What Makes a Telecope a Terrestrial spotting Scope

[martyh]

Can anybody tell me what makes a telescope also be used as a terrestrial spotting Scope.

Im not getting a scope just yet but one of the requirements maybe that I can use it as a bird spotting scope if possible.

[Psychobilly]

Correctly oriented image in the EP maybe...?

[kris h]

A erecting prism diagonal a 45 degree one would be best but are costly

a 90 degree one would work just aswell igot a celestron 90 degree one

for £36 from FLO just turn the diagonal so its pointing left or right and

looking through the scope the image will be the right way up & the

telescope could be used as a spotting scope

clear skies

[brantuk]

They tend to be mounted on manual alt/az mounts as star tracking isn't required?

[martyh]

Has anybody used a Celestial Telescope as a Spotting scope. (I take it they would be refractors). Do you know how well they would compare with a dedicated terestrial spotting scope. Obviously potability is a high requirement

[Glider]

I believe the Skywatcher Startravel 80 comes in 2 versions, astronomy and terrestrial. The difference being mainly the erecting diagonal that you get with the terrestrial version.

As such dedicated spotting scopes also tend to have more limited range of eye pieces with about x65 magnification being the usual maximum supplied.

I claim no great insight except reading an article on achromatic vs apo refractors in this month Astronomy Now.

Wow, just made my 1000th post.

[ollypenrice]

A good astro refractor makes a good spotter, even using a cheap 45 degree erecting prisms. I have accumulated a few of these prisms and, though they degrade the astronomical image quite badly, they seem to me to give excellent results by day. That is to say, when I replace the 45 degree erecting prism with a high quality star diagonal I see no great difference other than the correction of the L-R inversion.

But doing it the other way round, astro in a spotter, the eyepice situation becomes more difficult and the shape of spotters often gives you no straight line to sight along for target hunting.

Olly

[mijijim]

Hi,

My spotting scope is a WO megrez 72mm on a Manfrotto 501 HDV head and

matching tripod, also by Manfrotto. To go with this set-up I use a WO 2" erecting

prism, a Hyperion 8-24 zoom mk 3 which can be adapted for photography. It

is not cheap, but it don't get much better.

mijijim

[jgs001]

I've used both my 80mm refractors as spotting scopes, even used the C80ED for digiscoping well sort of, I used it as a 1200mm prime, didn't half get some odd looks walking around the nature reserve with a black 600mm long tube on a tripod slung over one shoulder... now that's hard to focus, when the subject is moving...