Customer Reviews

Swarovski ATM-65- HD Spotting Scope

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You can find detailed technical reviews of high-end spotting scopes on several websites (my personal favorite is the Scopes Advisor page on Birdwatching.com), so here I'll offer the purely subjective, non-technical opinion of an amateur birder.

I've used this scope for about a year and a half now, pairing it with the Swarovski 25-50-xWW Eyepiece. The combination delivers big, bright, beautiful images with no perceived geometric distortion from edge to edge. Focusing is fast and easy, even when wearing gloves on a chilly morning, thanks to the big focusing barrel. Aiming an angled scope is a little awkward if you've never done it before, but you get reasonably proficient with just a little practice. One advantage of the angled scope is that people of different heights can rotate it to eye level without changing the aiming point. It's also easier on the neck than a straight scope in many viewing situations.

Birding with friends and guides, I've had opportunities to compare this combination in the field with several other 65 mm high-end scopes/eyepieces, often looking at the same bird in quick succession through two different scopes. I haven't seen anything that can touch this combination, not even the same Swarovski scope with older-model eyepieces. Friends who have done the same experiment with me have come to the same conclusion; you might, too.