[walterb]

I received my Yukon 6-100x100 Spotting scope today!

This will be a very quick review because I plan to put the scope through the paces over the next few weeks, and at that point I’ll be able to give you my full opinion.


In a Nutshell I bought this scope on Ebay for $199 as a Demo/Refurbished model from a company that sells Russian made Optics. It has a full factory warranty on it, and a good return policy so I figured I had nothing to loose.

The scope is very light. It seems to be made of plastic. I read one review that said it was bulky and that person wouldn’t want to have to carry it around. In my opinion my wife’s purse is heavier and more bulky than this scope in its carrying case.

The optics are about what you would expect for a medium range spotting scope. The scope is pretty bright, but has some really bad purple fringing/(Chromatic Aberrations ) issues.

The camera I used is a Powershot IXY 320 (Powershot S230). The camera adapter was backordered so all the shots are with the scope on a medium/light duty tripod and I’m hand holding the camera.

I did not Photoshop the photos in anyway. (i.e., color, sharpness, etc.). I only used Photoshop to label them and optimize them for the web using a medium/high setting.

The 1x shots are just with the camera to give you a baseline of the field of view to the naked eye.

In this set of photos I am standing in a park on top of a bluff in Alton Illinois, overlooking the Mississippi River and Downtown St. Louis Missouri is about 20 miles in the distance.

In a nutshell, So far I like this scope for what I paid for it. I do believe it would make a great scope for finding bullet holes in targets at over 200 yards, but as a nature scope the purple fringing can be annoying.

The second set of photos is of one of the few birds that would sit still today long enough for me to take his photo.

Once the camera adapter arrives I’ll put the scope through the paces and see how good the photography is with this scope. I’ll also do some astrophotography then as well (at least as much as the Powershot camera will allow).

Thanks.

[walterb]

Here a few more shots including the blackbird.

[H2E]

Nice telephoto of the blackbird. I just purchased this scope and haven't had it out in the daytime yet (I work nights and sleep much of the day). But I did get a chance to quickly test the optics. Little if any spherical aberration or astigmatism. Alignment is good. This is a better result than many of the high end scopes that I have tested in the past. The zoom shows some ghost image tendencies at night but nothing serious. I think it will provide a nice image in the daytime as evidenced by your photos. The primary lens has better coatings than expected - reflections are quite subdued. This optical system is an example of a folded refractor in which the light from the main lens is reflected by two mirrors and then into the zoom lens / eyepiece assembly.I find it somewhat extraordinary that this fairly complex optical system has been implemented with a reasonable degree of success in such an inexpensive instrument.
Without getting too carried away, It's not perfect of course. In cold weather, the zoom becomes very stiff and the focal range is limited at higher powers. Still, I am enjoying what I have seen so far and don't have that sinking feeling in my stomach that usually accompanies my rather high expectations. All in all, a pleasant surprise.

[Tero]

Familiar scenery. I think I have seen that family fishing. LOL

And I think the Redwing caught you watching him, he is looking that way!

[H2E]

I finally returned the scope - two issues which prevented it from being a keeper in the end: in cold conditions the zoom becomes very stiff and the close focus at 100x on my unit was in excess of 200 yards. I still stand by the fact that the optics (for the price) were very good but focusing is accomplished using the limited travel of the eyepiece and falls far short of what is desireable in normal use at higher powers.