Alpen, Celestron, Bushnell, or Vortex

Hi. I need some help deciding on my first scope, which I will use primarily for birdwatching and wildlife viewing. I've narrowed the list down to these:

Alpen 15-45x60mm 728 ($148) or Alpen 20-60X60mm 745 ($195), which seems to be optically better than the 728, as it has FMC optics as opposed to MC, and also has a FOV of 113/55 ft (at 20-60x, remember) vs 115/59 ft. Unfortunately, you do not carry this particular scope.

Bushnell Legend 20-60x60mm ($239)
Celestron Ultima 65 18-55x65mm (this one has a rather poor FOV of 89/38 ft and is only multi-coated) ($128)
Vortex Sandpiper 15-45x65mm Angled ($330)

From what I can gather, the Vortex would stand out as the best of the group, followed by the Bushnell, correct? What about between the Alpen(s) and the Celestron? Is it possible to attach a medium-sized digital camera to each of these?

What would be a good, sturdy tripod for these under $150? They range in weight from 28 to 39oz. I've read about the Bogen Manfrotto 3001BN tripod and 3130 head kit, but this exceeds my $150 limit, is probably more tripod than I need, and it seems to have been discontinued. What about the Nikon 848 or something similar?

I guess I'm really trying to decide if it would be worth shelling out the extra money for the Sandpiper. I noticed that the sale price is only a 13% discount off the MSRP, compared to up to 40% for the others. Is this typical for Vortex products? Any chance the price might drop to $300?

Finally (sorry for so many questions), what do you think about the Vortex Impact in relation to the other scopes?

Many thanks

Hi

Price is always the best indicator of quality and performance on a spotting scope. Buy the best scope you can afford that has the features you want.

Of these, the Legend is definitely a better scope than the 15-45x Alpen and probably a good match for the 20-60x60 Alpen. My money would be on either of these two, but really your choice, there.

You don't need that heavy a tripod for a 60mm scope. The Nikon 848 is rugged, reliable and all the tripod you would need.

Forget MSRP. That's pie in the sky and no one has ever sold anything at an MSRP price. Only price that counts is the one you pay. Don't read too much into the margin between MSRP and sale price.

Thank you for your help. Do you know about attaching a digital camera to the 20-60 Alpen, Legend, or Sandpiper? Also, can you use angled scopes with a window mount? Is there some sort of universal window mount that would work with these?

Hi

You can use any window mount with any straight or angled scope - all use the same thread size - but angled scopes on a window mount are a literal pain in the neck. If you are going angled on a window mount, go with a scope that offers a tripod collar. This will allow you to move the eyepiece to a more comfortable position.

You can attach nearly any small digital point and shoot camera to any spotting scope and take pictures through the eyepiece with a rail style universal style adapter such as the Alpen 706 or Nikon (better quality), A bracket style universal adapter, such as the Konus 1300can also be used. Either style allows you to adjust for cameras with or with lenses that extend.

I prefer rail style adapters to bracket style adapters which clamp to the eyepiece. Bracket style adapters are tougher to work around when changing zoom settings on the eyepiece and, in some cases, there isn't enough room for mounting around the eyepiece. I also like the swing away function on rail style adapters, so when you want to go back to visual mode, you don't have to remove the adapter. Lastly, rail style adapters allow you to adjust the balance when the camera is attached to the spotting scope. This is especially important when using larger cameras.

For the latest update on digiscoping, including recommendations on spotting scopes, cameras and adapters, see my article Digiscoping 2008 Update

Thank you very much, Joanie, for your help.

David C.

You are very welcome, of course.