15-45 vs 20-60

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What do you all prefer if you had one spotter for magnification? I prefer 10’s for binos and higher magnification for a spotter. I’ve used a 20-60 but the pack ability of a 15-45 does seem much better. Those with 15-45 do you ever wish for more magnification? Thanks so much.

-Kyle
 
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What type of animals and at what distances are you wanting to use the spotter? Are you more interested in wanting to confirm that animal is legal (ex: bull elk) or counting inches/rings on a ram at distance?

Clarity trumps magnification. I'd rather have less magnification with great glass than lots of magnification with decent glass.

To some extent, do not get hung up on weight differences. If you were to do a blind weight test, most folks would be unable to notice the weight difference.
 
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Kyle Wheeler
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What type of animals and at what distances are you wanting to use the spotter? Are you more interested in wanting to confirm that animal is legal (ex: bull elk) or counting inches/rings on a ram at distance?

Clarity trumps magnification. I'd rather have less magnification with great glass than lots of magnification with decent glass.

To some extent, do not get hung up on weight differences. If you were to do a blind weight test, most folks would be unable to notice the weight difference.
Very helpful thank you. I want to focus more on clarity and being able to be one and done on the spotter but also need to be realistic. I’m curious if someone with a 15-45 that is really clear still eventually would go up to the 20-60.

It seems if the price is right and you have good glass then a 20-60 is justified. Not justified if you lower glass quality to step up to 20-60.
 
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As a anecdotal data point, I have a 20-60 85mm Razor. I have to live somewhere around that 20-30x range to have something usable and only rarely jack it up to 60x. The image quality up there is so poor that it’s not something I can look through for any period of time, only to make things as big as possible to count points real quick then zoom back down.

I am eyeballing a Kowa 553 thinking I can do at 45x what I do at 60x with the Vortex and still have as good or better image quality around that 20-30x range that I’m usually living in with the Vortex. All in a lighter smaller package
 
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For normal deer/elk/antelope where I’m mostly interested in just finding animals, 15-45 is more than sufficient for me. Plus, the pack ability of the smaller scope is huge. I’m much more inclined to bring it along with the smaller size/weight


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As a anecdotal data point, I have a 20-60 85mm Razor. I have to live somewhere around that 20-30x range to have something usable and only rarely jack it up to 60x. The image quality up there is so poor that it’s not something I can look through for any period of time, only to make things as big as possible to count points real quick then zoom back down.

I am eyeballing a Kowa 553 thinking I can do at 45x what I do at 60x with the Vortex and still have as good or better image quality around that 20-30x range that I’m usually living in with the Vortex. All in a lighter smaller package
The 553 is great. While it would cost some money (~$100), I'd recommend renting one and comparing it to your Razor in the field.
 

pc3

WKR
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Well I have the Meopta S2 20-70 glass is great and is very useable at 70x....so brand/model dependent it is possible to get good viewing at higher magnification. And that depends on ones budget.

As others have said I'd take a 15-45 with great glass over mediocre 60x glass.
 
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I think it depends on how much light is available and the objective size.

With plenty of light, a smaller 15-45x scope will do anything that a 20-60x scope can do of similar quality because for one, there's plenty of light and two, that extra sun is creating more heat waves and distortion so the higher magnification is worthless.

With that said, as light decreases, the amount of light coming through becomes as important as the glass quality, perhaps even more so at twilight.

So in my eyes, it is a big like a rifle caliber discussion. Can a smaller caliber do the job? Probably. But a larger caliber just has less chance of failure. Lately, that better chance against failure has had me packing a heavier scope and tripod. A heavier load just takes a bit more work. But a loss of invaluable information out there is devastating.
 
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Kyle Wheeler
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As a anecdotal data point, I have a 20-60 85mm Razor. I have to live somewhere around that 20-30x range to have something usable and only rarely jack it up to 60x. The image quality up there is so poor that it’s not something I can look through for any period of time, only to make things as big as possible to count points real quick then zoom back down.

I am eyeballing a Kowa 553 thinking I can do at 45x what I do at 60x with the Vortex and still have as good or better image quality around that 20-30x range that I’m usually living in with the Vortex. All in a lighter smaller package

I’ve heard good things on Kowa. A little out of reach but it makes sense that 20-30 is the sweet spot so you can have a wider field of view and good clarity
 
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Kyle Wheeler
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Well I have the Meopta S2 20-70 glass is great and is very useable at 70x....so brand/model dependent it is possible to get good viewing at higher magnification. And that depends on ones budget.

As others have said I'd take a 15-45 with great glass over mediocre 60x glass.

Thanks so much!
 
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Kyle Wheeler
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I think it depends on how much light is available and the objective size.

With plenty of light, a smaller 15-45x scope will do anything that a 20-60x scope can do of similar quality because for one, there's plenty of light and two, that extra sun is creating more heat waves and distortion so the higher magnification is worthless.

With that said, as light decreases, the amount of light coming through becomes as important as the glass quality, perhaps even more so at twilight.

So in my eyes, it is a big like a rifle caliber discussion. Can a smaller caliber do the job? Probably. But a larger caliber just has less chance of failure. Lately, that better chance against failure has had me packing a heavier scope and tripod. A heavier load just takes a bit more work. But a loss of invaluable information out there is devastating.

Excellent points. Would be interested to trying same scope with 65 and 85 objective to see low light performance difference.
 
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I based my above opinion on testing my Kowa 553 and 883. On sunny summer days scouting or just testing between the two midday, I always came away wondering why the heck I have the 883. But sure enough, come darker overcast or wet fall days, and there’s no question that I would rather hump my 9 lbs of 883 and super stiff RRS 3 series tripod any where I am willing to bring out an animal from, and gather the best information no matter the light condition
 
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Just google "rent spotting scope". There are quite a few options; due your due diligence. There even may be a site sponsor that does rentals as well.

For the same model, the larger the objective the better the low light picture should be. I love looking through my STX 95 but I much prefer carrying my STX 65. My 95mm objective typically comes out when scouting or if it'll be an easy day hike for hunting. Otherwise my 65mm objective gets the nod the rest of the time for those hunts that warrant a spotter.
 
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Kyle Wheeler
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For normal deer/elk/antelope where I’m mostly interested in just finding animals, 15-45 is more than sufficient for me. Plus, the pack ability of the smaller scope is huge. I’m much more inclined to bring it along with the smaller size/weight


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Makes sense thank you so much!
 
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Kyle Wheeler
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I based my above opinion on testing my Kowa 553 and 883. On sunny summer days scouting or just testing between the two midday, I always came away wondering why the heck I have the 883. But sure enough, come darker overcast or wet fall days, and there’s no question that I would rather hump my 9 lbs of 883 and super stiff RRS 3 series tripod any where I am willing to bring out an animal from, and gather the best information no matter the light condition

Makes total sense thank you for the insight!!
 
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