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Old February 12, 2012, 02:39 PM   #11
wogpotter
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Join Date: September 27, 2004
Posts: 4,811
The biggest problem with telescopes in general & spotting scopes in general is "over magnifying" them so the advertising dept can claim "300X magnification!". What they do not tell you is that is probably a scope capable of 36X magnification with a way too powerful eyepiece giving a fuzzy image that is useless at the power setting advertised as hype!

Telescope buyers are a high tech geeky crowd & always want the latest/greatest development in optics, so this can be put to your advantage if you do a bit of research into last year's good scopes.

Let me give you an example. I just bought (for a song) an older, but well cared for spotting scope. It's technically obsolete, but shows clearly the "X" in a standard cross-head screw at 250 Yds approx. That is with a 64X magnification BTW. If I put in the "high power eyepiece that gives me quote: "an amazing high definition 350X" the thing gets so darn fuzzy that I'm lucky to find the screw, much less see the "X"!

There is a rule of optics that will help you get a good scope, not a hyped "optical system" For every 1" of diameter at the front you will get 20X magnification. So if you want power you have to put up with width. Anything that advertises "a 3" scope with 500X mag" is garbage. It's a rule of optics depending on physics so you can't find a short cut either.

My advice?
Get a good 4" diameter telescope from an older model & fit it with an eyepiece that will be good quality & magnify 60~70 X maximum.
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