Inexpensive scope to replace 40yr old bushnell (1 Viewer)

My Father has been an avid birder for 55 years or so. I found out when they came to visit for Thanksgiving that he is still using a 40+ year old spotting scope on a rickety aluminum tripod. He's had the thing as long as I can remember. I think the scope is a Bushnell that he got at Sears. It is encased in aluminum and has a slide out glare guard. I think its a 60mm. Anyway, I'd like to get him a new scope that is useable with glasses and possibly could be adapted to be used with his Canon Powershot IS digicam. It needs to be fairly portable and maybe even "carryon capable" for when they travel.

As far as budget, I would think $250 or less. I know next to nothing about spotting scopes. Is there even anything worthwhile at that price? I'd have to think that anything would be better than what he has.

Never tried it, but the lightweight Vortex Stokes Sandpiper 15-45x, 65 mm was recently well reviewed and is available for $330 at Eagle Optics: http://www.eagleoptics.com/index.asp?pid=4632. (If you are serious about the $250 limitation, you probably would want to look at used scopes). I have tried the Vortex Skyline, another inexpensive scope from the same company, and liked it. Here are some links with more info about scopes and tripods: http://www.birdforum.net/showthread.php?t=107862 The above is a link to a thread on this forum linking to and discussing the latest (2008) extensive survey of spotting scopes. You might want to read through some of the posts as well as the review itself. http://www.birdwatching.com/optics.html The above page has links to a number of excellent articles about spotting scopes, as well as a 2003 survey and review of several scopes. Here is a general article about scope tripods from an optic's merchant: http://www.optics4birding.com/abouttripods.aspx

You can get a straight Sandpiper from Cameralandny.com for $199.

And last time I checked there were two straight Sandpiper demos on the Eagle Optics eBay store for $179.

I have one. It's very good for the price. Nice eyepiece.

The Cornell review liked it too.

Don't forget a decent tripod too.

I'm a huge fan of those old scopes. The 20x eps usually have great eye relief, but the zooms are horrid. Not what you asked, but you might consider another eyepiece. Sourcing can take some time but they're out there.

Matt_RTH said:

I'm a huge fan of those old scopes. The 20x eps usually have great eye relief, but the zooms are horrid. Not what you asked, but you might consider another eyepiece. Sourcing can take some time but they're out there.

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Though the other thing to consider is scopes (particularly mid to top end scopes) have improved drastically in the past 20 years never mind 40 years ago (1968). Coatings, design, lens quality, inversion systems, eyepiece design (what use a lens bigger than 10mm in an eyepiece ... never!) have changed beyond recognition.

For the stated budget it would be tough to beat a good Bushnell. The oldest one I had was easily early '60s and I really enjoyed it. It was 60mm/20x.

Matt_RTH said:

I'm a huge fan of those old scopes. The 20x eps usually have great eye relief, but the zooms are horrid. Not what you asked, but you might consider another eyepiece. Sourcing can take some time but they're out there.

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I agree entirely. If the old scope is one of the good Bushnell or B&L models of its day, it may be a very nice scope despite its age, especially with a fixed 20x or 25x eyepiece. I've always been impressed with the performance of the original (long focal length) Bushnell Spacemaster and Balscopes. I'm not a fan of modern cheap scopes.

--AP