Spotting Scope is a type of telescope typically used for observing wild animals and birds. A spotting scope features more magnification than a conventional binocular but less than an astronomical telescope.
The utility of a spotting scope becomes most obvious when the identification of an animal going in a large herd is required. Figuring out a specific animal from other look-alike animals becomes easy with such a device. For digiscoping purposes, few things can beat the power of spotting scopes. It is possible by using binoculars or telescopes to take a closer look at birds or other animals, but if you want a precise view of your target animal, a spotting scope is preferable.
Spotting Scope Features Explained
The condition of the atmosphere has effects on birding, hunting and digiscoping too. Humidity, ever-moving air, dry climates, dust and so on hinders the magnification and image quality at large.
Objective lens, also known as the Front lens, determines the image quality at higher magnifications. The diameter of this lens ranges from 50-100mm in size. It is also called "Aperture" of the lens. It is wise to buy the highest size of the objective lens considering its weight. Larger lenses allow to pass more light and create more bright images. This means you will get higher image quality with the larger lenses.
Manufactures often apply the chemical coating, which is known as Lens Coating, on the lens to reduce noise and increase light transmission. They also offer "fully coated," "multi-coated" and "fully multi-coated" lens to improve image quality. The premium quality spotting scopes' lenses are multi-coated with multiple layers on the surface.
There are two types of focusing mechanism in the spotting scopes such as Helical and Knob focusers. The focusing characteristics determine how quickly you can focus on the object with maximum precision. Between these two options, the helical focuser is the finest option for birding as it can change magnification rapidly along with the movement of the bird. For hunting or spotting slower animals, Knob focuser is best as it gives you more precise information than the former one.
The eyepiece remains at a little distance from the users' eyes. This distance is called the eye relief where the light rays transmitted from the object pass to enter into your pupil. The comfortable eye relief distance is about 15mm to see the full field view. This feature is very important for those who wear eyeglasses. Nowadays, manufacturers are offering long eye relief for those who need to wear eyeglasses for convenient viewing.
You might have seen some designation on the glass label of the spotting scope such ED glass, APO glass, HD glass, Fluorite glass. These special qualities of glass will cost you more but create a huge difference in image quality comparing low-quality lenses. Remember, you must pay for the good quality images when it comes to buying any types of optical instruments.
The magnification of spotting scope is higher than standard binoculars and varies between 15x to 75x. The power of the eyepiece determines the magnification of the scope. The important fact you should know that image quality drops off as the magnification goes up. Even premium quality scopes also lose a little quality at the highest magnification.
SOURCE: Which is the best hunting spotting scopes?
Vortex Razor HD Spotting Scope
This is a spectacular spotting scope which is a masterpiece of the well-known, vortex optics.
The Vortex Razor HD Spotting scope is filled with the premium high density and extra-low dispersion glass which will definitely give you the ultimate resolution for every image by providing rich color and contract.
Moreover, the ultra-hard-coated Armor Tek will efficiently protect the exterior of the lenses from any particular scratches, prevents staining from oil and dirt too.
As for the linear field of view, you can get 117 -60 feet per 1000 yards. The angular field of view for this spotting scope is 2.2-1.1 degrees. As for the close focus, it can come to an amazing 16.4 feet. This spotting scope would be perfect for getting really close and personal during your hunting surveillance.
The eye relief for the Vortex Razor HD spotting scope ranges from 18 mm to 20 mm. For this eye relief, it will be very comfortable to scope even with glasses on. The exit pupil can be adjusted from 1.42mm to 4.25mm. Being able to focus with this spotting scope is extremely easy too. Amazing detail too if you want to sight further, even into outer space!
To touch on the physical aspect of this spotting scope, it is generally large in size. The spotting scope has an 85 mm objective lens and an eyepiece which has a magnification that can be adjusted from 20x to 60x. The objective lens will provide you with image of great clarity which is made by Vortex.
Not only that, this spotting scope has Dual Focus Knob which is necessary for ultra-precise focusing while making it much easier for you to manipulate the focus of this scope. There is a course knob and a fine knob to provide for maximum manipulation during focus. The length of this spotting scope is 15.3 inches while of this scope is 65.7 ounces. Although it does feel a little heavy, this scope is extremely sturdy!
To extend more about the objective lens, it can significantly reduce the amount of glare while being immune to raindrops and even snow since the Vortex Razor HD spotting scope is waterproof, rugged and even fog proof.
