Reviews & Ratings for Celestron Ultima 80 Spotting Scope — 14 reviews — Page 1

The Ultima 80 is so clear and it is great for my use. The only gripe I have about this spotting scope is the eye relief is almost non-existent, other than that this scope works fantastic, I can read the small text on the target at 100 yards, I haven't had time to really stretch its legs . I will follow up with more time under my belt. So far it is a great spotting scope and I am very happy with this purchase !

Well it's no Zeiss but for the money it performs very well. I use it for spotting holes on targets at the range and for spotting game. 22 cal holes show clearly at 100 yards and 30 cal holes show up well at 200. Easy to make out antlers at 400 yards. This scope comes with either a 90 degree eye piece or a straight eye piece. For finding your intended subject I find the straight eye piece easier to use.

A recent move has left me without an observatory for my CPC1100 SCT, so I got this scope for bird/animal watching and the occasional peek a the planets. While looking at Saturn, Jupiter and Mars a few weeks ago, I noticed some fuzzy objects in my field of view. It turns out they were globular nebulae. I had never seen any of these before, and was amazed at how many of them I could see. This scope has excellent resolution and enough light-gathering capacity to make these extended objects available to me for the first time. I'm so pleased with it! Now I have begun a new phase in my astronomical hobby.

I bought this for my wife so she could look at birds and bunnies. It's good for that. I was very surprised, though, when I decided to take it out at night to look at Jupiter and Saturn. I was able to see the bands on Jupiter easily. I could see the rings (not individually, of course) of Saturn, too. I never expected such clear vision with a spotting scope. I used it at 60x on a parallelogram mount I use with my big binoculars, so it was stable enough after I let it settle down after each move.

My original review was in 2015 its now 2017 in my original review I said if it was the heat waves couseing the problems at 200 and 300 yards I would redo my review.. And it was.. This scope is still Awsome!!.. Its clear , bright and can easily see 300 yards with out the heat waves.. NO scope at any price can see through heat waves..

Now 2 years later I have looked through a lot of other scopes at the range and no other is as good as this one unless its 3 times OR MORE the price of this one.. I don't know how many times I could see the hits others couldn't or have stayed to help someone sight in becouse their spotter scope couldn't get the job done.. I also have had zero problems with it.. The scope is big but it works and that's what you want.. Everyone who has looked through it has been impressed. I have seen alot of people look at their cheap box store brands with disgust after looking through mine..

First off, let me say: This is not a Zeiss, Swarovski, or Takahashi. But for a $200 scope, this one does a fantastic job. Large objective grabs a lot more light than a 60mm, and it's absolutely clear how important that is when you spot in low light and longer distances. Unlike the complaints in some reviews, mine focused quite well and smoothly, and focused completely even up at 60x. Smooth power transition is also a nice surprise. I've used it to spot targets up to 200yds so far with 223's, and have absolutely no problem picking up each shot.

Yes, this scope is an achromat, so you WILL see color fringing on bright objects, or over pure white subjects in bright light-but for a shooting spotting scope or general terrestrial viewing, it's a non-issue.

Some great features is the carrying bag and eyepiece cup/holder. The EP is removed at the rear cell and neatly screws into the storage cup, which saves from a lot of damage from sliding around in a sleeve where lens scratches or thread damage may occur. The case can be left on while viewing as well, which makes setup/teardown quick & easy.

The scope is fairly heavy (although well balanced), so a good tabletop or full tripod is a must. I have a Vanguard S82, which works, but barely as it's right at the tripod's max. I also use a Slik9000 for a full size, and it as well is right at the edge for stability.

As an amateur astronomer, I've owned a number of scopes-including large Celestron, Tak 130 TOA and FSQ 106. While t...
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This is my experience with a Celestron product. The scope is just as advertised and I am very pleased with its light gathering ability--gives a brighter image at higher magnification. The fact that it fits a standard 1/4" fitting means I can use it on any of my 3 tripods.

This scope works at 100 yards like a champ. At 200 it is OK with larger calibers on white paper. At 300 its asking a bit much, but with a white paper background and a larger than .223 caliber you might be able to see. On the day I checked 300 yards it was 100 degrees and the heat waves were bad. If your looking for a nice 100 yard spotter this one is great you can see .22 caliber holes very easly. I think the heat waves were causing a lot of problems. Its not a $1500 vortex,but if you need a spotter for under 200 yards,this is a nice one for under 200 bucks, it's nice and clear at 100 yards, you could see a fly on the target easly. At 200 it's a bit fuzzy but I would like to check again when its not so hot. When winter gets here if that's the problem I'll write a new review out to 300 yards.

Great scope for what I use it for mostly 100 yard target shooting. Was a little disappointed when the package arrived...all the packing bags were deflated, I guess it was luck that the scope was handled carefully by the shipper. There was no damage that I noticed. My suggestion....improve the packing material for shipping...maybe the next guy won't be so lucky!

Good contrast, sharp image (minimal blurring at maximum magnification) Slight chromatic aberation visible esp during at daytime
Pros: Good contrast
Cons: Slight chromatic aberation