I will echo most of what ejdeltoro has already written. I bought this scope as an answer to my ultra lightweitght backpacking needs and it fills that niche very well. It isn't as bright as a good 80mm scope but, it will be carried in places where those larger scopes would simply be left behind.
I do feel I need to correct one small detail of ejdeltoro's review. I do not believe that this scope is the Leupold Golden Ring that uses an optical erector system. That scope is the 12-40x60 Golden Ring. This 15-30x50 (and its smaller brother the 10-20x40) are traditional Porro prism spotting scopes.
I do feel I need to correct one small detail of ejdeltoro's review. I do not believe that this scope is the Leupold Golden Ring that uses an optical erector system. That scope is the 12-40x60 Golden Ring. This 15-30x50 (and its smaller brother the 10-20x40) are traditional Porro prism spotting scopes.
Once I set up three spotting scopes: the Leupold, a 60mm Nikon, and my 80mm Elite and tried to watch a buck bedded in some very tall sagebrush. Through the 50mm scope I could not see the buck. With the Nikon I could just pick him out of the sagebrush. With the Elite, I had no trouble at all watching the deer “up close and personal.”
Another time I tried to watch a buck early in the morning, but the 50mm scope proved too dim.
These two experiences showed me that the 50mm objective of this scope involves too many compromises to be acceptable. I’ve since sold the little scope and am now actively trying to find a reasonably small and light 60-65mm scope to take its place.