Spotting scope opportunities (2 Viewers)

[SCinthehouse]

Hi all,
I'm a newer birder in ABQ and wading into the exciting and intimidating world of spotting scope shopping. As far as I can tell, the only places in town that carry scopes to check out are Cabella's and Sportsman's Warehouse, and they look to only really carry the Vortex line. Any other ideas or events folks know of for compating scopes?
Thanks,
SC

 

[Lisa W]

Hi, first off welcome to the forum on behalf of the staff and moderators. Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Area is about 1 1/2 hours from ABQ. They are having the crane festival there from Wed Dec 6 - Sat Dec 9. You should find a lot of optics dealers in attendance, look up who will be there and when this year. I went a few years ago and you could find just about any dealer you could want to see there.

 

[SCinthehouse]

Hi Lisa, and thanks for the welcome.
Thanks, that's good to know. I was wondering if they would have lots of optics vendors there. Do you know if the the vendors are around on Saturday? Many thanks, SC

 

[SCinthehouse]

Looks like I can call them and get all the logistics, thanks!

 

[Elkhornsun]

The Vortex provide the best value and they have a lifetime warranty with their design headquartered in the USA. When I go on day trips with birders most will have a Swarvoski scope as it is considered to be the best.

Good idea to put some thought into how large of scope objective you want as it greatly affects the weight and the cost of the scope. A Vortex 85mm for example weighs 4.8 lb as compared to their 65mm with a weight of 3.6 lb.

Also you need to decide whether to go with a straight or angled eyepiece. Hunter tend to go with straight eyepieces and birders with angled ones (as they are often viewing subject up in a tree).

Comparing costs you need to check whether the scope includes an eyepiece or if you will need to buy one.

If you go to the BH Photo Video website you can check the reviews of people who have bought the various scopes and get a better perspective with many dozen reviews.

 

[SCinthehouse]

The Vortex provide the best value and they have a lifetime warranty with their design headquartered in the USA. When I go on day trips with birders most will have a Swarvoski scope as it is considered to be the best.

Good idea to put some thought into how large of scope objective you want as it greatly affects the weight and the cost of the scope. A Vortex 85mm for example weighs 4.8 lb as compared to their 65mm with a weight of 3.6 lb.

Also you need to decide whether to go with a straight or angled eyepiece. Hunter tend to go with straight eyepieces and birders with angled ones (as they are often viewing subject up in a tree).

Comparing costs you need to check whether the scope includes an eyepiece or if you will need to buy one.

If you go to the BH Photo Video website you can check the reviews of people who have bought the various scopes and get a better perspective with many dozen reviews.

Thank you for the thoughtful responce! Great factors and resources to consider.