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Message: <blockquote data-quote="JGobeil" data-source="post: 957956" data-attributes="member: 24649">Does the main difference has to be to be optical ?  I think is is mainly   mechanical and electronic.  The scope  is meant to be controlled manually by its operator while the camera lens is meant to be controlled automatically by the camera. IMO, the second most important difference is control over the intensity of light.  The scope has a fixed aperture and it is the human eye that must adapt to the intensity of light.  The camera lens has to use a more sophisticated system in order to allow the film or the sensor do get the required amount of light  - the duration is controlled within the camera but the aperture is variable and this is done automatically inside the lens with an electronic signal that triggers a change in aperture (or mechanical for the older lenses).   This system also allows control over the depth of field by varying the speed/aperture equation while keeping the intensity of light constant.The third difference is focus control.  The scope has a control made to be adjusted by the user while the camera lens does this automatically from the camera.   The better lenses even add vibration/shake reduction.</blockquote>