Customer Reviews

Alpen 20-60x80 Spotting Scope Kit

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I first heard about Alpen Optics at The Wildlife Society National Conference when I met a very knowledgeable representative. She made me aware of this scope's performance when compared with much more expensive scopes on the market and allowed me to test the scope in a controlled setting - I was impressed. Time passed and I found myself conducting more and more raptor nest surveys for my job. As I am currently a poor college student, active in the outdoors both professionally and recreationally, I decided that based on the price and good press/reviews of this scope I would make the purchase.

After a month of full testing in a range of conditions I have come to much the same conclusion that many others have. This is one of the best scopes on the market and by far the best scope penny for penny.

At 20x this scope is as good or better than Swarovski. It is clear, sharp and makes identifying peeps a breeze. At 40x this scope is comparable with Swarovski, but on very hot days it does not seem to cut through the haze as well as the better scopes out there. This makes for a problem when you live in Texas and heat aberrations start at 0800. I have problems with this scope at 60x and this is the only reason I did not give this scope 5 stars. While viewing stationary objects under 50m, 60x has no problems. When the object starts moving and/or is farther away this scope is just not that sharp. While you can still ID some birds on a clear day at 60x, I would not feel comfortable separating a Little Gull from a Bonaparte's in the dead of winter on a distant lake shore.

The build seems a little cheap, but it has performed well in temperature extremes as well as rain, fog, and snow. It is very light for its size and makes carrying on strenuous trails through places like Guadalupe Mountains National Park much easier than one would think. I have taken a few sample digiscope photos with my iPhone and they have turned out great. I believe if you rigged this baby up with a whole digiscope system you would get great results.

If you are looking for an intro scope, or you are a poor college kid, or you want to save money for that trip to Belize than this is the scope for you. I would also recommend this scope and company (Alpen Optics) to graduate students and research faculty looking for a way to save money on projects. This scope will not disappoint and will open up a brand new view just beyond the reach of your binoculars.

For Hunters: This scope is perfect for the active sportsman. I recently used this spotting-scope to track Aoudad through some Texas panhandle bluffs. It performed brilliantly.

Edit: Skip the tripod. It is pretty much useless unless you are using it at a shooting range.

Solid construction. Image is bright and resolution excellent at 20mm to roughly 40mm, falls off from that point on but is still decent at 60mm. Eye relief is good, but I wish the rotating eye cups had detents that would hold them in place at various extensions. I'm used to ring-type focusing mechanisms, such as those on DSLR camera lenses, so it took me a while to get used to using the Alpen's focusing knob. It isn't as fast as a focusing ring, but once I got accustomed to it, I found focusing to be easy and precise. Plus, unlike a ring focusing mechanism, it is easy to use with a soft support, such as a bean bag. This is a big scope, so you really need something solid on which to mount it. The table-top tripod that comes with the scope is usable in circumstances where you have a reasonably flat surface on which to place it, but if you're in the field you'll probably need a full-size tripod. (I haven't tried it on a monopod.) One nice feature is the rotating tripod ring, which allows you to rotate the body of the scope without changing the aiming point. Obviously, top end scopes from Swarovski and Leica will outperform this scope, particularly at the far end of the zoom range. But then, those scopes cost on the order of 7-8 times as much. This may be the best scope at its price point, and other reviewers have noted that it outperforms some "big name" scopes that cost 2-3 times as much.

I've now owned this scope for 18 months and have used it in a variety of situations, mostly for birding. I've used it in high heat, bitter cold, rain and snow. I purchsed it after reading very good reviews from optics gurus on the internet.

This Alpen ranks at the top of the mid-range scopes, and ranks higher than some scopes which cost hundreds of $$$ more. It doesn't have fancy glass, but the BAK 4 glass is fully multi-coated and gives clear and sharp images. For me the "sweet spot" is around 50X which is ample in most situations. But it still gives very decent views cranked all the way out at 60X, though the light drops off a little except on clear days.

For anyone with $400. and who doesn't want to spend much more, there's probably no better scope on the market. It'll give years of use and comes with a lifetime warranty which even includes accidental breakage!

Alpen 20-60x80 w/45 degree EP, waterproof Spotting Scope
As a very keen shooter with a number of top quality scoped rifles, I was in need of a good spotting scope. After finding a brochure of the Alpen optics products I found that they were much better priced in the USA than here in Australia. After looking around I found what I wanted on the Amazon site and purchased the Kit "20-60 x 80" a shame that Amazon does not ship to places outside the States so I had to ask a friend in California to forward the item to Australia. Upon arriving the scope was actually better than I thought it would be, however, the stand in the kit was broken and not of a good quality. I wonder why this seems to be the case with other brands too, why do producers not increase the price somewhat and add a good quality tripod? Luckily a good friend has all the tools to fix it and the combo works a treat. Easy to use, very clear optics, and so it seems overall a very good scope. It stood outside in the rain while observing birds and did not miss a beat. Excellent VFM (value for money). I should recommend this item and brand to friends albeit with the note not to bother with the tripod kit but to purchase a good one in a camera store.

