Spotting scope advice

[idahohikker]

I’ve got the Ares spotter and think it’s great... I can afford the top-end stuff, just don’t feel the need to make that jump. Used mine is some terrible conditions last fall and it was excellent.

I always say that I can tell the difference between a $2 bottle and a $10 bottle of wine, but my tastebuds aren’t sophisticated enough to tell the difference between a $10 and a $40 bottle. I feel the same way about optics, rifles, and other gear. The proven mid-range stuff is great - just search all the love festivals on Tikka rifles and SWFA scopes on here if you need proof.

Haha love festivals. This is one of my fav lines describing chats on here.

Swaro love festivals can sometimes get a little hot for bystanders. Perhaps I could suggest they get a room.

 

[idahohikker]

I appreciate all the advice. I’m sure there are many scopes out there that will get the job done. In addition to this forum question, I called Rob at S&S and based on my wants he recommended the Kowa 773. I believe I will take advantage of the deal and go with the 773. I just wish it was black, the Kowa green has to be one of the ugliest spotters on the market lol. I do wish I could compare the 773 and the 553 side by side.


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Congrats on the buy man. Give the people what they want- a review.

 

[Matt G.]

lol... I could not decide either. Actually bought a used 554 but then found used 774 for better price. the goal is to keep one and unload the other.

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[eaglemountainman]

Btw, go look at some of the birding forums, you’ll realize quickly that Kowa is not a fad. The birders have been into Kowa for a lot longer than us hunters have. Same goes for Meopta and some other brands that I’ve never seen come up in the hunting forums. The long range shooter forums also. Hunters get stuck on Swarovski as the end all be all. Most haven’t tried other optics.


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THIS^^^^^

Rob sold me my 554, which is the straight eye piece option, (that's at least 5 pages of a whole other discussion)

Just a heads up. The lighter 553/4 have better optics than the 773/4. The 773/4, on the other hand, give you the option to change out eye pieces. Just don't base your decision on the assumption that the 77 will give you more light early and late, due to its larger objective. It's simply not true.

 

[CoffeeGoat]

I just asked this question for the smaller range (50-65) and sub 1000, plenty of repeat info there but some new stuff as well:

Yet Another "which 50-65mm scope" Thread

The long quarantine has been making me research things ad-naseum and one of the items on my list to purchase this year is a spotting scope. Unfortunately, as you folks know there are enough options to make you cross-eyed, so I'd like any insight you folks can provide. Here's the use case: I...

www.rokslide.com

 

[BenHankins]

THIS^^^^^

Rob sold me my 554, which is the straight eye piece option, (that's at least 5 pages of a whole other discussion)

Just a heads up. The lighter 553/4 have better optics than the 773/4. The 773/4, on the other hand, give you the option to change out eye pieces. Just don't base your decision on the assumption that the 77 will give you more light early and late, due to its larger objective. It's simply not true.

Yeah I read where the 554 has the flourite crystal where as the 773/4 doesn’t. I’m just worried about the narrower field of view with the 554. Also, I want to use it as a tool for target practicing longer distances, so I think I’ll get better results from the 774. Maybe I’m just way off on my thinking. All my research indicates that the 773 is optically great.


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[Researcher]

Glad we could help. Throw a cover on it and you won’t have to worry about its looks. It’s what’s inside that matters after all. That wide angle eyepiece on that scope is awesome. I wish Kowa would have thrown it on the 553, but I’m not an optical engineer so I’m sure they had their reasons.


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If you look at the Kowa lineup they put the best glass on the 553 and 883 and skipped it for the 773. I asked the rep why at the sheep show and he said it was for cost reasons. They wanted to keep the scope at a specific cost. I mention it because the reason why they didnt use that eyepiece for the 553 may have nothing to do with engineering.

 

[eaglemountainman]

Yeah I read where the 554 has the flourite crystal where as the 773/4 doesn’t. I’m just worried about the narrower field of view with the 554. Also, I want to use it as a tool for target practicing longer distances, so I think I’ll get better results from the 774. Maybe I’m just way off on my thinking. All my research indicates that the 773 is optically great.


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The 773/4 is a fantastic optic. You will be happy with it.

 

[Peaks&Creeks]

Yeah I read where the 554 has the flourite crystal where as the 773/4 doesn’t. I’m just worried about the narrower field of view with the 554. Also, I want to use it as a tool for target practicing longer distances, so I think I’ll get better results from the 774. Maybe I’m just way off on my thinking. All my research indicates that the 773 is optically great.


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Don’t second guess your choice. That’s a great scope you got there. I get the same mind twists when I spend money like that, but you’ve done your research and went with what fits your needs. Wether you got a Kowa, Swarovski or Meopta, all great scopes and you’d probably drive yourself nuts trying to find optical differences. That Wide Angle eyepiece on that scope is sweet and at a great price too. Let us know how you like it when you get out to do some glassing.


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[Matt G.]

I am a similar pickle as I wanted to upgrade my current spotter from the Cabelas Krotos 14-45x65 to maybe the Kowa 554. I found a used one and took the chance. Yes optically it is nice but FOV is restricted but not deal breaker. my biggest issue with it is eye relief when at 45 power. I don't wear glasses but I feel like I need to bury my eye into the eye piece. maybe I didn't realize how good of scope the krotos was especially at the pricetag. Krotos is 65 objective within half inch length and 16 ounce difference. i still got about 3 to 5 minutes longer use time reading a street sign at 350 yards. Going to check out the 774 next. I also think a part of the issue, Basspro (it's not Cabelas anymore) has rubbed me the wrong way since the purchase.

