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Hawke Sapphire vs cheaper scopes? (1 Viewer)

earlytorise

Well-known member
I have been offered a used Hawke Sapphire 82 mm ED for an interesting price, and since there are hardly any reviews of that scope on the Internet, I thought I might put the question here:


How does the Sapphire compare to the best of scopes between 200 and 400 pounds? I'm thinking of the Celestron Trailseeker 80 mm, or the Vanguard Endeavour HD 82mm, but any other comparisons are welcome. I'm much more interested in image quality than in other features.


One member of Birdforum found the Sapphire to add a slight greenish tinge to the image, and to do worse than the Opticron ES 80mm ED at higher magnifications.
https://www.birdforum.net/showthread.php?t=316280&highlight=Hawke+Sapphire+scope
This is not a flattering description, and it makes me wonder whether the Sapphire fares better against cheaper scopes.
 
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Have a look through your sample. I looked through a Hawke Sapphire and a Swarowski 80mm prior to my purchase. The viewing was in good winter light so perhaps not the best test. There was little doubt the Swaro was the better scope (even the Hawke sales rep freely admitted as much) but the Swaro was not 3 times better than the Hawke - an example of the law of diminishing returns? Indeed, in my opinion, the differences were marginal and I could detect no discernible colour cast (but my viewing was in good light). That said, I use Zeiss FL binoculars and they are said to have a colour cast but I can't see it. Again, my own view, compared to a £200 to £400 scope a good example of the Hawke Sapphire would acquit itself very well. I wonder if we obsess too much about whether 1 scope is better than the other in side by side comparisons but ignore the question whether, as stand alone instruments, 1 scope performs to our satsifaction.
 
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