Side by Side Comparison of: Celestron vs RetiCAM vs Slik

The nicest spotting scope I've had for the range. I saw this scope rated in the top 10 best values for spotting scopes in a recent gun magazine and the price is phenomenal compared to the others on the list. At 100yds, even 17hmr shots are easy to spot.

I was a bit sceptical with the price. I have long been searching for a great spotting scope for a good price. I have tested out many different scopes at the range that we have a membership at. I have looked through $1200 to $400 to $300 scopes and made notes.First Test:At home - My neighbors are about 1.3 miles away. The best scopes you could identify eyes and ears on a clear day. The lower end scopes you can tell there is a house and that there is an animal in the yard. The middle of ground scopes you could tell what kind of animal is in the yard and distinguish people walking around easily.This scope was able to almost identify 4 inch features on a human. You were able to see their dogs and would be able to distinguish breed for the most part.Second Test:The Moon:I only tested this scope, it's a Celestron, same maker of my childhood telescope. It was a 7% illuminated on a clear Colorado evening. I could easily distinguish craters and surface features.The scope is larger than I thought it would be and will be hard to keep in my bag for hunting. Great for tripOVERALL:This is a must buy for a spotting scope. I am going to buy this for a present for my parents who live with great views of wildlife and unobstructed mountains.

This thing is awesome. It produces very clear images, has amazing magnification, lighter than expected, and built well. I noticed that a couple people said the clarity is diminished the closer the magnification is to 60X but this is very minimal if anything. I find that the scope produces extremely clear images at every level of zoom. It is still extremely clear at 60X. The images provided in the product description do not do it justice at all. When I first used it to observe the moon at night, I was amazed with how well I could distinguish every little crater, and craters within craters. I'm planning on taking it out to the shooting range as a spotting scope (original reason for purchase) and I have no doubt that it will work great. I'm glad that I didn't spend more on another scope, very happy with my purchase.

I've a binocular which currently sells for $501.00 It's magnification is 8x.To supplement the binocs for birdwatching, I bought the Celestron scope.Very glad I did, because now I have (at the very least) more than twice the magnification at about a fifth of the cost of the binocs.The scope arrived today (I tried some else's recently) and I've experienced viewing pleasure. No birds around, but I'll probably be looking at the moon tonight.Great value for the money.

I bought this to use as a spotting scope and to take casual photos of the moon and planets since it comes with a camera adapter. As a spotting scope, it is quite good. It is small and light and appears to have antireflective coatings on all lens surfaces. It does indeed come with a C adapter that can be used with an additional adapter to connect it to an SLR. However, most astrophotographers might assume that it connects the camera to the scope (in so-called prime focus) with the zoom eyepiece removed. Actually, it mates with a thread on the end of the eyepiece once the rubber eye guard is removed. This does work, but it makes for a really back-heavy combination that is hard to point and get steady. Although the eyepiece can be unscrewed from the scope body, the C adapter cannot be connected to the scope body because the threads are wrong and I doubt that the focal length would allow focussing that way anyway. So, as a camera lens, I have to say it is marginal. As a spotting scope, it is fine and the price is right.

I bought the Celestron Ultima 65 (Straight) after looking at other modestly priced spotting scopes for use while target shooting. I looked at Tasco, Bushnell, and Barska models as well. In the same $100 price range as this scope most scopes feature a 60mm objective lens and are rated for 20-60x zoom. I like the fact that this scope only tries to give you 18-55x zoom because frankly, most scopes in this price range at max zoom are nearly useless. The little Celestron is an exception however as it is completely usable at maximum zoom and I attribute that to a larger objective (65mm), better quality glass, and a more reasonable maximum rating.Viewing objects around my neighborhood I quickly decided that in bright daylight there is no doubt this scope will work just fine for me on the 200 yard rifle range that I usually shoot at. Were I shooting longer range I would not have been looking at $100 optics but as I said the scope performs well at 55x. I viewed the moon with it (a bit of a torture test for inexpensive optics) and while it certainly exhibits some color when out of focus it performed amazingly well when in focus. I noted that one does wind up right up on the glass at maximum zoom with very little eye relief (I found my eye glasses uncomfortable to use at maximum zoom) but, again, at least the image was still usable and at more modest zooms it's very comfortable to use. It comes with a T-mount adapter that will allow one to use the scope for photography and at modest magnifications with modest expectations it will work well if pressed into service for this but, frankly, you should be looking at the better ED line of scopes if you're shopping for a photographic tool.The scope is small, very light, and seems well made. The optics look to be well coated. It comes with a handy carrying case that you can zip over the scope while it is mounted on a tripod, but it does not come with any sort of tripod and others in this price range do. This is a good thing in my view because I suspect that it means that more money went into the glass and construction.In short, I was pleasantly surprised and I found this scope to be the pick of the litter when it comes to inexpensive 60-65mm objective spotting scopes that I tested. Some in this price range (or perhaps $20 less expensive) were just terrible. For the money I don't think you can go wrong with this scope but please do make sure that it's the size that you really need. If you're going to spend more time at 50-60x and less at 15-30x you may wish to spend more and get better brightness and perhaps more eye relief with another scope that features a larger objective and/or better glass.

