[Al Tee]

Thinking of buying a scope but finding things a little confusing. Prices seem to range from £50 to over £1000.

Had a look in the local camera shop & saw a Summit 15 - 45 x 60 for £80. Are they any good or just a waste of money?

I have also seen articles on digiscoping and own a Nikon Coolpix 2100. Is this adaptable for digiscoping?

Any advice would be most appreciated.

[Ashley beolens]

The problem with lower end optics is, as you get more into the hobby and/or look through the better range of optics you see the difference and want to upgrade. I know I have over the years (and think most people do as well), I started with a Nikon spotting scope (cost I think £250 new), which I thought was great until my friend had an optolyth TBS80 which was far superior (and made identification easier) so I upgraded (second hand cost £200+ can't remember), then the new Leicas and Swarovski scopes hit the market, and my optolyth seemed poor in comparison, so I ended up upgrading again so over the years the cost of optics mounted up.

I think the best advice is buy the best you can afford, but make sure you give it a proper comparison with others around the same price.

[postcardcv]

Originally Posted by Al Tee

Thinking of buying a scope but finding things a little confusing. Prices seem to range from £50 to over £1000.

Had a look in the local camera shop & saw a Summit 15 - 45 x 60 for £80. Are they any good or just a waste of money?

You're right there is a massive range of scopes out there and you can pay almost anything for them. It would be fair to say that you get what you pay for - a £100 scope might be OK, but a £300 will be much better and so on. I don't know the scope you have seen, but the only way to find out will be to test it for yourself.

The best advice I can give is to work out your budget and then only look at scopes withing your price range - if you look at something more expensive you'll just end up wanting it...

If you feel that you won't get a scope that you're happy with for your budget it's always a good idea to look at secondhand scopes, that way you'll be able to get a better scope for your money. I'm sure if you were to give an indication of your budget people on here could recommend a scope or two.

[Tero]

I bought the Raven, as I wanted to get a scope at the time. Have used it mostly in winter. I selected a new one, as it has a warranty. I should be able to get 5 years out of it. If you find a trustworthy place to find a used one, go ahead. Lots of people like me eventually buy a second one, and there is nothing wrong with the *cheaper* scope. And people DO keep moving up.

BUY A GOOD TRIPOD. Try it in the store. Deals with tripod included can be a good savings.

[RAH]

Even though it is certainly true that you may eventually "move up", that doesn't mean to say your "starter" scope won't be useful later - to use in bad weather conditions; in areas where you might be worried about theft; times where you think you may be sharing it with a bunch of people; etc. I know I do that with binocs (leave my expensive ones home sometimes). I'm still on my first scope (an inexpensive 15-45x60 Nikon), but I'm keeping it when/if I move up.

[Tyler Vargo]

Photography is one of the few hobbies where, almost without exception, you get what you pay for. Though I don't digiscope (not versitile or fast enough for me) I'd suggest you pass this scope up and spend a little more. I've used scopes and binoculars that are lower end and the distortion and fringing can be terrible and will probably be very evident in a photograph.

[Al Tee]

Originally Posted by postcardcv

You're right there is a massive range of scopes out there and you can pay almost anything for them. It would be fair to say that you get what you pay for - a £100 scope might be OK, but a £300 will be much better and so on. I don't know the scope you have seen, but the only way to find out will be to test it for yourself.

The best advice I can give is to work out your budget and then only look at scopes withing your price range - if you look at something more expensive you'll just end up wanting it...

If you feel that you won't get a scope that you're happy with for your budget it's always a good idea to look at secondhand scopes, that way you'll be able to get a better scope for your money. I'm sure if you were to give an indication of your budget people on here could recommend a scope or two.

Thanks for the advice, may well keep looking in shops like Jessops & LCE for anything second hand that looks decent.
Thanks,
Al Tee