Spotting scope

[oldlogger]

Sweet wife got me a Swarovski ATS 65 spotting scope for Christmas. I will be using the scope to locate my shots on targets at 400 yards and farther. I see that Swarovski has an ATS 65 HD scope for xdollars more. Is it worth it to exchange for the HD model?? Any input appreciated.

 

[Bill Ohio]

Sweet wife got me a Swarovski ATS 65 spotting scope for Christmas. I will be using the scope to locate my shots on targets at 400 yards and farther. I see that Swarovski has an ATS 65 HD scope for xdollars more. Is it worth it to exchange for the HD model?? Any input appreciated.

Everybody's eyesight is different. You'd need to look through them both, side by side, to discern the difference between the regular and HD versions.

Also, you need to have realistic expectations of seeing shots on target at distance. Shots in the black will be nigh on impossible to see, with any scope, past 300y.

But your wife is indeed very sweet to have bought you such a great piece of kit.

 

[Louis Boyd]

Sweet wife got me a Swarovski ATS 65 spotting scope for Christmas. I will be using the scope to locate my shots on targets at 400 yards and farther. I see that Swarovski has an ATS 65 HD scope for xdollars more. Is it worth it to exchange for the HD model?? Any input appreciated.

Are you seeking optical performance advice or spousal relations advice?

I'd keep the scope I was given on both counts. .

 

[Larry Elliott]

I don't know about the optical qualities of one scope over the other, but if you like sleeping inside I'd keep the one I got.

 

[jghoghunter]

If I was you I would keep the scope the scope you recieved. When I was looking at buying mine the only difference I could tell was that the hd had better color rendition and when I ask they said is suppose to show the color better. So as for seeing bullet holes it didn't seem to matter when I tried that either. I ended up buying the older gray hd swaro used for a good price. Just what I learned looking for a scope hope it helps.

 

[Rick B]

If I was you I would keep the scope the scope you recieved. When I was looking at buying mine the only difference I could tell was that the hd had better color rendition and when I ask they said is suppose to show the color better. So as for seeing bullet holes it didn't seem to matter when I tried that either. I ended up buying the older gray hd swaro used for a good price. Just what I learned looking for a scope hope it helps.

Most of the sales of the hd/ed/florite lens spotting scopes are to birders who are willing to pay the premium for improved color rendition. I looked through the Kowa scopes side by side a few years ago and the differences were very subtle when trying to read mirage or spot a shot. I concluded that these scopes are probably not worth the extra cost for shooting.

The scope the OP has is a very fine piece of glass and I think that the major limitation it will have when spotting shots is mirage.

 

[Kent Owens]

I'd keep the same wife. You could buy many scopes for what it would cost to change in the long run. Congrats on the scope, nice gift.

 

[brian roberts]

Well, since you got the worst.............

part over with,(GETting the scope!!) ask HER if she'd mind you trading up....y'don' know till you ASK, right????

Back to the scope.....I have experience w/the Swarovski AT-80 w/the 20-60 eyepiece, great scope, but they don't offer it anymore. When they DID, I could spot .17 bullet holes at 300yds., and if I cranked it up to 30X, maybe 35X, I could actually READ the group, which was kinda tight for a .17 at that yardage, probably 1-1/4. 1 1/2" and there WERE some that had crept into the black, but they weren't difficult to see. Now, as the day warmed up, there was some problem w/mirage, the warmer, the worse it got. But a friend of mine bought, and I forget what kind, an astronomical scope, large, but not overly so, an the mirage situation was no longer a problem for him on those warm summer days. Now, his scope?? you don't want to take it OFF the range, it ISN'T a scope you'd take varmint shooting. I'll talk to him this week, maybe even tomorrow, and I'll find out all the particulars(size, objective, size eyepieces, etc.) and let you know.
Now I did later see an AT-80 w/the HD glass, and I could readily see the difference, w/out a side-by-side comparison. And, you shouldn't have any problem schmoozlin' her into letting you trade, if you want, just tell her "....Hey, Precious, I KNOW you didn't know, an' I luv y'so much, Honey, I was almost afRAID to ask y'if I could trade it, but I know if you loved me enough to want to surprise me like that, I couldn't ASK for a better wifey. Hey, how many guys've got somebody that WANTS 'em to have a good time on th' range, huh????...." Women get presents ALL the time they have to take back, thats why WOMEN always give a gift slip in the present, in case the givee needs to exchange it, or get something else, even. Hey, tell her you want to trade it on an Optolyth 100mm spotter, since she thinks enough of you to get the Swarovski; I can give you a good price on the Opto. brand-new w/warranty, and HD is standard!!

