crumbucket
Active member
Newbie here! So duck, incoming stupid questions! Hope I'm posting in the right place...
I've been looking to purchase a cheap scope for the past several weeks. I've read everything I can find until my eyeballs bleed and still cannot make a good decision. It seems that good metrics for decision making cannot be found in the spotting scope world, and most posts seem to be along the lines of "go to a shop and compare them all side by side." Seems that the best review I can find is that Cornell article from last year that everyone links to.
Having said that, I am looking at a Stokes Sandpiper, the Special Purchase 20-60x80 (at Eagle and cameralandny), and whatever I can find used (not much so far). The Sandpiper seems to be about $330 and the Special at $200.
Keeping in mind that I'm poor, does anyone have advice for me? Has anyone actually compared the 2 above? I've read that a person on here (FrankD?) thinks highly of the Special, and that it is better than scopes twice its price, but I've also read a similar opinion of the Sandpiper from Cornell. Another person on birdforum.net seemed to poo-poo the Cornell article.
I should say that while I haven't often looked through a good scope, I do have 4 (well, now 3) pair of binoculars: Canon IS 10x30, Jason 7x35 1116F, Nikon 8x21 Sprint II, and Barska 20-140x80. I can certainly tell that my Jason's are several steps below my Nikon's (although clear, have a lot of tiny bubbles which become obvious at the edges. But all the extra glass almost makes them as good as the Nikon's although the Nikon's are much smaller and lighter). I think my Canon's are spectacular. And the Barska's are craptacular to a degree I cannot believe, at any zoom level. They are so horrible that I cannot believe that Barska feels that they can actually sell them without creating an automatic return, which is what I did. So maybe this tells you of my non-expert, yet non-crap discrimination level.
I would appreciate ANY help anyone would want to give.
I've been looking to purchase a cheap scope for the past several weeks. I've read everything I can find until my eyeballs bleed and still cannot make a good decision. It seems that good metrics for decision making cannot be found in the spotting scope world, and most posts seem to be along the lines of "go to a shop and compare them all side by side." Seems that the best review I can find is that Cornell article from last year that everyone links to.
Having said that, I am looking at a Stokes Sandpiper, the Special Purchase 20-60x80 (at Eagle and cameralandny), and whatever I can find used (not much so far). The Sandpiper seems to be about $330 and the Special at $200.
Keeping in mind that I'm poor, does anyone have advice for me? Has anyone actually compared the 2 above? I've read that a person on here (FrankD?) thinks highly of the Special, and that it is better than scopes twice its price, but I've also read a similar opinion of the Sandpiper from Cornell. Another person on birdforum.net seemed to poo-poo the Cornell article.
I should say that while I haven't often looked through a good scope, I do have 4 (well, now 3) pair of binoculars: Canon IS 10x30, Jason 7x35 1116F, Nikon 8x21 Sprint II, and Barska 20-140x80. I can certainly tell that my Jason's are several steps below my Nikon's (although clear, have a lot of tiny bubbles which become obvious at the edges. But all the extra glass almost makes them as good as the Nikon's although the Nikon's are much smaller and lighter). I think my Canon's are spectacular. And the Barska's are craptacular to a degree I cannot believe, at any zoom level. They are so horrible that I cannot believe that Barska feels that they can actually sell them without creating an automatic return, which is what I did. So maybe this tells you of my non-expert, yet non-crap discrimination level.
I would appreciate ANY help anyone would want to give.
