I do alot of glassing on a boat. We have found the 14X fujinons (sp) to be fantastic for this. The big stabilized Euros are a little to pricey for my boss to bear(yet the 15k he spent on custom rods this winter isn't so IDK) The 12x are not in the same class glass wise. I believe the nikon's older ones were just rebranded Fuji's but the new ones seem to have better optics. You may want to pop in a camera shop to try them out. For what your doing it might be an improvement. I cannot use anything above 8x and that will make your head spin in just normal conditions unstabilized.
Your comparing apples and oranges Cap. For a boat,
the stabilized glasses are almost a must, at least for offshore use. But, the same rules don't apply for L/R hunting glasses. The term (bigeyes), is in and of itself meaningless as it applies to large optics.
For example, if a 15x56 Whatever, qualifies as a big eye, then what would a 20x120, or even larger set of glasses qualify as? As for the claim here that spotting scopes are only for counting points, or otherwise scrutinizing the animal, then why not use them for finding the animal to begin with? And frankly many of us do, but not as a single spotting scope.
Mind you im not knocking the 15x56 Whatevers.
I happen to own a set of 15x58s, which I consider to be very good car seat glasses to use if I happen to pull in someplace for a quick look, or on rainy days. I can rest them on the partially lowered window for a steady look, or use my window mount.
There is no doubt many of those Couse deer are being passed over while glassing for the lack of power. But then 15x eyepieces in those scopes are an option also. Having those choices, can be a great thing to have.
By the way Cap, I recently sold my 7x50 Steiner Commanders for less than $400 on Ebay.
I now keep a small older Bushnell spotting scope on my boat with a 10x30 zoom eyepiece. I use a Bogen single leg tripod/walking stick to support it.
Could the boss still afford $50/75 bucks? lol