 

[oldlogger]

Thanks for all the great info. and the marriage counseling! I'm still digesting all the info. that I can get. Already spoke to my wonderful spouse about my thoughts of possibly up-grading, she is still speaking to me. Life is good!!

 

[Dick Grosbier]

Sweet wife got me a Swarovski ATS 65 spotting scope for Christmas. I will be using the scope to locate my shots on targets at 400 yards and farther. I see that Swarovski has an ATS 65 HD scope for xdollars more. Is it worth it to exchange for the HD model?? Any input appreciated.

In spite of all the good advice given about keeping it I would swap it for the HD model if I could without getting wife unhappy. HD is Swarovski's version of ED glass and worth the money if you can handle it. This is based on using a friend's who owns 2 High end Swarovski's , he had 3 but sold one after they just weren't quite right for making a set of Big Eyes.

 

[Bill Ohio]

Thanks for all the great info. and the marriage counseling! I'm still digesting all the info. that I can get. Already spoke to my wonderful spouse about my thoughts of possibly up-grading, she is still speaking to me. Life is good!!

O/L, send me a PM if you're near liberal ground zero in norCal. You could compare your current scope to a Pentax PF80ED (ED being the equivalent of HD pretty much) to see if you can discern a difference.

However, it won't matter a lick what scope you're using if you're intending to try to spot bullet holes in a black target beyond 300y. Unless you're using the Hubble or something equivalent...

 

[Winchester 69]

ED glass generally means that color resolution is better; the colors aren't separated during magnification. A black and white target may not be seen any differently. However, sharpness is the characteristic to be evaluated. A better grade of glass may also be clearer or have a better coating process. Would the inside of the scope tube produce less flare? There are several tests, like simply reading a road sign at a distance or reading printed material through the lens. I would simply test what you have for adequacy.

That said, would the giver know that you had exchanged the scope for a different model?

 

[greg]

The colors? There is no such thing as color.

ED glass generally means that color resolution is better; the colors aren't separated during magnification. A black and white target may not be seen any differently. However, sharpness is the characteristic to be evaluated. A better grade of glass may also be clearer or have a better coating process. Would the inside of the scope tube produce less flare? There are several tests, like simply reading a road sign at a distance or reading printed material through the lens. I would simply test what you have for adequacy.

That said, would the giver know that you had exchanged the scope for a different model?

What happens in a refracting(lens system) telescope is that light is bent to bring it to a focus somewhere behind the lens objective. This bending separates the wavelengths of light. The different wavelengths of light that the human eye/brain can detect are what stimulate the human brain to interpret them a colored...red, green, blue, yellow, etc. The light itself has no color. The key in a telescope is to use a glass type or types that bring the light bundles as close to the same focus point as possible. ED glass(extra low dispersion) is one of the generic terms applied to this type of glass. The less separation of wavelengths the more fidelity and contrast the image has. How many of you have looked through a low cost Chinese or Russian optic at high power and seen coloration of the image? Those optics fail to re-combine the wavelengts at a single focus. You then see separate wavelengths and your brain interprets them as color.

There are other materials besides glass that can give this "apo-chromatic" performance, such as flourite crystals grown artifically. All of these are expensive and may not be needed in a scope used in the daytime with strong lighting. A good Kowa non ed is a pretty impressive optic for much less $ than an ED glass optic.

Eliminating wavelength separation, of course, can be done with a reflecting telescope(all mirrors) that reflect(instead of refract) light. That is why all the serious modern day astronomical telescopes are mirror scopes. Not practical in the small scope market though. Good luck. Color is just a illusion!!