How high of magnification do you use on your spotter?

[rileybassman]

How high of magnification do you find useful in normal conditions... or rather, what magnification do you find you use the most? Im finding on a 15-45, much over 35-40ish is not super usable unless it is very bright out... curious to hear your takes?

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[efnm]

What spotter are you using? I found the same thing with a viper HD that I sold because of that. I recently tried a Swarovski and it does NOT do that.

 

[Browninglover1]

I have a Meopta S2 and 90% of the time I run it at 30x.

 

[rileybassman]

What spotter are you using? I found the same thing with a viper HD that I sold because of that. I recently tried a Swarovski and it does NOT do that.

Vanguard 65a - all the spotter i can afford for awhile its nice and clear 1/2 to 3/4 of the way - just not super usable at full power unless sun is at my back etc... im fairly new to spotters but the 4 or 5 i have looked through (razor, leupold) were similar - maybe it is just the way spotters are idk. Never looked through a swaro tho - afraid to...

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[kodiakfly]

Better glass, you can go higher...that's a lot of what makes it better glass.

 

[Mtnman84]

When I grid for mule deer I start on 20 power and move up to 30 sometimes at greater distance. Then I will use the upper end of the magnification to break down shadows under trees and rocks and such, the lower magnification for mule deer and elk works good for locating

 

[Bughalli]

Yeah, better glass will make a big difference, but most of the time you'll only use the higher magnification once you've spotted something and want to evaluate it.

 

[marktole]

I use the Vortex Razor HD 20-60x85 and I almost never take it over 45-50. I'm considering selling it and getting the 65mm model to save some weight because of it. It does fine at 50x and 60x depending on atmospheric conditions and how far away what you're looking at is. Probably not as good as some of the higher end stuff, but good enough for me.

 

[CorbLand]

Generally the highest I go is in the 30s.

 

[5MilesBack]

I'd go to 100x if I had it. My Meopta S2 has the WA eyepiece so it's 30-60x, but they also make a non-WA up to 70x. There are times when I'm zooming in and it hits the stop at 60x and I'm thinking "dangit, I'm already maxed".

I had the Razor 65mm, and on max power it was pretty grainy for my eyes. The S2 is clear at 60x.

 

[AGPank]

I have the cabelas instinct (Meostar s2 20-70). Its clear to 70 as long as the atmospheric conditions allow.

I had a Razor 85 before and rarely did I like the image above 45-50x

 

[stephen b]

Usually I use 25-40 for most of my glassing on my Nikon ED Fieldscope 25-75x82. But if conditions are right it is extremely crisp and sharp at 75x; and I won't hesitate to crank it up to that for a close look.

 

[tipsntails7]

Vanguard 65a - all the spotter i can afford for awhile its nice and clear 1/2 to 3/4 of the way - just not super usable at full power unless sun is at my back etc... im fairly new to spotters but the 4 or 5 i have looked through (razor, leupold) were similar - maybe it is just the way spotters are idk. Never looked through a swaro tho - afraid to...

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I find people have a much larger reaction when comparing spotters then binos. It takes certain conditions for the benefit of high tiered binos to become evident. Take two spotters out mid day, one mid priced one top tier, crank them up and the difference is pretty evident. It makes sense as the spotter is much more demanding on the glass.




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[mtnkid85]

With my big 85mm Diascope, I will frequently bump it all the way up to the max 75x to examine an animal. Sure some times conditions just won't allow it, in which case I start high and slowly dial it back down tell what ever the conditions dictate.
If I'm using the spotter to try and locate animals then I have it on the lowest magnification, to take advantage of the larger FOV.