Minox Spotters*Any Good*

[TriggerMag]

Having a tough time finding any really good info about MINOX Spotting Scopes, What brands do the compare to?
Quality?
Etc
Any info out there!!
TM

[Mr. Friendly]

Minox is like everyone else...they have their low end stuff, mid range and high end. a lot will depend on how much you want to spend. three big things to consider are a) are they fully multi-coated, not just multi-coated? b) if they have bak4 prisms, are those prism's phase coated? c) don't buy a scope that says it has a 50 or 60mm primary lens that offers 50x or 60x zoom, it's not worth the money. exit pupil is figured by dividing the primary lens size by eyepiece power. nobody can view anything through a 1mm hole...or a 2mm hold for that matter.

so much more that could be said...but that's what I'll say for now.

[.330 Dakota]

Minox is like everyone else...they have their low end stuff, mid range and high end. a lot will depend on how much you want to spend. three big things to consider are a) are they fully multi-coated, not just multi-coated? b) if they have bak4 prisms, are those prism's phase coated? c) don't buy a scope that says it has a 50 or 60mm primary lens that offers 50x or 60x zoom, it's not worth the money. exit pupil is figured by dividing the primary lens size by eyepiece power. nobody can view anything through a 1mm hole...or a 2mm hold for that matter.

so much more that could be said...but that's what I'll say for now.

Can expand a bit on the exit pupil formula thing?
I bought a Nikon Pro-Staff 20-60 x 80mm last year and for the most part it is very clear. Starts to get a bit tough over 50x and was wondering what is the difference and why between this and a higher end scope.(technicially I mean) What exactly makes the Zeis or Leica or Swarovski stuff clearer at higher powers?
I got it on sale in the USA for $399.00 and here it is over $700.00.
Is the Leica for example worth the 3 grand you pay for it?

[Mr. Friendly]

1mm exit pupil is just hard on the eyes to use. you have to be very close to the eyepiece to see through it and even still, the image you're going to see won't be so good.

it's not hard to get 95% of the optical quality/clarity found in high end optics like you mentioned, but the remaining 5% takes a lot of time to get, hence the almost exponential cost increases. on top of that, focus comes to be more then just quality of glass. the quality of the focusing parts machining comes into play. for instance, if you try high end Swarvosky, they move like grease...vs. a $200 binocular which will focus much coarser. having the fine machined parts makes for the ability to finer focusing. are high end optics worth the investment? no doubt about it...just not all of us can afford it. as with most things, buy the best your money can afford. just learn some basics about optics, how magnification works, the coatings the lenses have and you should be able to 'spot' a good buy when you see one.

[.330 Dakota]

1mm exit pupil is just hard on the eyes to use. you have to be very close to the eyepiece to see through it and even still, the image you're going to see won't be so good.

it's not hard to get 95% of the optical quality/clarity found in high end optics like you mentioned, but the remaining 5% takes a lot of time to get, hence the almost exponential cost increases. on top of that, focus comes to be more then just quality of glass. the quality of the focusing parts machining comes into play. for instance, if you try high end Swarvosky, they move like grease...vs. a $200 binocular which will focus much coarser. having the fine machined parts makes for the ability to finer focusing. are high end optics worth the investment? no doubt about it...just not all of us can afford it. as with most things, buy the best your money can afford. just learn some basics about optics, how magnification works, the coatings the lenses have and you should be able to 'spot' a good buy when you see one.

Thanks a bunch