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[Beararms]

I just received my Meopta S2 angled. I was not expecting the clarity that this scope produces. I could see the brand of tennis shoes a woman was wearing @ 740 yards away yesterday afternoon. Today I was watching a dove @ 100 yards on 70x and could see the retina in his eye.

Internet pictures of scope views cannot show what you see in person. I'm glad I got it for $1800 no tax/freeship and didn't spend more on a S or a K.

 

[Matt G.]

that is a great price on the spotter and it's very tempting. are you planning on backpacking it?

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[Beararms]

No, gonna use it for the shooting range and birdwatching. If I backpack with it, it will only be for day hikes.

I treestand deer hunt mostly.

 

[WestNE]

Maybe i'm splitting hairs or over complicating matters but shouldn't the Kowa 663/4 series be mentioned? Can be bought with the very good for the money in my opinion TE-9z eyepiece. Not as pretty as the 55 or 77 but smaller enough and lighter enough than the 77 to make a difference. Honestly I've never had my hands on the other two Kowas but i really find 60-65 spotters as my sweet spot. Also, i just can't seem to make myself comfortable with the helical focus, im clumsy guy and focusing always induces more movement than a smooth focus wheel.

I'm sure the pure flourite of the 55 makes up for alot but i feel better with more objective and there are times when 60x can be handy even if extremely rare.

Shop around a little and you can get the scope and eyepiece for the same or slightly less than the Razor.

Again, it's all i have experience with in this range though i have owned a couple Fieldscope iiied's.

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[pc3]

I just received my Meopta S2 angled. I was not expecting the clarity that this scope produces. I could see the brand of tennis shoes a woman was wearing @ 740 yards away yesterday afternoon. Today I was watching a dove @ 100 yards on 70x and could see the retina in his eye.

Internet pictures of scope views cannot show what you see in person. I'm glad I got it for $1800 no tax/freeship and didn't spend more on a S or a K.

Similar experience with my S2. Just yesterday I was out hunting....young bloke using his hawke spotter and my novagrade filming some rabbit destruction we where doing and I was using my S2. I can say that I dont regret the purchase one little bit, but keep in mind I have not looked through the big swaro 90mm so have no point of comparison with that.

I was looking at wind turbines around 3 miles away, kangaroos a mile or so away rabbit warrens maybe a mile. The detail and resolution was pretty astounding, even at 70x !

Keep in mind even on special the S2 inst a cheap spotter...none of this gear is when you have a family and bills etc. They are luxury items for most and you have to set you budget albeit with a little wiggle room and get the best you can for the money. If the S2 had not of been on special I would have bought the big Kowa as Doug had spoke to me about them a couple of months earlier...and I still would have saved over the Swaro option. But the S2 special was too good a value and the reviews from all that owned one stacked up.


I will also say the promaster 525 and cine 20 pan head also works well.

I am just missing my nice Meopta S2 box

I think if you buy;

Kowa
Meopta
Swarovski
Leica
Zeiss

For a good deal that can be had at the time of your purchase you wont miss a deer etc. but gee the S2 deal right now from Doug gets you a great spotter at a great price.

I am human I still wonder if the big Kowa or Swaro would have given me "more", but the Meopta deal makes it a no brainer currently (for me at least). Also the Meopta S2 uses some sort of different set up inside I believe, the cut away diiagram is on the internet and it's been discussed here at some point, I forget the details, I wonder if that makes it perform well.

The Kowa does have that Fluorite glass though which the Meopta S2 does not, so I am not sure what that means at last light performance wise.

It would be nice to know exactly (if it can be measured) what you give up with say an S2 over the more well known Alpha brands....can it be measured ?

 

[pc3]

The other thing I forgot to add is the Meopta S2 seems fairly compact for an 82mm unit.

 

[Matt G.]

It would be nice if there was a picture of all the scopes side by side with eye pieces attached so you could compare size.

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[Wassid82]

Call Doug at Cameraland, he still has some of the Anniversary edition Kowa 553 that comes with that neoprene scope cover like you see on my photos. Tell him you’re from Rokslide and he’ll do better than $1700. As far as going with the 773 over 553 I believe it’s preference. I am a lightweight kinda guy and being able to have the option to pack a 10oz KDC tripod and have a total package of less than 3 pounds is awesome to me. The 773 is more than twice the weight of the 553. I believe the quality of the optics will be awesome for both. The 773 does not have the Fluorite Crystal objective lens like the 553, but it does have the better eyepiece that comes in 25-60x Wide Angle. I think overall it comes down to weight and wether you can deal with a smaller field of view on the 553. If you like to scan with your spotter go with the 773, if you only use it to look at something your binos can’t quite make out, 553 gets the nod for me. The beauty of the Swaro 65 is that it’s kinda in the middle of both the Kowas in weight. Optically you won’t tell the difference of the 3.


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[/QUOTEI

I used to have Vortex Razor in the 85. I thought it was a decent spotting scope but it was heavy as all get out. I switched to Kowa 773. Peaks&Creeks is correct that the 553 and 883 use a complete fluorite lens, however the regional rep told me that the 773 uses mainly fluorite glass its just not quite as pure as the 553 or 883 lenses. I strongly considered the Leica, Maven, and Swaro. But for the money I felt the Kowa was the best value. Plus I wanted a little more light gathering for early morning and late evening spotting sessions. Last year I was able to spot animals before other people with superior glass, but I think it was due to the light gathering capability of the 85mm spotter.