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DPChallenge Forums >> Tips, Tricks, and Q&A >> How do I tell which scope is best?
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 04/14/2004 04:49:06 PM · #1
I've been looking through ebay for a while and there are a few spotting scopes that look like they might be good. What I want to buy is a something that I can attach my camera to, or vice versa, that will give a very high magnification. (Please tell me if I'm looking at scopes that are completely incompatible with my camera.)

These are the ones that I like the sound of so far:

Seben Giant Spotting Scope

Yukon 100x spotting scope

...Although the latter would have to be very good indeed to justify all the saving up it would require for me to buy it. What I need help with is how to tell how good the quality of each scope is, and whether they are practical for photography. For example, there is a 20x-60x zoom scope with a 60mm lens here which has a "buy it now" price of just £39. I assume this is inferior to the other two scopes, but there are few clues in the descriptions to suggest this. How can I compare the quality of this scope with that of the two more expensive ones?
 04/14/2004 07:43:06 PM · #2
First and foremost, don't look at the magnificaton as any indicator of capability or quality. Quite the opposite; any scope that advertizes "high magnification" as it's primary selling point is one to stay away from.
You really don't want anything more than about 20-30x, or you will never be able to capture a good image. At very high magnifications, cmera shake will be impossible to overcome and there will also be very little light to work with: a very bad combination.
For lots of info on "digiscoping", start here.

Be prepared ot spend at least £150-200 on a decent scope and adapter. Your 717 may also be a little more difficult than some to adapt to a spottIng scope, since the front element is rather large.
Do your research as to what needs to be done to ensure compatibility with your camera, than go shopping.
 04/14/2004 07:55:30 PM · #3
You can buy an adaptor for the 717 here.
//www.adorama.com/ATDCASO1.html
 04/14/2004 08:07:52 PM · #4
jmritz listed a very good adapter, it will allow you to use many different eyepieces for different magnification.

I also use and highly recommend the scopetronics MaxView 40 eyepiece.

it will thread directly onto the 7x7 camera and works well

Maxview 40 info

James

The Maxview 40

and to add to what kirbic said you DO NOT want to be fooled by telescops touting 400x magnification or 600x, yes they can acheive that, but the image will be distorted big time.

When choosing a spotting scope look at the focal length and the size in MM.

I use a Celestron 80mm spotting scope and it has a focal length of 400mm and is an f/5 scope.

here are a fe sample shots of my 80mm spotter scope and my 707 with the max view 40
My Stuff
 04/14/2004 09:10:20 PM · #5
Thank you everyone; your advice is invaluable. Jab, you have almost the exact layout that I was considering! Except yours is better with the 80mm scope - can I ask how much you paid for it altogether, scope + Maxview 40? Anyway, your sample pictures of the parking spaces with the silver car are incredible!

Can I assume, then, that the quality of image from your Celestron 80mm is considerably higher than from a Seben Gigant 60mm using the same settings at the same zoom (e.g. 20x)? I had my doubts from the start because someone is just giving away Seben "Giants" on ebay, but a good word from a DPC user on its behalf would make me reconsider.
 04/14/2004 11:07:50 PM · #6
If I remember correctly i paid $189 for the celestron and $129 for the maxview 40.

This thing about the Celestron is that it is renamed and repainted for many different companies and sold as their product. I forgot who actually makes the celestron 80mm spotter scope, but its good and clear.

So im sure you can find one a little bit lower cost if you look.

Also try looking at Astromart, its a place where people sell their stuff, but no bidding wars like ebay, the price is listed for what they want to sell it for, sometimes you can talk the person down a little bit. I have sold stuff there and bought from there.

I dont know anything about the Seben, but I know I have not heard anything bad about them.

Also remember with a spotting scope you are going to need a REAL sturdy tripod as you will now have a lot of weight to deal with

James
 04/15/2004 03:26:41 PM · #7
I can't tell you how many scopes I've looked at, but I've narrowed it down to a few and your Celestron 80mm seems to be the better of those. It's also the least risky from my point of view, now that I can see it works with the F717.

All I have to do is find somewhere in the UK that is selling one cheap. It almost makes me cry seeing the price you paid in America - I'd be lucky to get that in pounds!

Thanks very much for the information and links.
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