Spotting scope dilemma

Dreadz

New member
I've been pondering and perusing (read too skint!) which scope to buy but have finally managed to scrabble a modest budget of ?200-300 so with that in mind if it was your cash which would you go for from:

1 Acuter ds 20-60 x 80 @ ?200 (ish)
2 Acuter ds 22-67 x 100 @ ?300
3 Helios fieldmaster ed 80 also @ ?300

Is the benefit of the 100mm objective or the ED glass that tangible & worth the extra ?100?

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ukbow

New member
You don't need to spend that much on a scope for archery. You can pick up a half decent scope off of eBay for under ?100 that will be fine for what you need.
If you want to use it for birdwatching or astronomy then you would probably need to spend more.

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Ar-Pe-Lo

Member
I've been pondering and perusing (read too skint!) which scope to buy but have finally managed to scrabble a modest budget of ?200-300 so with that in mind if it was your cash which would you go for from:

1 Acuter ds 20-60 x 80 @ ?200 (ish)
2 Acuter ds 22-67 x 100 @ ?300
3 Helios fieldmaster ed 80 also @ ?300

Is the benefit of the 100mm objective or the ED glass that tangible & worth the extra ?100?

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None of them. You don,t need 80-100mm optics, it's big and heavy and you will need big and heavy tripod=expensive.

Don't forger about tripod in your budget.....I would get something like that and then decent tripod for ?80-100

Celestron Ultima Refractor 65 Spotting Scope | eBay

And forget ED glaas, not needed for archery at all......saying that I got great deal on ebay on Nikon ED60 field scope so I using it for archery, but it's totally unnecessary.
 

Rik

Supporter
Supporter
Tripod wise... I have an Amazon basics tripod, which is as solid as a rock. Cheap as chips as well. I got mine on a black friday deal for about ?30, but normal price is only about ?40.
Downside, it's heavyish.
 

bowser

New member
wait for the next time aldi have them for ?25, more than sufficient for me to see .22 and .177 holes in target at 50m so for archery no problem at all.
 

KidCurry

Well-known member
AIUK Saviour
I've been pondering and perusing (read too skint!) which scope to buy but have finally managed to scrabble a modest budget of ?200-300 so with that in mind if it was your cash which would you go for from:

1 Acuter ds 20-60 x 80 @ ?200 (ish)
2 Acuter ds 22-67 x 100 @ ?300
3 Helios fieldmaster ed 80 also @ ?300

Is the benefit of the 100mm objective or the ED glass that tangible & worth the extra ?100?

Sent from my D6603 using Tapatalk
You really want to try them as some you will like and some you will not. As others have said there are many others that fit your price range such as the Celestron Ultima 65, the Nikon Prostaff 5, Viking AW 65, Viking AW 80, Hawk NatureTrek 60 &80, plus, as you say, Acuter and Helios.

A trip to a specialist will see you testing a number of these. If you live in, or around the county of Norfolk I would recommend 'Cley Spy'. They have a massive range of optics that you can compare side-by-side.

As others have said, you don't need 80mm and 100mm objective lenses. However you generally leave the scope on the line for much of the day so it really doesn't matter that much how heavy it is. You will not need more light than a 60mm will pull in though.

I have lost count how many scopes I have looked through, both on the shooting line and for birding. I have not found a sub ?120 scope that I would spend any money on. The use at 100 yds is questionable in competition, they are generally not waterproof and fogging of the optics reduces them to scrap in a year or three :)

The Acuter is interesting as it uses 1.25" eyepieces. The 1.25" fitting is a standard astro eyepiece therefore most astro eyepieces should work. Although asstro eyepieces are not waterproof neither are most of the cheap zoom eyepieces supplied with waterproof scopes. You will often see the scope listed as 'waterproof body' or being a bit vague about the eyepiece.
What is also interesting is that much of the optical quality lies within the eyepiece. Zoom eyepieces are always the weak link in optics and always out performed by fixed eyepieces. The Acuter should work with an astro eyepiece. I will try it with an Explorer 12mm ED eyepiece and report back. Note the Explorer 12mm ED is an outstanding ED glass eyepiece and only cost ?50.

