sub 25x being pretty much useless, and 30x being plenty (when pairing with 10x binoculars).

 

[jimh406]

I'd say Vortex Razor Gen 2.

 

[Grassymike]

Agree with the guys saying Nikon . I own a Pentax PF 65 ED that is excellent with a 32 power fixed eyepiece that I would recommend as well . Optics for me either have to be top shelf Japanese or European made.

 

[Garet Jax]

I've said it a dozen or more times on here, but my $750 Nikon ED82 leaves nothing to be desired, and I have had it side by side with the Kowa 880. The Nikon ED fieldscopes with fixed power eyepieces are "alpha" all the way.

How are you getting it for $750?

 

[OspreyZB]

How are you getting it for $750?

Most of the fieldscopes and eyepieces I've bought were on eBay, from Japanese sellers. I'm talking about the original made in Japan fieldscopes, not the current versions. Here's one for $680 with IMO the best eyepiece.

[Near MINT] Nikon Field Scope ED82 82 WATERPROOF w/ 30x Wide DS Eyepiece Japan | eBay

Find many great new & used options and get the best deals for [Near MINT] Nikon Field Scope ED82 82 WATERPROOF w/ 30x Wide DS Eyepiece Japan at the best online prices at eBay! Free shipping for many products!

www.ebay.com

 

[Garet Jax]

Most of the fieldscopes and eyepieces I've bought were on eBay, from Japanese sellers. I'm talking about the original made in Japan fieldscopes, not the current versions. Here's one for $680 with IMO the best eyepiece.

[Near MINT] Nikon Field Scope ED82 82 WATERPROOF w/ 30x Wide DS Eyepiece Japan | eBay

Find many great new & used options and get the best deals for [Near MINT] Nikon Field Scope ED82 82 WATERPROOF w/ 30x Wide DS Eyepiece Japan at the best online prices at eBay! Free shipping for many products!

www.ebay.com

Wow thanks a lot. Gives me a whole different line of thinking.

 

[Garet Jax]

I found this link that seems to show all the possible eye pieces for the ED82. Does this look like a good list or are they missing some?

Where would this fit into the current product offerings? Is it really comparable to some of the Kowas?

Thanks.

 

[OspreyZB]

Yes, that link shows all of the MC series eyepieces. There was also a DS (digiscoping) series of eyepieces that were designed for attaching a Nikon Coolpix camera, but also come with a rubber eyecup for normal viewing. The eyepiece in the link I posted is a fixed power wide angle DS. The magnification would be 16x on the ED50, 24x on the ED60, and 30x on the ED78 or ED82. The view is incredibly immersive, bright, and tack sharp. It's my favorite and most used eyepiece, and I've tried just about all of them. The zoom eyepieces have a narrow FOV and limited eye relief. The view can feel a bit "tunnel like" through them. The 30x wide DS eyepiece lives on my ED 82, and the MC II zoom rarely comes out of the pack. I like having the option of super high magnification (up to 75x), even if atmospheric conditions almost never allow it.

 

[Garet Jax]

Yes, that link shows all of the MC series eyepieces. There was also a DS (digiscoping) series of eyepieces that were designed for attaching a Nikon Coolpix camera, but also come with a rubber eyecup for normal viewing. The eyepiece in the link I posted is a fixed power wide angle DS. The magnification would be 16x on the ED50, 24x on the ED60, and 30x on the ED78 or ED82. The view is incredibly immersive, bright, and tack sharp. It's my favorite and most used eyepiece, and I've tried just about all of them. The zoom eyepieces have a narrow FOV and limited eye relief. The view can feel a bit "tunnel like" through them. The 30x wide DS eyepiece lives on my ED 82, and the MC II zoom rarely comes out of the pack. I like having the option of super high magnification (up to 75x), even if atmospheric conditions almost never allow it.

So much great information. If I understood correctly, you find that the zoom lens (25-75) creates a little tunnel vision that the fixed magnification eyepieces do not. So if I went with a dedicated 75 magnification eyepiece over the zoom at 75, I would get a better picture. Is that true?

Thanks a bunch.

 

[OspreyZB]

So much great information. If I understood correctly, you find that the zoom lens (25-75) creates a little tunnel vision that the fixed magnification eyepieces do not. So if I went with a dedicated 75 magnification eyepiece over the zoom at 75, I would get a better picture. Is that true?

Thanks a bunch.

The 75x wide DS eyepiece is one of the few that I haven't tried. The MC II zoom is more versatile, even with it's narrow FOV. The problem with such high magnification is you need absolutely perfect conditions to really take advantage of it (no heat waves, good lighting, not too much wind and/or a rock solid tripod, etc.). The 50x wide DS is nice, but I much prefer the 30x wide DS in almost all scenarios. If you have a good phone camera with optical zoom and a digiscoping adapter (I like the novagrade) you can get A LOT of detail at long ranges with the 30x wide DS.

 

[Fartrell Cluggins]

Nikon ed50 with a fixed eyepiece

its been extremely popular for decades for a reason and you can get them for way less then your budget if you buy it from a Japanese dealer

Can you provide the source you used or a source that you know to be reliable?

 

[Pdzoller]

I agree with what most of these guys are saying about just making the jump to the top. I got a Razor for a great price and use it all the time and it does work. But I really wish I had just paid for the price because it just doesn’t compare. There is always something in the air that interferes with visibility and the Razor just doesn’t handle it well. Slightly smoky - nope, slightly foggy -nope, shadows and glare (especially as the sun is rising and setting) - nope, etc…

 

[roosiebull]

This is true! My SLCs are better than my razor @20 power or my buddies vortex 16 binos.

The shitty thing about looking through the really good glass for a day is you now know what you've been missing. It is hard for someone to understand until they experience it.

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And you can’t un-see it

If folks are happy with mid tier glass, they should never look through top tier glass, if you do, you won’t be satisfied until you own it… so they say

 

[Marble]

Agreed. I am now an optics snob, without an optics snob budget

I think this is better than not knowing. Had I known how much better they were 20 years ago I would have only bought one pair instead of buying cheaper pairs and thena good pair. At least you know what your looking for!

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[Marble]

I agree with what most of these guys are saying about just making the jump to the top. I got a Razor for a great price and use it all the time and it does work. But I really wish I had just paid for the price because it just doesn’t compare. There is always something in the air that interferes with visibility and the Razor just doesn’t handle it well. Slightly smoky - nope, slightly foggy -nope, shadows and glare (especially as the sun is rising and setting) - nope, etc…

I've noticed this with mine. It's a great scope. But when heat waves, moisture or smoke gets in the air I have to so use the swaro.

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[Rock-o]

Another vote for the Athlon Ares G2 UHD 15-45x65.