Adding a spotter this fall, help me choose

[dmj]

Muleystalker, yes I do like mine and feel it is a good piece of glass. And you are correct about not being the best choice for packing or at least the meostar s2 hd that I have. Not sure what other models they make and how good they would be. But based on mine I feel like they do make a quality product. I have had the opportunity to look through kowa 883, Swarovski, vortex razor. But never side by side and I guess I feel that until you compare them under the same conditions it's not fair to say what is what. And then maybe as conditions change you would change your mind on which one had the edge. The one thing I will say about glass (scopes, binoculars, spotting scope) good quality is not cheap. Ouch think my wife just thumped me she must have noticed that glassey look in my eyes!!!!!

 

[avon7]

I was in the same position and after much research purchased a Leupold SX-4 Pro Guide HD 15-45x65
Thus far I'm very happy with it. I have owned a number or Spotting Scopes in the past including some older Gold Ring Leupolds and a Vortex Viper however this is the best Scope I have owned for sure.
Build quality is excellent, on a part with the Swaro's I've played with. Edge to edge clarity also great as is Chromatic Abberation. Overall brightness and sharpness is also excellent It only falls down at around 40x where it starts to go dark but every spotter I have looked through does this at the top of the magnification range including Leica's and Swaros.

 

[Bravo 4]

We have run Swarovski 80 ATS & STS at work for a number of years. My personal spotter is a Kowa Prominar series. The Kowa gives up little to nothing, most guys can't tell a difference. It came time to get a couple more spotters at work and I ordered Kowa to get more bang for the buck, can get the spotter and a high quality carbon fiber tripod and head for the same money. The Razor and Leupold SX-4 (haven't tried the SX-5) are good spotters but not quite as good as the Kowa. I doubt few would be displeased with any of them. Just don't do a side by side comparison with alpha glass, you'll find yourself wanting. If you are serious about glass, get the best you can afford and be content in your decision.

 

[billcaldwell]

This may not be what you're looking for, but a Nikon 900 camera is impressive. For about $500 you can not only see where you hit, but you can video your shots to over a mile.