Ravin or Redtail (1 Viewer)

I need your input on the two scopes that interest me, the Raven or the Redtail.
They are a little over my poorman's budget but scopes priced less do not seem adequate. Please share your thoughts on this, my delema1
Thanks.
jvanoyen

Opinions

Ok, I have looked at quite a few scopes lately but have not had a chance to see the Redtail. Meade makes that scope and also one which is 20x60x80 Ed.
So, I suspect it would be a decent scope.
I did get a chance to view with the Raven. It seems to be a well built scope with a decent zoom eyepiece. My observation of the eyepiece is that the lower power is quite nice but when you use the zoom above 40x the image darkens considerably. For the money, it would be a scope one could get some mileage out of until one could step up to better optics. Some other scopes you might want to take a look at are the new Vortex scopes. They appear to be a good bargain too.
Good luck.
GR

jvanoyen said:

I need your input on the two scopes that interest me, the Raven or the Redtail.
They are a little over my poorman's budget but scopes priced less do not seem adequate. Please share your thoughts on this, my delema1
Thanks.
jvanoyen

Click to expand...

I picked up a like-new Raven scope recently and for the money I would say it's well worth it. As the previous person responded , it does have limitations , especially at 40x and higher , but I find almost all of my use at the the lower power and the images are great. It is well made , you get a free tripod if you buy from Eagle Optics. A few things about it that I don't care for. 1) the close focus knob is very tight and 2) On the angled version the eyepiece is offset , so you have to get used to where to aim the scope to see the object. That said , I still think if you are looking for quality and care about not spending the big bucks you would be pleased with this scope. I took a long time before I made my purchase. If you look around you might find a deal on a good used model. I happened to find mine on astromart.com. , but you might try Ebay or other places. Good luck.

Thanks for your comments folks. It helps much.
Jerry
still looking for a scope