Don't you just hate it when this happens. Well, before I purchased my new scope, I noticed that reviews recommended the angled model was more appropriate for birding. I went into a shop and compared both types. Sure enough, the angled model sat lower on the tripod and 'seemed' to be more at ease to use. So I purchased it. But over the past week since I have been using it in the field, I've had regrets. I discovered that it is not as comfortable or as convenient to use as the straight-through version would have been! The notion of always having to bow one's head (like using a microscope), had become annoying. In reality, this meant that the lens tube is never in the observers true 'line of sight'. One example was when parked on the roadside opposite a migratory breeding ground after I had set the scope onto a window clamp adapter, I had to elongate my back and neck to see over into the eyepiece. Impromptu moments without using the tripod and having to rest the scope's foot on something else, meant bending my head over on to it and fighting the tendency to align the eyepiece back to my natural head-up level. Like-wise using my camera's table top tripod, also presented the same annoyance. Frankly, the one advantage I discovered using the angled scope, was if the subject happened to be somewhere at approximately a 45 degree angle above the viewer. So, with that revelation, my advice to would-be scope buyers is to get invited on a few field trips and experiment before parting with your loot! Ah, the priceless value of hindsight. I will be asking for exchange.