Customer Reviews

Barska Blueline 25x30 Spy Scope

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

This is an exellent buy if this is your first brass spyglass. For being so sheap this sure is good quality, every part of it is verry accurate. I really do have seen a lot worse. People who do not CARE to examine and learn for themselves OR are not used to handle and use spyglasses may have some problem getting the focus right. In any case the focus is really sharp when you do get it right.

You need to twist the smallest tube to change the focus depth. Pracise make perfect!

Even thou its not verry big in size i found that it was as "big" and heavy as i would tolerate for easy carrying and easy use in a larp. You may carry it in a small beltbag, and it fits nicely in your palm.

The only bad thing about it was the fake-leather. I bought it to use on a Pirate LARP (Live Action Role Playing) and i had to remove the plastic "leather" and sew on a new real piece of darkbrown leather myself.
Besides this, modern brass items are often lacquerd with a special clear brass protective lacquer, witch makes it impossible to corrode. I wandted that antique feeling since im using it on larps. So in order to get that old look to it I took everything apart (total disensembling), and polished off the lacquer using a grinding machine with a verry fine polishing rondell, and reassembled it. Afer two months it looked like a movie prop, corroded (darkened) and beautiful.
However I do not recommend anyone to do this UNLESS you are a craftsman who knows how to work metals and have basic (proffessional) polishing skills. If you are going to do this, be extra careful to remove the glass parts so that you dont accidentally polish them! And be careful not to grind away any metal or you may destroy it completley.

There are more than five, exactly the same, spyglasses here on Amazon.com, here are three of them: This one you are reading about "from" Barska, and this one Cstar MG-25C 25x30 Pirate Scope Monocular and Brass Telescope in Presentation Box and this one Specialty 25 x 30 mm Brass Spyglass Telescope, they look exactly the same and comes with the same fake-leather carrying case. Then you have two more but with different handels Masterpiece Collection Lookout 25x40 Telescope, Brass Spy Glass, Real leather finish and Brass Telescope with Wood In Leather Case. They are all manufactured in the same place and distributed to the different vendors.

Im about to buy "Orion Aristocrat 12x30mm Brass Hand Telescope" and 15" Telescope - Captain's Spyglass and try out the same process. Wait for my rewiev.

I hope my rewiew was any help to you!
Have a Good Larp!
:D

This product has good construction materials and does not feel cheap, which is a plus. On the downside, it is quite difficult to use. The scope extends to at least triple the length of the sheathed scope. Because it extends so long, it is difficult to keep the scope steady. For people looking to buy a typical monocular, stick to one that is not a "scope". Using this product is frustrating and feels like work. You will not be able to whip it out and quickly focus on your target. It will take more than a minute just to get your object in view. Be sure of your wants/needs before you buy this product. It did not appear that the magnification was that great either compared to a 10x25.

We bought the "Barska Blueline 25x30 Spy Scope" as a gift for son who loves optics. While less practical than a pair of good binoculars, this is certainly more classy. Here are my observations:

Pros -
+ Good Looking; the brass and "leatherett" give this an old world feel
+ Good Materials; this is a fairly high quality piece that is well constructed
+ Good Optics; this is a functional scope with clear lenses

Cons -
- Difficult to hold Steady without support due to the high magnification and long length
- Focusing takes practice (rotate the last section), but it comes easier with use

Misc -
* Leatherett case is nice enough for carrying and protecting this scope, but not for those looking for authentic leather

This is a perfectly usable scope that has the benefit of also looking sharp. It also does make a nice slightly "different" gift.

Recommended!

CFH

This is my first spyglass and I must say that the moment I took it out of its packaging I was pleased with it; it looks and feels like quality, and when extending and collapsing it it just feels like a great spyglass. The zoom is also quite impressive, and focusing is relatively straight forward. The hardest part about using it is keeping it steady, since it zooms so far. This product is most definitely worth the money!

I bought this for a Christmas present. The person who received it says it is a very good spy scope. There is a few days adjustment period but
other than that he seems to enjoy it very much.

It's exactly what is specified and is handy, but it's very small. Make sure you have steady hands as this does have nice magnification.

I purchased this spy scope purely for fun. That being said, I did do some background research--I wanted something small, classic, and functional. After reading all the reviews for this one, I decided to purchase it, knowing right from the start that it would probably take some practice with focusing. It actually took only a little getting used to. The focus is very clear, although with such high magnification it's hard not to wobble a little.

The manual says the minimum focus is 6 feet, but I found it to be more like 25. Still, the idea is to look at things far away, not across your living room, right? One tip: if you can't see anything at all, try moving it farther from your face. Holding it too close actually makes it harder to see through,and you run the risk of poking your eyeball.

Over-all I'm very pleased with this little spy scope. It's very pretty, the quality is nice, the focus is clear, and the price is great! I highly recommend it.

Pro:
- Clear optics; nice bright image.
- Working focus; I found it intuitive to use, but I have used other monoculars before. I don't know what problems the other reviewer was having.
- Quite decent power for such a small spyglass; 25x is about the limit for a hand-held telescope, beyond which the natural shaking of one's hands makes it necessary to use a tripod. There is no tripod attachment on this, but it doesn't really need it for most applications.
- Compact. It folds down into about 5".
- Lovely brass finish, and the fake leather grip feels good in the hand as well as looking good from a distance.

Con:
- The belt case is made of the same fake leather, and it feels very thin and insubstantial. Also the zipper is very cheap, and doesn't seem reliable. Havn't actually had any problems with it yet, but I'm likely to replace the case with something a bit more durable.
- Not that I could have asked for it at this price, but with the rest of the telescope being so elegant and well made, it looks incongruous to have a fake leather grip.

Overall, very satisfied. An excellent product for a good price.

I was skeptical of this spyglass when i read the reviews of others, but was extremely impressed when I actually took it out of the box and started using it. It took a couple tries to get good at focusing but when I got the hang of it i really enjoyed it. haven't put it away since I got it yesterday!

the focusing is somewhat difficult and the field of the area is constricted. I assume this is the design rather than a defect of this particular device.