Burris Compact 12-24x50 Spotting Scope (1 Viewer)

Sorry for posting in this forum, but I don't see a Burris subforum. I'm in need of a dirt cheap scope. I noticed that Eagleoptics has the Burris Compact 12-24x50 Spotting Scope as a "Staff pick." I know, you get what you pay for, but when you don't have the money your options are very limited. I've seen these on ebay sell for half of the the asking price on most websites. My real question is this: Would the 20x50 model of this same scope offer any potential increase in image quality (brightness or sharpness) since it is not a zoom? If it is the least bit brighter and sharper it may be worth it to go with the fixed focal lenght scope. Any input you could give would be much appreciated.

Thanks,
Ken

Hi Ken,

I've just had a look on the eagle optics site. In cheaper scopes, the fixed eyepieces tend to be sharper, and I would imagine so here. What I can tell you is that the fixed eyepiece will have a wider field of view than the zoom at 20X - i.e you can see more through the scope - good when trying to find birds. In fact, the fixed scope has the same field of view as the zoom at its lowest magnification - which means that you will have the same field of view as the zoom at 12x, but with more magnification, which is a good thing. Considering this, it makes the zoom a bit pointless - usually people scan for birds at the wide end and zoom in for more detail - with the wide angle, you can see as much as you would at 12X on the zoom, and the difference between 20X and 24X in the real world is neglible, and because the zooms quality wouldnt be as good, even if you could see the difference in magnification, there would likely be no more detail. I would say the fixed eyepiece is probably the better option - cheaper too!

Fantastic! That's exactly what I was hoping for.

Thanks,
Ken

No problem, enjoy the scope.