Hi Joseph,
I own and love the Vortex Viper HD 20-60x85, although mine is the older model
that I got on special when the new model came out. It is an excellent scope,
although from what I have seen the newer model appears even better than mine.
My only critique is that the optical quality drops the more you use the zoom,
so I rarely zoom all the way to 60. I think that's one area where the higher
end scopes beat it — and the new model may perform better here. But on the 20
end I find it holds up very well even against much more expensive scopes. I've
looked through a lot of high end scopes, but nothing has tempted me to consider
upgrading. The Viper HD is an excellent budget scope, and as of a few years ago
when I was researching for my purchase there was nothing in anywhere around its
price point that was as good optically. I heartily recommend it, and I know
several other birders who own and love it too.
I resisted buying a scope for years because I mainly bird through my camera. I
only count lifers (or rarities in general) with documentation, so photographing
a bird is just as important to me as seeing it and the scope just wasn't a
priority. But after getting my scope I consider it invaluable for finding the
birds that I then seek to photograph. It's amazing how much it expands your
range, and it's well worth the investment.
Good birding,
Tanner Martin
On Jul 10, 2022, at 2:52 PM, JB <jobot37@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:*******
Hello, OBOLers, I'm not sure if I've met anyone in this group in real life,
but you might have learned from my few messages in this list that I'm a
fairly new birder, been at it for about a year and a half or so at this
point, and a combination of running out to see a gyrfalcon early this year
near Corvallis, and a birding trip to the coast this past week have got me
thinking of expanding my arsenal beyond binoculars to include a spotting
scope, and I was hoping I might be able to tap the collective wisdom of this
group for opinions. I've been interested in the Vortex Viper HD 20-60x85,
primarily because I've been very pleased with my Vortex binoculars and find
their warranty quite comforting, though I've luckily not had to make use of
it yet, and from my reading Vortex tends to punch above their weight in terms
of quality for the price range they operate in. But, I have had fairly few
opportunities to use spotting scopes before, usually just a fellow birder or
two offering a glance at some interesting thing they've found, so I'm
soliciting any opinions or experience you all might like to provide on the
subject. As for budget, I'm comfortable with spending about $1000 on it,
though I could go up one or two hundred more if that's all it would take to
get into a higher class of optics. I'd also be interested in hearing whether
you use a straight or angled scope and your reasons for doing so.
Thanks for any tips and advice!
-Joseph Baker