Also, there is a helpful finder on the side of the spotting scope. The balance is extremely good too even on or off the tripod.
Furthermore, the Vortex Razor HD Spotting Scope has a Dielectric prism coating which will provide the clearest and brightest images you will ever see with a spotting scope. It is also known for the great color accuracy for every single images. All and all, beautiful to look through and extremely pleasant to look at.
The Vortex Razor HD Spotting scope also comes with a proprietary XR anti-reflective coating which will significantly augment the light transmission for maximum brightness while you are spotting with this premium scope. Basically, the XR lens coatings will increase light transmission by providing multiple coatings on every single air-to-glass surfaces which are present in the spotting scope.
As for the design, the Vortex Razor HD spotting scope has an angled body design which is greatly sought for because it will allow a lower mounting height making it much more stable in the wind while giving more comfort when you are looking through the spotting scope with glasses for a long period of time.
In addition, the spotting scope comes with a triplet apochromatic lens which greatly reduces chromatic aberration. Also, the Vortex Razor HD has a built-in sunshade which can be equipped on a sunny day. The XT optical design also helps in the reduction of aberration while aiding in making distortion-free images which is needed for accurate image.
The Vortex Razor HD spotting scope uses Porro Prism which is popularly known to offer maximum image quality and excellent performance.
You can use this spotting scope in most harsh environment too. It is built with an O-ring sealed to the optics which is to prevent moisture, dust and even debris to stick onto the optic. The O-ring seal will also result in waterproof performance
Not like any other spotting scope, this scope is filled with argon gas to inhibit internal fogging effectively as you bring it out to different terrain.
To discuss a bit about the accessories, the Vortex Razor HD spotting scope can be equipped even with smaller tripods. You should also be careful with the strap because you can easily lose your grip on the scope allowing it to slip off.
If you are planning to participate in any serious event such as an Olympic tournament in archery, this would be the perfect spotting scope for you!
To conclude, this is one of the best spotting scope that will deliver a level of optical quality and even resolution unmatched by many of its peers. Not the mention the great color fidelity. As for this HD spotting scope, you can definitely hope for distortion-free images, augmented light transmission, increased resolutions with outstanding accuracy and color contrast which makes this spotting scope almost irresistible.
As a bonus, the Vortex Optics also provide VIP Unconditional Lifetime Warranty! No need to worry about spoiling the scope. This "Very Important Promise" to you will make sure that you are taken care of with unlimited lifetime warranty which is fully transferable. You will not have any warranty card to fill out while no receipts are required to change the product, all you have to do is just to contact Vortex Optics. Even so, it is important to note that the VIP warranty will not cover the loss of product, theft, deliberate damage or even cosmetic damage. All of these damages will not reduce the performance of this product.
SOURCE: What is field of view in Binoculars, Spotting Scopes and Rifle Scopes?
Optical field of view (FOV) refers to the width of the area that you can see when looking through a pair of Binoculars or a Spotting Scope, quite simply, how wide an area you can see through your optics. Field of view is usually described in terms of 'linear field of view' or 'angular field of view'. Both figures essentially indicate that the field of view of the optic is a certain width, but they just use different numbers to describe this.
Linear field of view is also known as the true field of view and indicates the width (in m) of the area that you can see when standing 1,000m away from an object.
Angular field of view is also known as the apparent field of view and refers to the true angle (in degrees) seen through the optics.
It is easy to convert between the two field of vision measurements:
To convert an angular field of vision to a linear field of vision, simply multiply the angular field of vision by 52.5.
To convert a linear field of vision to an angular field of vision, simply divide the liner field of vision by 52.5.
When choosing your binoculars or spotting scope, take some time to consider where you are planning to use them, as this will indicate the most suitable field of view required to get the most out of your product. The most important thing to remember is that the larger the number is given to the field of view (FOV), the larger the width of the area you will be able to see through your scope. A larger field of view is desirable if you are planning to use your scope to watch anything that is moving quickly across your viewing area as it will make it easier to aim and stay on a moving subject. For this reason, scopes with a larger field of view are favored by people watching birds in flight, a ball at a cricket game, an athlete in a race or views from a moving car.
Don't forget field of view (FOV) and magnification are closely linked, with higher magnifications resulting in a smaller field of view. Take some time to consider whether you wish to view your subject in great detail, or would prefer to be able to keep track of it if it is moving quickly; after all, there's no point being able to see the fine detail on a bird's feather if you can't find the bird in the first place!
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