 Bought this with idea of using it for bird watching and using it in digiscoping. No it won't work in carrying through the woods but set up from a stationary vantage point on a solid tripod it should satisfy my needs. I took my first video holding an action cam next to the eyepiece and recorded a blue jay in bird bath from around 15-20 yards. Think I was set up at 40X magnification. To see it in YouTube use search use words "Blue Jay Celestron". I don't think a posted video will look clear from here.I have used a Lightdow LD action cam and a Pentax Optio S40 though the eyepiece to record. Nothing easy about it even with my recently purchased adapter. First time user of a Spotting Scope so nothing to compare it to but I thought it was surprisingly clear and had overall good optics.Pic1 - From action cam video (18 yds. 40X??) Pic2- Pentax Optio s40 (80 yds 40X?) - Point &shoot type Pentax zoomed in with Optical zoomVideo - (18 yds.40X) Lightdow LD4000 Action cam zoomed in with digital zoom

Used it a lot at first, now mostly it sits in the corner on a tripod...but at least if I need to get up close and personal it's there.

Pretty impressive, for the price. That's the key here - for the price. There is some chromatic aberration especially noticeable at higher magnification that is to be expected at this price point. Eye relief could be a little better as well - but, again - the price is right.

I ordered the 18-55x65 first. The clarity was ok, but not great. Probably still better than anything else in the price range. I ended up with the 20-60x80 and it's far better and worth the additional cost. I can see bullet holes at 300 easily in paper plate targets (haven't tried farther). I've also checked out big game at 800 yards and it does a good job.Overall, the 80mm objective is an amazing scope at this price. No disappointments.

I am happy with this scope considering the price I paid for it. True, I don't get the field of view nor the clarity that scopes costing 4 times as much or more, but it works well. At the higher powers, focusing needs a little care, but it is sharper and brighter than my 60 mm scope it replaced. It balances well on the tripod ad is not as heavy as I thought it would be. I do have a couple of complaints, but they are minor. First, the rubber eyepiece falls off easily, I am considering a dot of super glue to hold it on. Secondly, it came with just a soft case whereas some of its competitors provide a (inexpensive) hard case. That would have been nice. All in all though, it performs better than I would have expected for the price. It is easily capable of picking out .22 cal holes in the target at 200 m and .30 cal holes at 300 m.

I originally needed a spotting scope for range shooting. This particular model is not very practical for my particular application because of its size and weight, it is a bit bulky and requires a good quality tripod. It is however an excellent spotting scope, I loved the clear sharp images it gives even at full magnification. Even at night I could clearly see inside windows many miles away so it does capture a lot of light.One thing I didn't like is the tripod I received with it in the box which is of extremely low cheap chinese quality, I wish they did not send it as it just added to the weight and size of the package and I had to pay a lot more for shipping (I forward my shipments abroad). It is flimsy, weak and awkward to use. I am using my Manfrotto 055XPROB tripod with an 804RC2 head with this scope and get great stability and control.Another thing which did not work for me is the 93402 T-Ring which I got to mount my Nikon D7000 camera body. The pictures I got were mediocre at best, looked fuzzy, lacked sharpness and detail.

