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Closeout spotter for $39.99! (1 Viewer)

I tried the monopod on a scope. It does work in simple settings. But even a cheap camera store or Best Buy tripod is better. Mine was 20 dollars when Circuit City went out of business. It works OK at 16x.
 
OK, on order. I sometimes need an angled scope as I have people with me and many are short. I still have my Pentax 65mm straight. I prefer that when looking over the grass here on the TALL grass prairie.

Quick look at best buy had only one tripod with a lever. The pistol grip ones are useless.
Sunpak - PlatinumPlus 5858D 58" Tripod - Black 30 dollars.
 
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Joachim, Sorry you have to send that one back. I got one of the close out Bresser spotters that the original poster to this thread attached a link to and here it is again below.
http://www.opticalinstruments.com/c...cts/bresser-spektar-15-45-x-60-spotting-scope

I will have to say if these are all like the one I received it is a good buy esp. with the price. I received this yesterday around 6 PM FedEx. I did try some resolution chart testing inside and this scope was pretty good up the max a 45x. I did not do any measured distance type of testing, just compared to the Nikon 50ED I have. The 50ED is better. I did check the Bresser 15-45 outside looking at a Verizon Sub-station with some writing on areas and a neighbors truck license etc. The truck is white and Verizon Sub-station is somewhat white as well. I found this scope controls CA pretty good and would agree with Frank D. I don't wear glasses while observing but did try and this eyepiece is similar to the Nikon MCII zoom, might be little better at higher powers for ER. The focus is smooth, no problem that I have found. IMO this scope's sweet spot is 30x. Would I buy it again, you bet esp. at the price it is selling for. I hope this helps some. I am keeping mine and am happy with it.

The picture of this scope that Frank's #10 post shows a big knob on the side with a big B on it that is the focus knob, on the other side there is a smaller knob you can loosen to turn the angled part. I just thought I would tell people that.
 
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Tero said:
OK, on order. I sometimes need an angled scope as I have people with me and many are short. I still have my Pentax 65mm straight. I prefer that when looking over the grass here on the TALL grass prairie.

Quick look at best buy had only one tripod with a lever. The pistol grip ones are useless.
Sunpak - PlatinumPlus 5858D 58" Tripod - Black 30 dollars.
Click to expand...

Tero, available at Best Buy $14.99 with free shipping.
http://www.bestbuy.com/site/sunpak-platinumplus-5858d-58-tripod-black/1802042.p?id=1219064880246
 
Sounds tempting, but will need to wait till the scope arrives! I do have a good tripod for local use, the cheap/light one is only for travel.
 
My Bresser Spektar 15-45x60 arrived. While I had to pay more like US full price for this (here in Oz), I'd say it's still a pretty decent deal - which makes the US$40 deal (if still available) something of a steal. I've not much experience with scopes but it seems to me quite good enough for my use, which is pretty much limited to sitting it on a tripod (I'm a photographer, I have tripods) on my balcony, to get a closer view of the birds in the bushland opposite me than I can get through binoculars. It seems quite good for that, the view being sharp enough to do a pretty decent job and things like CA not being intrusive enough that they worry me.

I might think differently if I had a more "instustrial strength" application for a scope, or an intention to look through it for long periods - but I don't. I'm sure this scope is quite good enough for me to dip my toe in the waters of scopes, with an actual use I can make of it, while I get used to it over time. I seriously doubt I'd have spent more on a scope, so I'd not have one at all if not tipped off to this model.

...Mike
 
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mfunnell said:
My Bresser Spektar 15-45x60 arrived. While I had to pay more like US full price for this (here in Oz), I'd say it's still a pretty decent deal - which makes the US$40 deal (if still available) something of a steal. I've not much experience with scopes but it seems to me quite good enough for my use, which is pretty much limited to sitting it on a tripod (I'm a photographer, I have tripods) on my balcony, to get a closer view of the birds in the bushland opposite me than I can get through binoculars. It seems quite good for that, the view being sharp enough to do a pretty decent job and things like CA not being intrusive enough that they worry me.

