I originally bought a Raven from Eagle Optics. But I returned it. Raven was $400. It had poor eye relief and poor image quality but very good scope construction (housing, cordura case etc). I went to Cabela's and tried the usual high-end suspects as well as Meopta, and Cabela's ED (Big Sky?). Thought I was going to have to resign myself to spend the big bucks 'someday'. But, I persisted and stopped by Ryder Hobby shop 'just to check it out'. Am glad I did. The Celestron Ultima 80 gave me the 'wow' factor I thought I was going to see in Raven and only saw in the highest end scopes. Well made, crisp images, you cannot beat it for the price. As good if not better than the Cabela's ($700) scope. I can recommend it. Bought it for $239. Also compared the C5 and other C90 scopes. Not nearly as good either. Would have been neat to check out the 80 ED, but they did not have it and it runs twice the price. I read all the same on-line reviews you probably have, and I can't figure out how this one did not figure much more prominently or how the Raven got such good reviews. Raven reminds me of my old Tasco binoc's. I'm very happy with the Celestron 80. Saw wood ducks, ring necks, Sand Hill Cranes all this evening approaching twilight with exceptional clarity. Even allows for T-ring mount for camera I read. Hope this helps.

This scope has impressive optics, especially for the price. At 20X the view is clear, sharp, and wide. The closer you zoom to 60x the image deteriorates in terms of clarity and color, as do all zooms. I've used this scope for birding and other wildlife and have no embarrassment letting Swarovski or Leica scope owners view through this scope. Got a great first view of an Indigo Bunting at 20X and was able to ID a surf scoter at 60X. For the money, this scope is exceptional. To attach a camera, you only need to pry off the rubber cup on the eyepiece and screw on a T ring for your make of camera. This scope is definitely waterproof. I used it in a steady rain during a birding class trip with no harm to the scope at all, while my cheap binoculars fogged completely.
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For the price, this is a great spotting scope. It is lightweight and its construction is rugged enough to handle my birding adventures through the brush. The focus and zoom are very simple, user-friendly, and easy to do in the field. Color and clarity are great at 20x but do seem to reduce as you work up to 60x.

Based on all the rave reviews on Amazon I purchased a Celestron 52250. I already have a Bushnell and was looking to step up. The Celestron at 20X has good image quality but once you go to the higher magnifications the image deteriorates dramatically. My advice, if you want a good scope, is spend a little more and get a Kowa.

I love this cheap spotting scope ! For that price it's an excellent choice. Waterproof (well, never let it fall into the water...) and very light it's easy to carry around. Bright. It only shows some blueish aura around object with high magnification, but nothing to kill you, specially not for that price.
br /I have compared it to Svarowskis, and there're big differences, but I wouldn't pay 10x more ...so I'm happy with it

I purchase this spotting scope for my wife, a former all-american olympic team qualifier archer, who has recently returned to the sport. Upon arrival, the scope was easily assembled and mounted on my slik U-212 tripod for use at our home range. For 18 meters indoors it is more than adequate. For F.I.T.A. rounds outdoors to 70 meters (women) and 90 meters (men) it will also do the trick. If the majority of your rounds are shot at the longer distances, you might want to consider the Ultima 100 ed 100mm (480mm to 540mm telephoto); but for most practical purposes it should do the trick for you.
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br /If you use the scope for outdoor shooting and/or nature watching, I might suggest that you use the slik 700dx amt tripod for a weighty balance. It will help alot in windy conditions but is a little bit on the heavy side, but it has the capability of holding most heavy view cameras plus digital slr's with very long lenses. Overall the celestron is a very good choice for the price and the warranty from a U.S. company (lifetime) cannot be beat. I own the 45 degree model plus the straight sight and they both work great.

Overall, I'm very happy with this scope. I primarily use it for bird watching in my yard.
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br /The image is sharp at 20X, however becomes a little blurry while zooming to 60X, but still not bad for the price.
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br /Overall, decent optics, waterproof, lifetime warranty, a good value for the price.

Kind of big to haul around - could be a little smaller. It works good. I really like it - does a great job.

The scope is in great condition. Service was fast. Good communication.
br /Thanks,
br /Katharina