Modern budget scope quality vs Bushnell Spacemaster (1 Viewer)

[Peregrine Took]

I didn't know which section to place this under, but since I'm looking at various Opticron scopes I hope it's okay here.

I bought a Bushnell Spacemaster about 30 years ago, for trips to Skye and Islay. I've not used it much since, and suspect things have moved on! I also want an angled EP, so the Bushnell will be given to a friend, whatever the replies.

Question:

Are modern - even non-ED glass - scopes such as the Opticron Adventurer and Hawke Nature Trek an advance in optical quality over the Spacemaster?

What would represent a decent upgrade to the Bushnell on a small budget - say, up to £300.00, for a new scope?

I don't want to buy used and might upgrade to a £1k scope (and take the modest financial hit) next year if I get more into it.

Happy to go to about 1.5kg and 80mm, but 65-70mm seems like a more 'agile' option.

Thanks.

 

[BKoh]

I didn't know which section to place this under, but since I'm looking at various Opticron scopes I hope it's okay here.

I bought a Bushnell Spacemaster about 30 years ago, for trips to Skye and Islay. I've not used it much since, and suspect things have moved on! I also want an angled EP, so the Bushnell will be given to a friend, whatever the replies.

Question:

Are modern - even non-ED glass - scopes such as the Opticron Adventurer and Hawke Nature Trek an advance in optical quality over the Spacemaster?

What would represent a decent upgrade to the Bushnell on a small budget - say, up to £300.00, for a new scope?

I don't want to buy used and might upgrade to a £1k scope (and take the modest financial hit) next year if I get more into it.

Happy to go to about 1.5kg and 80mm, but 65-70mm seems like a more 'agile' option.

Thanks.

30 years is quite a long time and optical design has probably advanced a bit since, particularly in the use of ED glass for reduced CA. At your price point, absent a pricing error or closeout sale, anything new will be made in China. I suggest the Svbony SV406P, in either 65mm or 80mm guise. ED glass and comes with a good zoom (7.2mm-21.6mm = 16-48x for 65mm, 20-60x for 80mm). Natively uses 1.25" astronomical eyepieces.

I have the 80mm version and am very pleased with it. For additional eyepieces, one obvious choice is the 23mm aspheric (US$10 or less) which provides a wider field of view at low power compared to the provided zoom. You can buy the scope on Amazon, www.svbony.com and Lazada (where I got mine).

There are some threads on this forum discussing the 80mm version of the scope, and I have included some digiscoped pictures in my posts about this scope. Image quality is very good, especially at close range - birds, insects, spiders etc look fantastic. At long distance, 60x is still sharp but 30-40x is where the image is really excellent. I have not looked through an "alpha" scope (Zeiss, Swarovski, Leica, Kowa etc) so I cannot say how it compares, I presume the alphas are better but they cost 10x more, I am not sure they are 10x better.

The 65mm appears to be the same optical design, so optical performance and build quality should be similar.

 

[Peregrine Took]

Thanks BKoh. I might be totally wrong, but I get the impression that Svbony is one of those Chinese brands that 'clones' the work of established brands. And on that basis, regardless of the excellent prices, I'm not really interested in their line-up.

I guess the suggestion was brought on by the price-point, but then I'd far rather buy Hawke or Opticron (even without ED glass) - at least they are UK businesses, with their own product development, albeit with manufacturing in China.

Sorry if I sound xenophobic or ungrateful for the advice.

.

 

[paddyluke]

Thanks BKoh. I might be totally wrong, but I get the impression that Svbony is one of those Chinese brands that 'clones' the work of established brands. And on that basis, regardless of the excellent prices, I'm not really interested in their line-up.

I guess the suggestion was brought on by the price-point, but then I'd far rather buy Hawke or Opticron (even without ED glass) - at least they are UK businesses, with their own product development, albeit with manufacturing in China.

Sorry if I sound xenophobic or ungrateful for the advice.

.

i would guess that it was the other way round,Hawke stick their name on the Svbony scopes,just my opinion

 

[BKoh]

I guess the suggestion was brought on by the price-point, but then I'd far rather buy Hawke or Opticron (even without ED glass) - at least they are UK businesses, with their own product development, albeit with manufacturing in China.

Sorry if I sound xenophobic or ungrateful for the advice.

.

The actual facts on the ground are that the brands who clearly develop their own spotting scopes are Zeiss, Leica, Swarovski, Kowa, Pentax, Nikon and Optolyth. Clones are rare, for this reason, though I have seen Nikon-looking clones too which suggests some models are outsourced.

For the rest, you can see where Celestron, Hawke, Opticron, Orion, Svbony etc source their scopes from by looking at the websites of Kunming United Optics, Long Perng and Bosma Optics. These 3 companies basically manufacture spotting scopes for the vast majority of brands out there.

Absent pricing errors or closeout sales, the cheapest new "in-house" scope you can buy will be from Pentax. I almost bought their 65mm scope, but took a calculated risk on the 80mm Svbony (half the price and came with an eyepiece). It worked out well and I have no regrets, the savings paid for the tripod and video head (both from Sirui, a Chinese company that actually does do their own development and backs their products up with long warranties).

 

[Peregrine Took]

^^^ Fair enough. The original question was to more scratch an itch - hopefully not too disingenuously - but whether it's cars, fly fishing gear or canoes, I always end up buying a 'top' brand, having first explored all the options.

Being a self-confessed brand snob no doubt costs me money (product of a poor upbringing, is my excuse!), but the hesitancy in upgrading my scope (and upgrade my bins) probably comes from the fact that I want to experience the pride that comes from owning a top quality product.

Anyway, I'm almost certainly going to upgrade my bins first (as I use them every time I go walking) and then upgrade my scope to something like a Kowa TSN-663 next spring.

First world problems, eh?!
.

 

[Binastro]

Hi PT,

So does the Bentley fit in your garage?
I find them to be a bit large.

Seriously though, with scopes the variability of individual units is so great that it is essential to test a scope carefully before buying.

A really good example of a low priced scope can perform better than a poor expensive scope.

Regards,
B.

 

[Peregrine Took]

Secondhand Range Rover, B. And I'm building an oak-framed garage next year... it won't have a thatched roof though! ;-)