Nikon 16X48X65

[The100Road]

My Girlfriend says she will buy me a spotting scope in this price range for my upcoming birthday. I talked to the employee at Cabelas and he said the best bang for my buck at that  price would be the Nikon. Would is your guys opinion on this scope?

http://www.cabelas.com/product/Hunting/Optics/Spotting-Scopes%7C/pc/104791680/c/104752080/sc/104600880/Nikon-ProStaff-Spotting-Scope/748507.uts?destination=%2Fcatalog%2Fbrowse%2Fhunting-optics-spotting-scopes%2Fnikon%2F_%2FN-1100060%2B1000004133%2FNe-1000004133%2FNs-CATEGORY_SEQ_104600880%3FWTz_l%3DSBC%253BMMcat104791680%253Bcat104752080%26WTz_st%3DGuidedNav%26WTz_stype%3DGNU&WTz_l=SBC%3BMMcat104791680%3Bcat104752080%3Bcat104600880

[Bean Counter]

Quite a girlfriend you have there 

I would save up until you can afford ED glass. A year from now, you would be able to afford one and you'll be glad you waited.

ED is not a deal breaker for binos, but definitely for a spotter. Just my 

[The100Road]

Quite a girlfriend you have there 

I would save up until you can afford ED glass. A year from now, you would be able to afford one and you'll be glad you waited.

ED is not a deal breaker for binos, but definitely for a spotter. Just my 

I sorry, I have done a tone of research yet. What is ED glass?

[Bean Counter]

A few years ago I started thinking abouta  spotter, and as far as research, I hadn't either  I got really into it (way into it) and learned far more than i needed to. Sure glad I did. Had I bought cheap, I woulda bought twice. The place to really learn is on bird watching forums. Those guys really know their glass.

ED, HD, Apo, UD are all trademarks used by various optics companies. I have a Nikon Fieldscope 82 so I used their term which stands for "extra low dispersion." (others: 'high definition,' 'apochromatic,' 'ultra low dispersion' etc, etc) They basically all refer to high tech manufacturing processes, such as the inclusion of flourite compounds and/or use of multiple glass layers, to reduce chromatic abberation. What is chromatic abberation? That's the fuzz you might notice around the edge of objects when looking through cheap glass. It refers to light's wavelengths (the reds, blues, greens, etc) tendency to not focus on a single plane when passing through glass and thereby cause blurriness. Higher magnification pronounces the phenomena--so a spotting scope of lesser quality is more problematic than a pair of binos.

In practical application, picture yourself at the end of shooting light on a hunting day. You're up high and can see a buck off in some scrub brush.you're trying to count antlers, but you're not sure if he's what you really want. Is that a branch, or an antler? Just how long are those eyeguards? You've scouted the area and are expecting another herd of deer that has a big buck to come in from another area--and now you're torn. Go after the buck that you see now? Or wait for the big boy to come around the corner?  Quality glass makes for better hunts and truly allows you to 'hunt with your eyes, more than your legs.' You'll also get less headaches and eyestrain, so once you've found a good spot you'll be more likely to sit there rather than get impatient and run off 

From around the web:
http://www.nikon.com/products/sportoptics/how_to/guide/fieldscopes/choosing/choosing_03.htm
http://www.dpreview.com/learn/?/Glossary/Optical/chromatic_aberration_01.htm
http://toothwalker.org/optics/chromatic.html

[The100Road]

A few years ago I started thinking abouta  spotter, and as far as research, I hadn't either  I got really into it (way into it) and learned far more than i needed to. Sure glad I did. Had I bought cheap, I woulda bought twice. The place to really learn is on bird watching forums. Those guys really know their glass.

ED, HD, Apo, UD are all trademarks used by various optics companies. I have a Nikon Fieldscope 82 so I used their term which stands for "extra low dispersion." (others: 'high definition,' 'apochromatic,' 'ultra low dispersion' etc, etc) They basically all refer to high tech manufacturing processes, such as the inclusion of flourite compounds and/or use of multiple glass layers, to reduce chromatic abberation. What is chromatic abberation? That's the fuzz you might notice around the edge of objects when looking through cheap glass. It refers to light's wavelengths (the reds, blues, greens, etc) tendency to not focus on a single plane when passing through glass and thereby cause blurriness. Higher magnification pronounces the phenomena--so a spotting scope of lesser quality is more problematic than a pair of binos.

In practical application, picture yourself at the end of shooting light on a hunting day. You're up high and can see a buck off in some scrub brush.you're trying to count antlers, but you're not sure if he's what you really want. Is that a branch, or an antler? Just how long are those eyeguards? You've scouted the area and are expecting another herd of deer that has a big buck to come in from another area--and now you're torn. Go after the buck that you see now? Or wait for the big boy to come around the corner?  Quality glass makes for better hunts and truly allows you to 'hunt with your eyes, more than your legs.' You'll also get less headaches and eyestrain, so once you've found a good spot you'll be more likely to sit there rather than get impatient and run off 

From around the web:
http://www.nikon.com/products/sportoptics/how_to/guide/fieldscopes/choosing/choosing_03.htm
http://www.dpreview.com/learn/?/Glossary/Optical/chromatic_aberration_01.htm
http://toothwalker.org/optics/chromatic.html

Wow. Thats a lot of information. What ED spotting scope do you recomend?

[Jason]

Take a look at the Vortex Viper hd 15-45x65, great scope for only $150 more than the one your looking at.

[The100Road]

Take a look at the Vortex Viper hd 15-45x65, great scope for only $150 more than the one your looking at.

Ive heard a lot of good things about the Vortex scopes. I looked through one but i liked the Nikon better. Im not sure if it was the HD 15-45x65 that i looked through. I will have to check it out.

[Bean Counter]

Wow. Thats a lot of information. What ED spotting scope do you recomend?

It depends on what you want to do with it.

• You need to figure out how big of a spotter you want (do you backpack in 5+ miles or only a mile or two? Hunt with a partner?). Smaller scopes that come to mind are the Leupold Gold Ring, the Pentax PF ED II, etc.
• You also want to figure out whether you want an angled or straight body. If you spend lots of time in a valley glassing up at hillsides, then an angled scope might be better.I find myself most of the time on top of a hill looking down which would make a straight scope more advantageous. Many manufacturers make both angled and straight bodies so you wont be too limited by what you decide here.
• Do you want a small focus knob for your finger, or a wrap around focus wring? I prefer the latter as found on my Nikon, also on Swaro, etc. I believe the Zen Ray, Leupold, and others use the finger focus knob.

Keep your eyes peeled on ebay and CL for good deals. Patience is the key to finding a kick @$$ deal on a spotting scope. If you want to just get one now I would at least consider some of the site sponsors on here, such as Charles for Zen-Ray Optics or ElkNut1 for Vortex.