Spotter weight??

[Silvereagle50]

I wish there were endless green pastures and white sheep standing in them where I go. I'd just use my rifle scope and leave all optics behind. hahaha. I've spotted many rams bedded mid day at 2+ miles that you couldn't see with binos (swaros). The only part you could see was their head sticking out above the rocks. It's actually quite impressive how well they can hide being white. As @adventure907 eluded, the rocks can be shiny, the haze can suck, and the rams can be bedded in places all you can see is their horn sticking above the ridge. While they do come out to feed in the nice open green, it's really nice to see them before they do. While I don't think that sheep are super hard to spot most of the time, having inferior optics is not something I would recommend.

I can't really say if I'd take a spotter or not on a guided hunt if I was in your shoes. I've been on a couple dozen sheep hunts and the freshness has worn off a bit for me. However when my pardner spots a ram in the spotter, I'm still excited to have my turn, although I will wait patiently as there is almost always plenty of time to look.

It's your once in a lifetime hunt, make it all you want! I'm not sure that two spotters are necessary through. Personally I think I would spend the same amount of money on a nice camera instead, and you'll have memories to last a lifetime, vs a few seconds of time peering through a spotter.

Good luck on your hunt!

What would you suggest in that camera Dept?

 

[CTobias]

I love my Maven spotter. Blew my buddies vortex out of the water.

 

[Bambistew]

What would you suggest in that camera Dept?

I'm hardly the guy to ask... But there are tons of really nice cameras out there for under 1000, many in the $4-500 range. The only time I keep up on cameras is when I'm shopping for a new one. I'm partial to Lumix/Pentax, but there are many others just as good. There are thousands of reviews done every year, and for me being a novice I think its funny how every camera is so magical compared to another. They take pictures, the guy running it has some of the blame for quality. My pictures usually suck. For hunting I would look at a "bridge" type camera with a decent zoom and good stabilization. They are usually fairly light like 1.5ish lbs, and will take really good video as well.

If I had to choose between packing a camera and a redundant spotting scope on a trip, it would be a very easy decision to make.

If you think people have opinions on spotting scope brands... ask about something that has more than a focus knob on it like a camera.

 

[Wapiti1]

Sony RX100 or Panasonic Lumix ZS200. Sony takes a sharper photo, but has less lens reach. The Lumix has great reach for a small camera and still takes a very good photo. Both use the same size 1" type sensor. Both are pocketable, and both have decent battery life. Take an extra battery regardless of which you choose.

I own the Lumix for hiking and hunting when I don't want to pack big glass, but want useable photos. I also own the Sony, but it has taken a backseat to the Lumix due to versatility.

Jeremy

 

[Silvereagle50]

Sony RX100 or Panasonic Lumix ZS200. Sony takes a sharper photo, but has less lens reach. The Lumix has great reach for a small camera and still takes a very good photo. Both use the same size 1" type sensor. Both are pocketable, and both have decent battery life. Take an extra battery regardless of which you choose.

I own the Lumix for hiking and hunting when I don't want to pack big glass, but want useable photos. I also own the Sony, but it has taken a backseat to the Lumix due to versatility.

Jeremy

Will either of these work with some sort of phonescope to take pics through a spotter?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Wapiti1]

There are adapters that both will work on. They require a little more thought and work to set up than a simple phonescope. Once set up, they work well.

https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/370595-REG/Celestron_93626_Universal_Digiscoping_Adapter.html

Jeremy

 

[jmden]

Have had a chance to compare latest 65mm Swaro (25-50x), Kowa 663 (20-60x; 44oz.) and Kowa 553 (15-45x; 28 oz.) side by side for a couple hours focusing on the same thing with all at 30x (same apparent magnification looking through them at same object) as sunset came on and to the point it was dark. I own the latter two. IMO (20/10 eyesight) the Kowa 663 beat out the Swaro in pure resolving, until right at sunset and then something suddenly changed. I couldn't figure it out, but from then until dark the Swaro did better between the two. The little 553 really could not hang with either of it's larger counterparts. Don't get me wrong, I think the 553 did great for it's objective size, but it could not quite resolve as well as the other and, at 30X, did not do as well as it got darker. However, when it got really dark and all optics were dialed to their lowest magnification, the 553 started to win out as it went down to 15x--I could see more and better with it--probably purely exit pupil and I'm sure the pure fluorite crystal objective lens helped. To my knowledge, only Kowa makes pure fluorite objective lenses, fluorite crystal being what all HD, etc. glass is trying to be. Apparently nothing eliminates chromatic abberation as well as fluorite.

That Kowa 663/664 (there's one for sale here I think) has just about got to be the best middle sized/weight spotter out there overall for the price, especially. I love the 20-60x, and use the 60x quite a bit, but don't care for the narrow field of view. But for the $ and at only 44 ounces...? Gonna be hard to beat...

Edit: Kowa 663 is 44 oz, not 42.

 

[Fozzy26]

There are adapters that both will work on. They require a little more thought and work to set up than a simple phonescope. Once set up, they work well.

https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/370595-REG/Celestron_93626_Universal_Digiscoping_Adapter.html

Jeremy

How well did this adapter work with the Sony rx100?

 

[Mike Islander]

$430 for an Athlon Ares 65 mm, and it's only 43 oz. Excellent ED glass.

 

[Wapiti1]

How well did this adapter work with the Sony rx100?

Pretty well. Once it is setup for position, it's good. I marked the camera mount so it is easy to attach the camera in the same spot. You do have to pay attention to the sun since there isn't a hood or shade. You can get some glare if you don't put a hat or something over it.

Overall, you can get very good quality shots, but setup is a little finicky and definitely slower than a phoneskope type adapter.

Jeremy

 

[fmyth]

$430 for an Athlon Ares 65 mm, and it's only 43 oz. Excellent ED glass.

Where'd you find the Athlon Ares 65mm for $430? I am looking to buy one.

 

[Mike Islander]

Where'd you find the Athlon Ares 65mm for $430? I am looking to buy one.

I must have been referencing used? I paid $499 on Amazon.

 

[Indyal]

Well another consideration is the quality of your eyesight. Mine is “just ok”. I have looked a number of high end glass binos in Cabela’s and settled on Zeus conquest as I could not tell a difference in resolution. So if your eyesight is the limiting factor, you may not need higher end glass.

FWIW, Greg McHale of wild Yukon uses a vortex razor HD 27-60 x 85 spitter

 

[B_Reynolds_AK]

Well another consideration is the quality of your eyesight. Mine is “just ok”. I have looked a number of high end glass binos in Cabela’s and settled on Zeus conquest as I could not tell a difference in resolution. So if your eyesight is the limiting factor, you may not need higher end glass.

FWIW, Greg McHale of wild Yukon uses a vortex razor HD 27-60 x 85 spitter

Yukon Wild is also a commercial operation that is sponsored by Vortex.. theres more than just glass involved in that deal. Greg owns a really nice 180 and a Super Cub.. pretty sure he would be using something else if it was just his money involved.

 

[shooterrdy]

Swaro stx / 65 sell it when ya get back you wont loose much