I might think differently if I had a more "instustrial strength" application for a scope, or an intention to look through it for long periods - but I don't. I'm sure this scope is quite good enough for me to dip my toe in the waters of scopes, with an actual use I can make of it, while I get used to it over time. I seriously doubt I'd have spent more on a scope, so I'd not have one at all if not tipped off to this model.

...Mike
Click to expand...


Mike's thoughts about the little Bresser mirror mine. I find it to be a good usable scope. 15-30x works best for me being an eyeglass wearer. Yesterday evening I had a buddy take a look through the Bresser at four deer in a snow covered field. As he zoomed to 45x he made the comment: "Not too bad at full power. You seriously paid forty bucks for this thing!?" His spotter is an older Swarovski Habicht 20-60 ST. He has spent much more time behind a spotter than I have so based on my initial impressions and his comments I feel the scope is a great value.

As a side note, I did order two of them and one is better than the other. The better of the two has a much smoother focus and cleaner glass. The other scope has a couple tiny spots of dust or something stuck to the glass inside.
 
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22,

I was wondering are you saying that the better scope has a better image or that it is just the dust spots and something stuck to the glass inside the scope?
 
mooreorless said:
22,

I was wondering are you saying that the better scope has a better image or that it is just the dust spots and something stuck to the glass inside the scope?
Click to expand...

Sorry that I was unclear. I would say the view is equal with both scopes aside from one having some dust/coating particles on the lower edge. I have experienced this before with a couple cheaper rifle scopes so didn't think much of it other than it should be mentioned.
 
Kflan22 thanks for your reply. I don't wear glasses when observing and I really didn't check out the scope that much wearing my glasses, the ER might be a little better than the Nikon MCII zoom at higher powers.

Looks like Explore Scientific shows these sold out. I mean Opticalinstruments.com
 
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I haven't seen any tripod deals that are as good of a deal as the scope mentioned here. I did order one of the inexpensive (read that as under $20) tripods that is similar to the two recommended here in this thread. It is "usuable" in the sense that the person I bought the spotting scope for probably won't have an issue with it. However, as someone that is accustomed to a more scope-friendly design I find the head is the issue with tripods in this price range...assuming the one I bought is any indication. The part of the head that "flips" over..assuming for camera use....does not provide a stable enough base for this scope. When rotating the focusing knob it slightly changes the aiming point of the scope itself.

With that thought in mind I set out to find a more stable tripod and came up with the suggestion below. I have not used it personally but am going by the style of the tripod and my past experience with similar designs. The price range is approximately 50% more the cost of the scope on sale but what good is the scope if you don't have a stable tripod to put it on?

http://www.amazon.com/Xit-XT80TRPRO...&qid=1450277557&sr=1-48&keywords=slik+tripods
 
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Two scopes arrived day before yesterday. Quality is highly acceptable in this price range - even at $125 I would not have been disappointed. At $40 the scopes are a deal.

Is it just me missing something or are the scope cases just naturally evil? They look good but getting them off and on has been a challenge. Also, if you plan to use the scope in the field, I strongly suggest alternative eyepiece and objective covers. The included items are essentially useless in my (limited) experience.

Best,
Jerry
 
Frank and Steve:

I ordered one of these and it is coming, and now I see they are now sold out.

I do hope you offered up some solid advice on a quality scope.

I will report back when I have time to evaluate.

Jerry
 
NDhunter said:
Frank and Steve:

I ordered one of these and it is coming, and now I see they are now sold out.

I do hope you offered up some solid advice on a quality scope.

I will report back when I have time to evaluate.

Jerry
Click to expand...

I look forward to seeing your comments Jerry. I think the way you should look at it is as if this was a Nikon Prostaff 7 binocular that was discounted down to $40...or possibly something like a Bushnell Excursion binocular discounted down to this price. I know you still have that little Bushnell 8x28 that most of us paid around $65 for. I think the overall optical performance is at a similar level to this scope.
 
So, ah.....not to hijack the thread.....but, NDHunter, it's sad to see you don't think you live in a great country. In your view, when was the last time America was great? Because, if we're going to make America great again, that means you believe it's not great anymore but once was. So when exactly did the greatness end? In your view.

JerryL
 
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