Swarovski HD Series Spotting Scope

[fatrooster]

Did the $1779 include the eyepiece? If so, thn you got a hell of a deal. Goodluck and enjoy, you've got a great scope. fatrooster.

[crbarg]

Thanks!!! Yup...$1779 bought the kit. 20x60 eyepiece and STM 65mm scope - nice deal for sure!

[Leveller]

The HD will serve you better in bright sunlight, substantially reducing glare that can prevent you getting a good view at your potential target. Same goes for rifle scopes. Worth the extra $$$.

[Bitterroot Bulls]

The HD will serve you better in bright sunlight, substantially reducing glare that can prevent you getting a good view at your potential target. Same goes for rifle scopes. Worth the extra $$$.

What HD (or ED, APO, FL, or whatever the company wants to market it as) glass does is minimize Chromatic Aberration (CA). CA is visible as color fringing around high contrast objects in the field of view. Low levels of CA increase apparent resolution and contrast, which does help you get the best view of your target. Glare (usually veiling glare) is controlled by the physical design of the optic, usually by the placement of baffles behind the objective. Other types of "glare" include internal reflections caused by prism edges, and imperfect interior blackening.

HD glass certainly helps in bright sunlight, as bright scenes often have a lot of contrast, which increases CA. The non-HD spotters from Swarovski are excellent instruments with top-notch glare control. Their only (minor) weakness is they do show some CA.

IT sounds like a fair price, crbarg, and i think you will like the spotter. I look forward to a field review with trophy pics!

[crbarg]

Thanks, BB. Hey, out of curiosity, do you prefer angled or straight. I chose the STM but almost went with the ATM model. I can see pros and cons to each but wanted your opinion on the subject.

[Bitterroot Bulls]

I'm one of those angled guys. It is definitely a personal preference, but I will say angled designs hold a camera better for digiscoping.

[josephwatson]

Great review. Swarovski Spotting scopes are excellent and well known optics for their optical luminosity and clear images. These long-range and precision optics are specifically designed to meet field requirements of nature lovers and perfect for hunting and nature observation. There are some other good scopes like swarovski binoculars , swarovski optik etc in the market. You can go and chose any of them.

[packmule]

Cameralandny has that spotter and eyepiece on their demo list...IIRC, total cost was around $1400