Spotting scopes and game-viewing

Jasher · Guest

Hello,

On my last visit to Africa, my trusty old Night Owl 10x46 'Spotting Scope' monocular (a terrific bargain at $30) finally gave up the ghost. I bought it when I wasn't sure how much I would be using it, but now that I am returning to Africa annually I'm looking for a high-quality replacement with similar magnification and objective diameter, as a lot of the animals only come out at twilight or at night when a spot light is used on the game drive. When mine broke, I borrowed a set of 8x25 Olympus binos from my game ranger, which were adequate during the day but pretty useless at night, and I found the magnification inadequate.

I chose a monocular because of two things: weight and space (bush planes only allow 15kg per person, including camera gear) and the fact that I have a very narrow interpupillary distance which makes most binoculars unusable (except as a very heavy monocular). That being said, I did get a chance to 'test drive' a set of Leica binoculars (not sure which ones) which were able to fit my face.

I'm thinking about getting a compact spotting scope -- is it possible to hand-hold one? A tripod is pretty impractical while driving around in the bush, as there is really no where to set one up in the Land Rover. Or am I better off getting a good set of binoculars if I can find one that fits me?

Finally, I also have what is probably a really dumb question - can you use the body without an eyepiece?

Cheers,
Julian

opticsplanet.com · Posted: Tue Jul 19, 2005 4:54 pm Post subject:

Hi Julian

The problem with magnification is image steadiness. Most people find it difficult to handhold more than 10-12x without some kind of support. 20x can be braced against anything convenient - a tree, car window - but anything above 40x is very difficult to use without the aid of something more substantial - namely a tripod.

If you can a binocular that fits, by all means go with that over a monocular. A bino is much more comfortable to use over long periods of time and it also improves visual acuity. Let us know what your actual IP (interpupillary distance) is and we can help you find something that fits You will also find that you have a much larger selection of features and models to choose from with the binocular.
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AstroBoy · Guest

Did you check out the LOMO "little Mak"?