Walther Van Alphen
Queensland Australia

My wife and I are avid, avocational birders, and we have just returned from a three-week driving trip to Florida and back, during which time we gave our Alpen 20-60X80 Spotting Scope its maiden voyage in many diverse birding habitats. We found everything about this instrument to check out perfeectly with all of its advertising and reviews. I can't imagine a better birding scope in its price range, and I would bet it rivals those that are nearly twice as expensive.

Very good scope for the money. If you do not want to spend more than $400 for a scope and case this could make you happy. I now own a Pentax PF-80ED-A and this one doesn't give as good of view/quality image especially at the higher powers but then again it cost a fraction as much. This would make a great scope for someone who enjoys birding and wants to keep their purchase around $400. Very good reviews by some birding equipment websites.

I'm seeing things up close and personal now! Fine quality optics and smooth adjustment mechanisms. I use it for tightening up my shot group, watching the secret military base across the bay, and enjoying the birds that visit our garden. First night I set it up, there was a full moon and it was fascinating to see the clarity of the moon's surface and craters. Pricey, but it's not a toy, or made out of a flimsy tube of plastic and aluminum. Has some heft to it meaning it is solid and won't go out of adjustment. Even the tripod is well-made and very stable. I'd recommend it if you want quality and performance that won't disappoint.

Awesome mid priced scope.We took it birding and loved the ease of use and it was compact enough to bike with.This was recomended to us by one of the bird tour volunteers that owns one himself.Great company and warrenty.Great scope.

When I ordered this spotting scope I had read quite a few reviews of spotting scopes, both on Amazon and other websites, and settled on this scope because of reported features and optical performance for the relatively low price. I was looking for a replacement for a 30 year old Bushnell Spacemaster that had such short eye relief that I could see only the very center of targets at 100 yards, using either the 22 power wide angle eyepiece or the 40 power eyepiece. The 60 power eyepiece had such a small exit pupil and short eye relief that it was unusable because I wear corrective lenses.
The reported 18 to 19 mm eye relief with this scope is much better than the Bushnell, but still a little shy of what is really needed to make the entire field of view visible. Only by putting my eyeglass lens against the scope can I see the sharp edge of the field of view, and doing that causes the scope to jiggle.
That brings up another point - the tripod base shown in all the Alpen photographs of the spotting scope appears to be cast aluminum, as the construction appears almost identical to aluminum tripod on my Freeland spotting scope stand. Unfortunately, Alpen has now substituted a plastic tripod, and the plastic legs are simply too flexible and allow way too much movement of the scope when the eyepiece is contacted by my eyeglass lens. The change in tripod construction is obvious when you look at the way the larger plastic tripod base fits into the cutout in the suitcase foam. The plastic tripod base doesn't fit and the tripod has to be forced into the foam.
As far as a rating goes, I would give the optics of the scope 4 stars, but the stability of the new plastic tripod is so poor I would give it only about 2 stars, even when shooting from a bench. Since I purchased the scope for its optical performance, I would give the spotting scope kit an average rating of 3 starts. If I didn't wear eyeglasses, I would have given the scope kit at least a 4 star rating. The tripod will probably be discarded and the scope adapted to my Freeland spotting scope stand.
By the way, if you get the kit, you give up the convenience of a fabric spotting scope case for the security of an aluminum suitcase which will not hold another brand of spotting scope stands without alteration.
If you don't wear eyeglasses and use the scope on a hard surface such as a shooting bench, you will probably love this scope for the cost. If you wear eyeglasses as I do, definitely plan on purchasing a sturdier stand to hold this relatively heavy scope, and maybe even look at scopes with longer eye relief.

I moved up from a $50 Scope to this very highly valued Alpen 788 Scope. I heard by many that it is very good up to 40x, but I was still blown away by looking at birds at 60x. I could definitely notice chromatic aberration but I was still really enjoying the great looks at birds I was getting despite that slight color artifacts at that high zoom. I couldn't imagine needing anything more than this, I am always looking for the best product I can buy for the lowest price (similar to my wonderful eagle optics binoculars), and this is definitely the winner. If you have never used a scope before but want to invest in one, look no further, it doesn't hurt the bank and you will get so close to the birds. If you have used nicer scopes than this may not be better than what you've used but its value is great it shouldn't even matter.

I also received mine at discount from the Amazon Warehouse, it was brand new and unopened so it was a superb deal!