Pros & Cons

[Gazelle]

Ive never had a spotting scope with the angle. I see the Nikon ed50 has angle and straight. What do you boys know? Thanks, Tony

 

[bucklover]

A lot of guys prefer the angled scopes because they are easier to look through when you're out hiking. You don't have to get down so low to see through them. However, I much prefer the straight ones because it is so much easier to line up and locate your target. I built an extremely light weight tripod out of an aluminum, adjustable 3 legged art stand. I cut it down and bolted on a piece of aluminum flat iron, so I can just keep my window mount attached to my spotting scope. The tripod folds up to about the size of the spotting scope. It has no wiggle in it and weighs practically nothing. Just my opinion.

 

[GLEDEASY]

I am a bigger fan of the angled, however each does have some advantages. Straight: good for looking down hill and through window mounts. Pack a little nicer. Most do say it's easier in locating the target, for me they are 6's. Angled: good for looking up hill and a lot less neck strain in most other situations, especially if standing up. The neck strain for me is the biggest issue on why I like angled, just feels more natural to look into.

 

[huntindad4]

Another point is the angled has to have another prism in place to create the angle and any time you add more glass surfaces you lose something in optical quality. Not always noticeable to the eye but just something to consider.

Bill

 

[Gazelle]

Thanks alot boys, Tony

 

[greatwestern]

I do find 'subject aquisition' much easier with straight, which most of the time is a non-issue...but i've had experiences where a particular animal is in view for a matter of seconds, and guys with angled fail to get on it before it disappeared....and in some cases, getting that view decided go or no go

another thing to consider is that if you ever use abinocular off a tripod, it is again much quicker to swap back and forth between glasses and spotter without messing about with adjusting the tripod too much

i guess as well, i just prefer a straight view of things, not 'around the corner' if you know what i mean

but some of the pros of angled listed above are certainly worth considering...most particularly the point about the 'steep uphill'!!

 

[hank4elk]

LAST EDITED ON Mar-09-11 AT 08:06PM (MST)[p]Went thru the same thing a few years ago,and went with the straight.Get an excellent tripod that is adjustable and light. I use the same tripod(Manfrotto) with my 10x50 binos for searching and switch to spotter for confirmation,or real long distance.

 

[NJS]

LAST EDITED ON Mar-11-11 AT 11:52AM (MST)[p]I prefer angled over the straight models "IF" they have the ability to rotate the eyepiece in 90 degree segments from the top. Only the better spotting scopes have this feature, but it really helps! NJS

 

[fatrooster]

Angle, angle, angle. fatrooster.