Outdoor Ontario

Discussion => General Discussions => Topic started by: Cody on June 06, 2010, 09:05:46 PM

Title: Scopes
Post by: Cody on June 06, 2010, 09:05:46 PM

Would this be a good scope for Waterfowl/Shorebird viewing in the Toronto & Southern Ontario area :?:

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/6 ... ml#reviews (http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/617054-REG/Celestron_52228_15_45x_Zoom_Refractor_2_0_50mm.html#reviews)

Title:
Post by: Brian Bailey on June 06, 2010, 10:22:15 PM

Despite the single positive review there, I find it hard to imagine that any scope in that price range would be usable for birding.  Celestron was a fairly respectable name at one time, but I don't know what's happened to it lately.  I have a 20 year old Celestron scope that I've been pretty happy with.  It was discontinued when I bought it.  It's definitely in the bottom end of the scope quality spectrum, but it was good value.

I also have a pair of Celestron binoculars that are about 10 years old.  They're okay, but not nearly as good as a pair of Nikons I bought a few years later for about the same price.

You don't have to spend thousands on a scope, but you'll probably need to spend a few hundred if you buy new.  You may also be able to find a used Bushnell Spacemaster.  They were once the most common scope around.  There are likely quite a few around sitting in the closets of people who have upgraded to higher quality optics.  I'm pretty sure they're discontinued now, but they used to sell for around $200 - $250.

BB