I will be trying out the Celestron Ultima 65 and the Acuter 65 against my Pentax 65ED today and will report back, if it's in stock.
 

Dreadz

New member
You really want to try them as some you will like and some you will not. As others have said there are many others that fit your price range such as the Celestron Ultima 65, the Nikon Prostaff 5, Viking AW 65, Viking AW 80, Hawk NatureTrek 60 &80, plus, as you say, Acuter and Helios.

A trip to a specialist will see you testing a number of these. If you live in, or around the county of Norfolk I would recommend 'Cley Spy'. They have a massive range of optics that you can compare side-by-side.

As others have said, you don't need 80mm and 100mm objective lenses. However you generally leave the scope on the line for much of the day so it really doesn't matter that much how heavy it is. You will not need more light than a 60mm will pull in though.

I have lost count how many scopes I have looked through, both on the shooting line and for birding. I have not found a sub ?120 scope that I would spend any money on. The use at 100 yds is questionable in competition, they are generally not waterproof and fogging of the optics reduces them to scrap in a year or three :)

The Acuter is interesting as it uses 1.25" eyepieces. The 1.25" fitting is a standard astro eyepiece therefore most astro eyepieces should work. Although asstro eyepieces are not waterproof neither are most of the cheap zoom eyepieces supplied with waterproof scopes. You will often see the scope listed as 'waterproof body' or being a bit vague about the eyepiece.
What is also interesting is that much of the optical quality lies within the eyepiece. Zoom eyepieces are always the weak link in optics and always out performed by fixed eyepieces. The Acuter should work with an astro eyepiece. I will try it with an Explorer 12mm ED eyepiece and report back. Note the Explorer 12mm ED is an outstanding ED glass eyepiece and only cost ?50.

I will be trying out the Celestron Ultima 65 and the Acuter 65 against my Pentax 65ED today and will report back, if it's in stock.
Thanks all for the advice, had read what threads i could find on here and elsewhere which all pointed to 80mm being a better option due to the light gathering improvement and given that the vast majority of my shooting is done in the evenings in a field surrounded by tall trees figured it may be of benefit.

@KidCurry i'd be interested how the acuter fares with the explorer ep's if you do get the chance to try it. I have a few for my big dob (which unfortunately hasn't seen starlight for some time now!) and if the acuter could be used for a little casual astro all the better, even if it would be overkill on the shooting line.
 

KidCurry

Well-known member
AIUK Saviour
Well the Acuter was out of stock so will have to wait for another day which is a shame as it could be a really good combination. Compared the Ultimas though. For less than ?120 and ?160 for the 65mm and 80mm respectively they were very good. The quality of image was beyond what I expected. Not up to my Pentax but that was expected. If light levels are an issue the 80mm would actually be my choice as the zoom is, I suspect, the culprit for the lower light level reaching the eyes. Image quality and light level does drop as you zoom but you really don't need to go beyond 35x and it worked great at this zoom point.
They are light weight so going for the 80mm would not break your back. You would need a solid tripod as it is quite a long scope. Something like a second hand Monfrotto off the auction site would be perfect at about ?40 second hand:)

Shame about the Acuter but I know they have them at Cley Spy and I'm there next week so will try them then with a fixed eyepiece. My gut says they should be good.
 

KidCurry

Well-known member
AIUK Saviour
Well I tested the Acutethisr morning against my Pentax. The 65 was put oit stock so tested the 80mm. It was very good at zooms up to 40x. Over that the image dulled and quality of image degraded. But up to 40x it was very good. The image was crisp and clear. The scope takes 1.25" auto eye pieces and worked well with mine but the zoom was almost as good at 40x and as it comes with the scope it is not worth changing it. In fact the zoom build quality was beyond what I thought the price would allow for.
Overall as bright as my 65mm Pentax but the Pentax body and would set you back double the Acuter and zoom eye piece. Nice piece of kit for less than ?250.
 

ajh499

Member
I have a celestron 20x-60x 80mm that I got from eBay for ?50 and an amazon basics tripod that cost ?16.

The combination is good enough to score line cutters at 100yds.

The tripod is a bit light, and might be a bit wobbly in strong winds, but it's amazing for the price.

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