Help me pick a spotting scope!

May 29, 2012 1:01 PM

I would like to buy someone a spotting scope for wildlife viewing as a gift.  What's the best bang for my buck?  What's the best place to find online reviews and information to help me in my research?  

My boyfriend is closing on a new (to us) house soon.  It's on a bluff that overlooks a coastal refuge that sees a ton of migratory bird and other wildlife activity, and although we like the house itself, the location is pretty much the reason for its purchase.  We are really excited about learning about what's going on down there. 

To that end, as a housewarming present, I would like to buy him a decent spotting scope that will live by the wall of upstairs windows.  I don't particularly want to spend more than $500, although I can if that's necessary to get something of acceptable quality. At this point, I don't even know where to start; if there were a beginners' starter guide somewhere online that would be a good thing. I'd also really appreciate specific model and make suggestions, or suggested specs or...other general guidance.

This needs to be either available in Anchorage, Alaska or orderable without ridiculous shipping costs here.

Thanks!

posted by charmedimsure to shopping (7 answers total)

I bought This one for my wife to count nesting herons, and she was very happy with it (until it got stolen out of her car).
posted by tylerkaraszewski at 1:18 PM on May 29, 2012

Zeiss, Swarovski and Leica are the premier brands - they've been around forever, their rep for optical excellence and durability are well known, it's easy to find parts and service. One tier down are the name brand camera makers - Nikon, Pentax, Fuji. One rung further down are the name-brand telescope makers, Kowa, Vixen, Celestron.

Nikon and Pentax both make nice spotting scopes (aka field scopes) in your price range. Check Amazon or a reputable photo retailer like B&H. (B&H lets you break view their inventory by price range and manufacturer.)
posted by Slap*Happy at 1:34 PM on May 29, 2012

Check hunting stores like cabelas and sportsmans warehouse too.
posted by fshgrl at 1:51 PM on May 29, 2012

I have bought three pairs of binos and been gifted one scope from Eagle Optics. Oh, and another lens for the scope. They are incredibly helpful in talking you through the options and I've never had them try to sell me more expensive optics than I need. They have good returns and repairs policies. I reckon I'll be buying my optics from them as long as they're in business.
posted by rtha at 2:56 PM on May 29, 2012

May I recommend some American optics? Leupold makes premier optics at reasonable prices. They are know for their high end rifle and spotting scopes often used by the US Military and Police forces. http://www.eagleoptics.com/spotting-scopes/leupold/leupold-sx-1-ventana-15-45x60-spotting-scope-kit Is a budget priced kit with tripod and hard case and a strap. Anti fog gas filled bright optics with a decent zoom feature. It has straight and angled viewing models same price.
posted by pdxpogo at 5:35 PM on May 29, 2012

For the price point you are looking for, the Alpen that tylerkaraszewski linked to is the biggest bang for your buck. High quality optics can get obscenely expensive very quickly (look at any of the brands the slap*happy mentioned) and you don't even know how much use this will get. Start affordable and if he loves it, he can upgrade later.
posted by karlos at 4:15 AM on May 30, 2012

Take a look here: http://www.spottingscopereview.net/
posted by lathrop at 6:17 AM on May 30, 2012