Is 30x enough Scope?

wymoose · Dec 15, 2009

I'm looking at the Leupold Compact spotter 15-30 x 50. I have a cheap spotter right now, so high magnification doesn't help me out much. Do you think 30x is enough power. I primarily hunt in Utah and surrounding states, quite a bit of high elevation mule deer hunting.

I like this scope because of the price, size, and quality of glass.

http://www.huntaddicts.com

heartshot · Dec 15, 2009

I generally prefer the 35-40 range when I use mine. 30 would not be enough for me.

Stubaby · Dec 15, 2009

I looked at that scope for a while. I went with the Nikon Fieldscope ED50 and am glad I did. You can get different eyepieces for it. I have one that goes from 13-40 power. They also have ones that are 27x wide-angle for taking pictures and stuff. Plus, down the road I want the bigger 82mm and all I will have to buy is the body because the eyepieces are interchangeable. Go to www.shopwise2000.com and get the body then go to www.cameraland.com and get an eyepiece. Trust me on this one. You will spend an extra $150 but you will not regret it.

azdezrthuntr · Dec 15, 2009

I have a 20-60x85 Zeiss and it is way to much. If I had it to do over again I would definatley go with the 15-45 because I rarely ever turn the eyepiece past 30 or 35 and you get a larger field of view if you go with the 15-30 leica.

Stubaby · Dec 15, 2009

Oh and to better answer your question, when if you are hiking a long ways from the truck...40 power is plenty....plus you can't beat the light weight.

hikein · Dec 16, 2009

I rarely have use a spotting scope past 30-35 power. Heat wave distortion during sunlight hours is a problem at higher powers, and at low light conditions high magnification compromises the image quality in all but the very best optics. For two years I owned a Leupold 15x30-50. Good scope, but the Nikon ED50 is IMHO superior, especially with fixed power eyepieces. The Nikon is the top small (backpacker) scope out there in the 20-30 ounce class. For me in the 50mm type scope 30 power is the max I would go.

SteveC · Dec 16, 2009

LAST EDITED ON Dec-16-09 AT 01:16PM (MST)[p]What I have found, and this is with any scope, is that optical performance starts to fall of noticeably when the exit pupil falls below 2.0 mm. More expensive scopes show less of this, but it is nonetheless there. I have looked at (but not owned or used very extensively) the 15-30x50 Leupold. Those I looked at were by far the best at 20-25x as the upper limit, and then fell off. However, I like the scope as a small portable unit and as a practical matter 20-25x will do a lot.

The thing really is, to get real good performance at levels of magnification above 30x, you really need to get into the bigger 60-80 mm scopes. While optical quality can improve, portability goes to pot. Another thing in my experience (as has been mentioned in another post) is that heat distortions (mirage) can destroy any usefulness of optical instruments of any sort much over 10x, if the conditions are right. Mirage is one reason why I like a 7x for my main binocular, as I hunt in the high sage-juniper desert country and mirage can be a bugger at times.

rradams · Dec 16, 2009

wymoose

I do the same type of hunting in the same states and use higher magnifications (45-60x) often. However, my scope is a high end 65mm model. For the scope and objective size you are looking at, 30x is going to be about as high as you will want to go.

As far as power goes, some people will tell you 30x is more than enough, others will tell you 60x is needed. While I tend to fall into the latter group, there are valid reasons to limit magnification due to equipment and/or environment.

alaska_lanche · Dec 17, 2009

Hmmmm....I guess I'm the only one that appreciates the 45-60 power eyepiece scopes. There are often times when trying to determine if a moose is legal at one mile that 30 power you can't be certain if it has three brow tines (not legal where I hunt) on one side or four (making it legal) whereas I crank my 20X to 60X eyepiece up to 60X and now I can tell with ease if its a legal bull or not.

wymoose · Dec 17, 2009

Thanks for the replies guys. Great info. I'll take it all into account before I make my final decision.

http://www.huntaddicts.com

schmalts · Jan 24, 2010

LAST EDITED ON Jan-24-10 AT 08:27AM (MST)[p]It has always been a give and take over high magnification VS physical size. It just seems you cant have both. For me I have the Minox 62EDMM scope and have hunted with a friend or two that had the 80mm Swaro and Ziess and looking through those at over a mile made me want one. But they are just so damn big! Now Lope hunting I would say a 80mm scope is a must since you are not hiking much

Jazz · Jan 24, 2010

Most of the time 30x is plenty but with the availibity of 15x45 in small size you might consider that as others mentioned. Once in awhile conditions might be good enough to zoom on up and if not you can still use 30. Mine is 15x45 but I have not needed anything stronger, so far.

Jazz

Foreman4x4 · Jan 24, 2010

LAST EDITED ON Jan-24-10 AT 05:33PM (MST)[p]The Leupold 15-30x50mm GR spotter is good in theory, but not in practice. If you want a nice compact scope, look at the Nikon 50ED. It's 10x the scope the compact Leupy is.