I bought the scope to shoot a .223 at 100 yards, which should have been well within the range of the scope. It does not come with a tripod, but I have an old entry level camcorder tripod, so that was fine. Before I took it to the range we looked at a full moon and were pleased with the image definition. Trying it out on the tripod, I noticed that the weight of the front of the scoped pulled down the focus point, as other reviewers have noted. There is an accessory available with the 100mm scope to put between the mount and the scope to move the balance point, I don't know if you can buy it separately.The real problem for me was the performance at the range. Using standard black and white targets on a mildly overcast day, we struggled to make out holes at 100 yards. The bluing at the periphery was noticeable at max zoom, but not an issue for us. On splatter burst targets it worked fine, but that should be true of pretty much any level of scope. I returned the scope and ordered color burst targets. We'll see how it works out.

I will just say this: This is one of those "You get what you pay for". I bought this scope for spotting bullet holes in targets and I probably should have paid closer attention to the reviews. I only wanted to be able to see .223 holes at 100yds. I didn't think that was asking too much for this scope. Come to find out, it was! Also, you can pretty much forget about the 55x zoom unless you have it mounted to a tank. Anyways, I don't want to completely just tear this scope apart. it seems to be built very well, but if you are going to be using it for identifying small holes in a black target; I would not recommend it unless your conditions are absolutely perfect on the range. Clarity is a little less than desired. I can't comment on bird watching or star gazing, but if you're looking for stability then I would probably just spend the extra money or I would make absolutely sure that you have a state of the art tripod to mount this thing on. Good luck.

After several uses, I must say that this is good for the money but not great. While the high zoom capability is nice feature, you may be better off with less zoom and more clarity. At full zoom it is very hard to see your target.

Item was received in a timely fashion but it was missing the tripod mount and the 100mm lens cap was broken. Celestron customer service stepped up to the plate and sent me a replacement lens cap and the tripod adapter at no cost. I call that customer service. Amazon's rating said that it would be suitable to be presented as a gift I don't agree with that.ThanksJerry Sharp

So far so good, works as expected. It's not a top of the line scope, but what do expect for the price. I can see the bullet holes at 100yrds on a cloudy day. I'll have to report back when i try it on a 200yrd range, the eye relief could be better, i have to position myself just right in order to see the image.

This is not an APO refractor, so at high power, there are some color halos around objects. This is more of a problem with astronomy than it is with terrestrial viewing. But for a spotting scope at 20-30 power, it's quite good with clear images. It's a bit heavy, so for terrestrial viewing, you might want to get the 80 mm scope. For viewing in the dark, the Regal scope, which is APO, would be better, but it's a bit more expensive.

I am pretty experienced with many scopes for astronomy and wildlife; I have expensive and cheap ones, and usually know what to expect when I buy optics. I bought this because I needed a relatively inexpensive scope to take camping and in situations where it could be damaged or stolen. Overall, I am unhappy with the optical quality. The large objective makes a very bright image this is great and why I picked it. It seems fairly rugged for the price. However, I find that it is only useful at the very lowest 20X magnification. At that magnification, the images are pretty good. However, the decrease in quality with increased magnification is very rapid. It is not unusual for sharpness to degrade with magnification, but on this scope the degradation is dramatic. It also suffers from significant color fringing (chromatic aberration) that also, rapidly degrades with increased magnification. The focus control is quite coarse, so it is difficult to get a perfect focus. Another disappointment is the "eye relief". This is the distance the eye must be from the eyepiece. On this scope, it is hard to see the whole field of view with glasses. So, I recommend if you need need a bright image, but only at low magnifications. It is a very poor performer for looking at the moon or planets, also. I haven't checked it out on the shooting range, it might work out a little better there.

Poor quality optics, difficult to adjust focus and there is no clarity of view.

Dissapointed with the clarity of the scope. Even at 22x the clarity seems blurry and is more blurry as you move to 60x. This scope is no better than my old 60mm Baush and Lomb scope.

I had to return mine. If you wear glasses, this scope is pretty much useless at any magnification greater than 20x due to the eye relief being so narrow (you have to have your eyeball almost touching the glass in order to see the whole view).

