Customer Reviews

Celestron 52253 Ultima 100ED Zoom Spotting Scope

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

 

 

Pretty good optics. Clarity suffers a bit at the top 10 power or so, but it is not really fair to compare this to the performance of a $1500+ scope or something. It is leaps and bounds better than the $50 scopes you'd get at a department store, but honestly I am not fully convinced it is vastly superior enough to, say, a $200 or so scope for most people to justify paying double that unless you are doing astronomy or low-light viewing. You're getting a large objective and really good glass, but this is not as important for something like target shooting as the previously mentioned activities.

Be aware though, this thing is huge in every way imaginable. With the eyepiece on, it will need a box with around 23" inches of interior width. I would have liked an included hardcase, but I guess I would rather have a better scope than a lesser scope with a free case for the same price. I found that a surplus military 81mm ammo case ($19) worked fairly well with additional padding and will have enough room for a smaller tripod or other accessories. It's weight is also very high, at around 4.5 lbs. No normal tripod can hope to stabilize this at mid to high powers. Frankly, the tripod you would need to properly utilize the scope at high magnification would probably approach the cost of the scope itself. I have ordered and will try a smaller table tripod that is rated for 11 lbs (camera/astronomy guys all know that the "capacity" and adequate stabilization weights on tripods are not the same and manufacturer numbers tend to be misleadingly high.)

My friends with Leopolds and Swarovskis look through my spotting scope and are blown away at how clear it is for the price.

If you are on a budget then this is the perfect scope (and I would say to give it a look even if you aren't on a budget).

Very fast delivery and product was exactly as described. Am very pleased and would do business again with this company.