Spotting Scopes 20-60X85ED Spotting Scope BAK4 Prism - Waterproof Field Scope for Birdwatching Target Shooting Archery Hunting

I compared this 20-60 X 80 Landove to a 20-60 X 80 Gosky and a smaller Celestron 12-36 X 60 and the Landove won handily for my needs.The much lower priced, more portable Celestron delivered reasonably good sharp images which only degraded slightly at higher powers as did the Landove. However, the apparent image size of the Landove 20-60 X 80 (and the Gosky) at its lowest magnification at 20X actually seemed larger and of course clearer/sharper/brighter than the Celestron at it highest of 36X Mag. Also, the Tripod with the Celestron was terrible, almost worthless. You would have to aim way above what you are looking at and set the control knowing the scope would fall dramatically more before hopefully coming close to the image you want to view. This Celestron scope absolutely needs a better tripod as the table top tripod that comes with it is barely usable - especially when trying to adjust at a higher powers. The Landove Tripod was steady and worked well.Also, the 20-60 X 80 Landove allows you to focus about 10 feet or so closer than the Celestron at near objects (about 20 Ft) and its tripod works well and locks in place well and does not keep vibrating at the slightest touch up and down like the fidgety tripod with the Gosky or fall like the Celestron tripod as mentioned. The Celestron is about 11" long compared to the Landove and Gosky 20-60 X 80 at 17".The Landove seemed to also offer noticeably clearer optics than the Gosky 20-60 X 80 and has the best tripod of the three.For the difference in price of about $50 more over the lower powered budget Celestron (remember you need to add at least $25 for a new table tripod with the Celestron) if the larger size is not a problem, I think the Landove 20-60 X 80 is a clear winner. So, for budget scopes, I strongly recommend that you spend the little bit of extra money and buy the more powerful Landove. Its hard to imagine a more expensive scope doing all that much better than the Landove for most uses. In all fairness to the often highly rated Gosky, I may have gotten a defective scope which is being send back as the magnification collar spun all around as if not connected properly and it did not focus as clearly as the Landove.Of the three, the Landove is a recommended keeper. I am looking forward to trying some digital photography with the included cell phone adapter.

I am using my scope to observe mother nature delightful inhabitants. Obviously this scope is a far cry from the optics and mechanical precision of moving parts of similar products made by giants like Swarovski or Zeiss, but for a small fraction of the cost of their products the Landove scope is a very good choice, particularly for occasional user and not especially discriminating viewer. In full light the optics are very good, focusing wheel is smooth and ease of an adjustment of the eyepiece and ability to turn the back module to adjust to the height of an observer makes it a very practical scope for the entire family.Provided tripod is rather a gimmick and can be use in case you have nothing more substantial around. I have installed my scope on my camera tripod and it works much better. The universal tripod adapter of the scope is solid and allows easy balance of the device. On my tripod I am using Fluid Drag Pan Head and adjusting /focusing the scope using the head handle and scope focusing wheel cause no vibration or picture distortion. I only could wish that the magnification ring has more smooth movement. As it is, it does require certain restrain and use of both hands. Again, it is not Swarovski's precision, but not really a disqualifying feature.Finally, few comments regarding the customer service which I have found responsive and very solid overall. My digiscoping adapter arrived with one of the adjustment screws damaged. Email send to the customer service has been answered promptly and the replacement was sent without any delay and no cost to me. Emails confirming shipment and status were provided all the way. This kind of service definitely deserves 5 stars.

This is what I would consider to be the "minimum quality" level of a functional spotting scope. That's not an insult but rather anything cheaper (in quality) is functionally useless, and unless you're loaded or *need* better, this is the level you should look at. The next reasonable jump in quality comes at 2-3x the price and honestly most people won't notice unless you do a side-by-size comparison. The glass is adequately clear through almost the entirety of its zoom range, only starting to get dim and fuzzy at maximum zoom. To be fair at maximum zoom I'm fighting heat-shimmer as much as anything In the bright open desert. I was able to fairly easily pinpoint a small desert cottontail rabbit mixed in with scrub-grass around 300 yds away (although this was as much a matter of luck and a little bit of knowledge in what to look for). It wasn't huge in the glass but definitely identifiable as "bunny".I have not had a chance to use it for target practice yet though I would expect larger caliber weapons to be easily discernible at a distance. Smaller rounds (ex .223, 22-250, 5.7x28) would likely blur out beyond 200yds particularly on overcast days; unless you were using something like a splatter target.The dual-focus knobs are nice and smooth, with the rear-most being gross adjustments and the forward being fine adjustment. At max zoom focus can be a bit touchy but not frustratingly so. The eye-relief cup is....adequate. I need it all the way extended and even then I have to wiggle around a little bit until I can get a sight picture. Your experience might be different.The "cell phone" adaptor is in my opinion mostly a gimmick. It is technically functional but due to the adjustable nature (to fit multiple phone types) is way too flexible to get "good" photos out of. For starters you will spend a large amount of time trying to get your camera lense centered over the eye-piece, and as soon as you let go the whole assembly will sag and come out of adjustment so you'll have to start over. More annoyingly, the adapter attaches directly to the eye-relief adjustment cup, so even if you get everything lined up perfectly, after a few minutes that cup is going to start turning (due to the off-balance weight of your phone) and come out of alignment again. Attached is the "best" shot I managed which happened to be a night shot. This is a burning mountain (lightning strike) approximately 6-7 miles away. It's not particularly bad (nor particularly good to be honest) but "functional". It did take nearly an hour of tweaking the camera, adapter-bracket and eye-cup until they would all hold position long enough for the camera to take the shot. There were many ruined attempts due to one of the many pieces of the puzzle shifting. Please note that this was NOT accomplished with the included "tripod" (which is only ~8" tall); but rather a very large and *heavy* camera tripod. The included tripod is fine for target shooting from a bench but not stable (nor tall) enough for clear photography or anything where you're standing.My biggest complaint however, is how "stiff" the zoom ring is. It is a traditional ring integrated with the eyepiece and making *any* kind of adjustment to it will make even the most stable tripod bounce and jiggle. Forget about smooth zoom recording with your phone; you'll be lucky to keep what you're aiming at in sight. This may smooth out with more use but it is a definite negative to the overall "mostly good" unit.