Spotting Scope Opinion

I have a pretty limited budget as far as purchasing a new spotter. My last spotter was a Vortex and I liked it enough to be open to buying another one. I have been looking at the Diamondback and Viper HD scopes. I'm looking for opinions on pros and cons of purchasing the Diamondback 20-60X80 or stretch my budget and go with the Viper HD 15-45X65. Is it beneficial to sacrifice magnification for the better quality scope? $700 is at the absolute top end of my budget. I'm not worried about the size/weight difference between scopes.

Sorry to change directions on you, but have you read into "Big Eyes", also known as 15x56 binos? I did AFTER I bought a viper HD spotting scope and it is now gathering dust. The Kaibab 15x56, which I bought used for $800, are just a joy.

It seems that most spotting scopes under $1k are best used at <30x and the difference from 30x to the bino's 15x is not much while the binoculars are very clear, easier to look through for longer periods since you're using both eyes, and have a much wide field of view at 15x.

Here's a pic of my scope at 17x (according to my notes, not sure why I wasn't at 15x) and the binos at 15x. Notice how much wider the shot is at 15x, you get over 3x the area to look at when both are at 15x. The image quality is much better, too. Ignore the size of circle, your eye relief adjustment makes them the same.

If I were you, I'd go with the Diamondback to get a little extra magnification. It isn't super clear at 60x, but if you get it really steady on a good tripod, the 60x can still be useful. I had the Vortex Nomad (the predecessor to the Diamondback) that I used for a couple years, and it was a very functional scope for the price. It wasn't great, but it was very functional, and I didn't have to take out a loan to buy it. The Diamondback improved upon the Nomad concept a decent amount in my opinion, and I was quite impressed with it for its price range. That extra 15x of magnification does make a difference when you're evaluating animals that are miles away. I don't think the image quality is enough different from the Diamondback to the Viper to justify a couple hundred more bucks, plus it is heavier, and you don't get as much magnification.

Good luck with whatever you decide. It's a blast being in the market for some new optics.

Great info guys! Some good things to really consider.
I had the Vortex Nomad as well and it did a pretty good job. It's good to get some feedback from someone that has actually used the Diamondback. This information will be useful!