How far can you see with a spotting scope?

Question

I want to look out across the the bay for whales? etc. from my deck. Would a spotting scope be preferable for this? Which model?

Answer 1

First of all there is no limitation as to how far you can see with Spotting Scope. (You can see as far as your eye can see)
Spotting Scopes are typically used to magnify objects at greater distance and typically used for non moving objects, mainly because of it's narrow field of view (F.O.V). Listed below are some of the most common and etiquette use of Spotting Scope:
Target Shooting
Sniper Spotting
Bird Watching
Surveillance and so on.

Usual magnifications on Spotting scopes are something like (20-60x60 or 12-38x50 and so on). 20-60x means that the spotter has magnification capability of 20x (min) up to 60x(max) or simply said 20x means you'll see objects 20 time closer than your naked eyes. With this information you should be able to determine what type of magnification you will need. The number after the X (50 or 60mm or so on) represents the diameter of the Objective Lens calculated in mm.

In your particular case (Whales watching across the bay) I would not recommend spotting scope, because of its sheer narrow field of view . What I would recommend is a Good Size Binoculars on a tripod possibly with 100mm objective lens and with minimum field of view of 78ft @ 1000yards and Minimum Magnifications of 20x. A good tripod is must!!. Hope this helps good luck! Check out the item below!

Answer 2

20-60x60 Spotting Scope

Answer 3

Spotting scopes really aren't all that useful for astronomy because of their small aperture. Aperture is far more important than magnification because the primary function of a telescope is to gather light. Binoculars on the other hand will still be useful when you finally get a "real" telescope. Personally I would recommend something like 8 x 56 or 10 x 50 binoculars. Anything higher powered will need a tripod. I would recommend joining an astronomy club before buying a telescope. That way you can look through different scopes and pick the brains of members. Quite often clubs will have scopes they will loan out to members, There is also a very good chance you can pick up a used scope at a good price. I picked up my 10" that way.

Answer 4

It isn't how far you can see that counts, but how far you can see clearly. This is usually limited by atmospheric conditions; at high magnification everything will be lost in the heat shimmer. The air is often steadiest early in the morning before things heat up.

The magnification of the scope indicates how much closer objects appear, so 40x can make a whale 4 miles away look like it's only a tenth of a mile (176 yds.) away. Of course, that's not counting heat shimmer and haze.

In general, a spotting scope view starts to look dim when the magnification exceeds half the aperture in mm - so 30x for a 60mm scope; 40x for an 80mm. You can get away with maybe twice that if the air is clear and steady. I'd go for 80mm or larger for the best view.

If it's just going to sit on your deck, you could also use an astronomical refractor with an erecting prism. The advantage of the spotting scope is that it's more compact and usually weatherproof. What's best depends largely on how much you're willing to spend. Premium spotting scopes from companies like Leica and Swarovski can run over $2000, as can good astronomical telecopes. Teleview, William Optics, and Stellarview are some good astronomical brands; the best refractors and spotters are called apochromats, or apos. There are plenty of less expensive telescopes in both categories. The lesser scopes will show some colored fringes around objects. In astronomical achromats (that's the less expensive species of refractor), a longer focal ratio will give you less color error.

Answer 5

I agree with nearly everything on the other reviews, except that the bipod and carrying case are what I would expect for this price. You are paying for the optics, and at a very low price for their performance. With a quick test I found I can read 1" lettering at 650 yards printed on people's shirts (very clearly), ranged with a Bushnell ARC 1200 rangefinder (another item I reviewed). I will be doing a full write-up on the optics performance, but you will not find a better scope for this price. It outperformed some of Nikon's $1200 scopes by 'taste test'; hard to believe, but the only one that outperforms it is a Swarovski ($2500). Check out the write-up at [...] where Jim Owens compares it side by side to a $900 Kowa. It is comparable in 10/11 of his tests.

The eyepiece has a fairly wide field of view, especially compared to scopes in this price range. That is the place where the Kowa has an advantage. That said, the Kowa uses a fixed objective (no zoom). I find for highpower shooting (NRA across the course; 200yd-600yd and 1000yd Palma) you can get a benefit out of the variable power (IF you have excellent optics; in this case, the 80mm Konus works very well). For hunting the variable power is necessary for a lot of reasons.

It also works well for a crude, but enjoyable telescope for astronomy. At 60x you can see quite a bit of detail on the moon. I haven't had a chance to check out deep sky objects yet, but for what it is designed to do, it is an unmatched, low cost scope with impressive optics. One cool feature is the mini aiming sight on the side of the body, the rotatable band for turning the eyepiece how you need it, and the extendable sunshade. The focus knob is very fine, so you have plenty of adjustment to fine tune an image in focus.

For the complaints about the tripod, come on, you paid for the optics, not the tripod. And the case is basic; like any good optics, you don't want to drop them no matter what case they are in. I bought Jim Owens' Scope Stand for highpower shooting, and it is pretty stable, and much lower than competitors' prices for similar class scope stands like Ewing (~1/2 price). I may replace the case later, but I take extra caution not to drop my optics, my rifle, or my telescope. My review score is for the scope and its excellent quality and value. The tripod and case are consolation prizes, and they still work to get you started.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001DX7Q8W/ref=as_li_qf_sp_asin_il_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B001DX7Q8W&linkCode=as2&tag=parkerevans41-20&linkId=XRHZ2IL5PVYVNAXF

Answer 6

If you point your spottong scope at a bird you wil see that far, if you point it at the nearest galaxy you can see that far, (about 2 billion light years) so it all depends what you want to look at and how much detail you want to resove. How far away are these whales?. I suggest a pair of 16x70 binoculars might be better than a scope with a limited FOV.

Answer 7

You can see into the depth of the universe with any telescope, but a spotting scope is useful for limed range when it comes to resolution, I imagine it would be fine for observing whales but the field of view will be limited.

Answer 8

At leaast 240,000 miles if you look at the moon.