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From: edm@verdix.com (Ed Matthews)
Newsgroups: rec.birds
Subject: Re: SPOTTING SCOPE RECOMMENDATIONS NEEDED
Keywords: Under $200
Message-ID: <1991May3.130407.9279@verdix.com>
Date: 3 May 91 13:04:07 GMT
References: <72035@microsoft.UUCP>
Organization: Verdix Corp.
Lines: 36

In article<72035@microsoft.UUCP> cindyri@microsoft.UUCP (Cynthia RISKIN) writes:

>So what I need to know is
>1.  What brand?
>2.  What features?
>3.  What power?

I have been considering buying a scope for several years, but for lack of
money have been putting it off.  I'm just about to take the plunge, so this
discussion interests me as well.  I'm not really looking for brand
recommendations so much as a discussion of what makes a scope a good scope.

Some questions that I have:

I understand binocular optics: do scopes operate the same way? 

What power range is most useful for birding?

What are the upper limits on power before heat waves and shimmer obliterate
the image?

What are pros and cons of fixed power versus interchangeable power?

What makes a tripod worth having?  

What makes a tripod cumbersome?

Can reasonable quality optics be had affordably?  I'd love to have Kowa,
but it's not in my budget.

I will be more than happy to summarize.
-- 

Ed Matthews                                                edm@verdix.com
Verdix Corporation Headquarters                            (703) 378-7600
Chantilly, Virginia