80mm vs 65mm

[sparker]

I have a question for you guys. I have never hunted with a spotting scope and am getting ready to make a purchase. I am seriously looking at the Nikon ProStaff 16-48x65mm or 20-60x82mm. I will be mainly using it for locating game and will most of the time be packing it. With that being said, the relative brightness of both scopes on the lower power setting is the same. What I am wondering is, will a deer a mile away at first light be as bright and clear through the 65mm on 16 power as it will with the 82mm on 20 power? If the answer is no, do you guys think the extra 10 oz of weight and the $200 is worth this added light gathering ability to enable viewing a few minutes earlier.

Furthermore, with the cost set aside, do you think the extra 12x of zoom would be helpful in the field, or do you think 48x is sufficient?

Thank you very much for your help.

Steve

 

[50cal]

I have both 60 and 80. 60 stays at home. Without a doubt go big IMO.

 

[Boulders]

I just purchused the Vortex "Skyline ED " 80mm I looked at the 60mm "Nomad" both nice scopes for me the 80mm was worth it the extra weight is'nt bad, I'm really happy when it comes to low light ED is a must "Cowslayer" would be a good one to talk to.

"Buy it nice or buy it twice"

 

[littlejoe]

I cannot speak about the scopes mentioned above but I have an 80mm Swarvoski and my friend a 60mm. I wish I had the 60mm as it is much smaller and easier to carry when backpacking for the day or days. I personally have not noticed much difference in the two at daylight or dusk.

 

[coues52]

I tried both,for packing I use the zeiss diascope 15x45x65 fl alot more compact than the 80~Danny

 

[sparker]

50cal,
Can you tell me approximately how much earlier, or later in the day objects are viewable through the 80mm vs. the 60mm? 5 minutes, 10 minutes, 15? I will be packing with the scope and I am just trying to figure out if the ability to see early in the morning or late in the evening is worth the extra size and weight.

Thank you for your help.

 

[sparker]

Thank you Danny,
I am struggling over the decision between the 60 and 80 right now. The size and the weight is a factor and I am not sure it is worth the extra couple of minutes of viewing ability in the mornings or evenings.

Thank you very much for your help.

 

[sparker]

That is a big issue. Thank you very much for your help.

 

[sparker]

Boulders,
As I posted on my other post, can you comment on how much later you can view at night or in the morning? 10 minutes sooner/later......

Thanks

 

[bigbull1]

I think 10-15 minutes might be close.

I bought a Swarovski HD 80 and only packed it once. It stays in truck now. I bought a 50 ED Brunton for the field which is a good backpack scope.

If I could do it all over, I would have bought the 65 Swarocski and had one scope for both. I don't think the weight is worth the extra few minutes if the power is the same.

Ed

 

[sparker]

Ed,
Thank you very much for the input. That is kinda what I am thinking at this point.

Steve

 

[50cal]

Sparker, I would say 15 minutes easy, earlier and later than the 60. My 80mm HD is a swarovski and my 60mm is an elite. I am sure there is a little bit of a quality difference!! I was out tonight and was glassing until 6:50pm. For me the size and weight is worth it. Hope this helps.

 

[sparker]

Thank you very much 50cal

 

[Gator]

Extra weight VS extra minutes Take the minutes every time, More stuff move at the Twlight time period.

 

[out4elk]

I have been hashing this 80mm vs 65mm weight thing for a couple weeks now.

I am torn between the two swaro scopes because it will be in my pack as much as my truck.

My calcs put the 80mm scope 7oz. heavier than the 65 with the med outdoorsman w/jim white head. If I go with the slik 614 tripod I shave 8oz from both setups.

For me the performance gains with the big scope is worth the few additional oz.

?Here?s to the hero's that Git-R-Done!!?

 

[Feleno]

I have owned both the swaro 65 and 80. I do a lot of backcountry stuff and after a year of toting the big one around I did not see much benefit. Its now the 65 exclusively. the weight/packability is a huge factor

 

[BPKHunter]

My son drew a great tag for elk this year so I decided to purchase a High Quality Spotter to go with my 15x56 Swaro's. I first purchased the 85mm Zeiss, in part for the low light capabilities of the 85mm lens. In practice though I was very disappointed, especially in low light. I happen to not like the blurry edges of the Zeiss so I took it back and ended up with the smaller/lighter 65mm HD Swaro. Obviously this wasn't a low-light improvement, but given I sent a dozen dawn/dusk's glassing the same elk from the same vantage point I can't say I noticed any disadvantage.

The fact is I believe any high powered optics are very limited at low light. Exit pupil is the standard measurement for how much light your eye can take advantage of. At complete darkness the human eye enlarges to about 7mm and at full light it is about 4mm. This varies slightly my age. So, unless you have nearly 7mm of exit pupil from your spotter your will be limited. Given that 20x is the standard low setting for our eyepieces at 65mm and 80mm, you get 3.25mm and 4.0mm exit pupils which at low light isn't enough difference to "light-up" your view. Quality glass has a big difference so it is recommended to get the top of the line(Zeiss, Leica, Swaro, etc.) but I think the big lens, for someone who wil carry it around is Highly Overrated. This is just my opinion based on my experience.