UPDATE.Here is an update that I'm listing at the top instead of bottom----------- .Nothing has changed on my review of this scope, "very disapointing,And buyer beware, something looks a little fishy with the reviews madein the last year-----Many 5 star reviews with only one sentence given.Manufacturer or Dealers trying to up the ratings? I don't know but it lookssuspicious. Really, the optics are below average, no way a 5 or 4 star.Very disappointed, based on the excellent reviews I thought for the price thiswould do well. I bought for viewing the surrounding mountains and some star gazing,The Pros, seems well built and looks good, thats about it.The cons, anything above low power looks kind of hazy even on a clear day and it does not focus sharply.Pay attention to the more negative reviews on this one (I didnt) as they will probably give you a better perspectiveon what to expect and why not to buy. If I were a hunter needing a good spotting scope, this would not be it.

I own/have owned a number of optically excellent high end Celestron items and this item just turned out to be a disappointment. I bought this primarily to observe a bird feeder in our backyard, about 50 yards away. Here's what I didn't like:* Narrow apparently field of view of eyepiece. I'd be surprised if the apparent field of view exceeded 35 degrees. Modern *cheap* eyepieces routinely have 50+ degrees AFOV (expensive ones can go up significantly more). This coupled with a fairly high power and an utterly unusable "finder scope" makes target location difficult.* Optics don't support powers above 20x: the view gets dim, fuzzy and chromatic aberration effects start to become apparent in the form of purple fringing. Now, there's not much you can do about chromatic aberration without using more expensive ED glass, but having powers up to 55 in this scope is just not a good idea. If this scope were supplied with two good quality non-zoom eyepieces, topping out at, say, 30x, this would be a more realistic spotter.* There's an adaptor ring to connect to a T-ring to allow projection imaging using a DSLR, such as a Canon Rebel. This has to be a cruel joke perpetrated by bored workers in the factory. People with cataracts probably see better than the image formed in this way. Perhaps using afocal imaging (using a camera with a lens attached peering into the eyepiece) may give better results but I didn't try as I didn't have the right adaptor for my older Nikon 4500.* The adaptor ring is to be attached to the eyepiece by removing the rubber guard, exposing the threads underneath, and screwing it in. Once you further screw the adaptor into a DSLR T-ring, the adaptor ring get stuck in the eyepiece and needs extreme measures to loosen.But it's not all bad:* Decent image quality IF you stay at 18x and no more* Lightweight* Excellent coatings on the lenses and eyepiece* Nice carrying case.I really wanted to like this spotter but since the primary objective of the spotter isn't fulfilled, I'm regretfully giving it 2 stars.

Had it for 2 days before returning. Images had a yellowish tint and were not sharp even at 100 yards and at lowest magnification. Worse was the inability to move the eye off axis from the eyepiece, even a slight amount, without blacking out the image. Will try the Meade next and the Redfield after that if necessary. I know some might say that I should spend more to get a better spotter but this would only be used occasionally at the range and a much higher cost just isn't justifiable.

I need to warn potential purchasers of my experience. The device arrived but the engineering is extremely poor such that the screw thread on the tripod balance plate was not tested to mae sure it fitted the supplied plate. SInce the device sould bot be mounted i have no way of telling inthe optics are a dreadful as the metalwork but I did notice the exceedingly flimsy lens cap. I have been promised a replacement that might work and if so I will consider writing another review but, based on present experience, this is probably not a wise choice - you might get the one I am sending back.A pity as the specs looed quite attractive

Very poor Eye relief! no options to upgrade or improve I relief

I read all the reviews both good and bad before I bought this. Unfortunately the quality was just not there. Could never get it to focus crisply at any distance and I was using a well made tripod so I returned it.

Blurry at higher zoom levels.

(Ultima 80 straight) A small lens the size of a penny fell out of the eye piece. I don't believe this is supposed to happen. No issue getting it back into place but it won't stay in. There are times this small lens falls inside the eyepiece and gets trapped, which renders the scope useless until the lens is retrieved, approx 5-10 minutes later. I first thought the lens were scratched until I looked closer and realized the eyepiece lens were unbelievably dirty and smudged. It took me a good 50-60 minutes to clean all the lens they were so bad. They are still not entirely clean. But vastly improved. The lens cloth that comes with it is useless, luckily I have enough lens rags from all my rifle scopes. The scope itself appears to be rugged, the carrying case fits well and has a now feature that allow you to keep the case on while using. The targeting sight on the side is also handy.I had high hopes for a relatively high power inexpensive spotting scope because so many people seemed to like it, but with a broken eyepiece I will be returning it.