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Why expensive anything?

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cessna View Drop Down
Optics GrassHopper
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    Posted: August/30/2014 at 12:43
I was in my backyard this afternoon playing with some spotting scopes and binoculars.  A large church with an air conditioner on its roof is a little over a hundred yards away.  Using my $50.00 Simmons spotting scope I could clearly make out the crud in the filters.  Looking down the power-line in my alley I could read the numbers on the transformers several hundred yards away.  If we are using these spotting scopes for hunting and analyzing big game.  Except for being victims of the world of advertising, why do we need to spend thousands of dollars on spotting scopes?  I used this same scope to determine some antelope horn size at a half a mile away in the past.  So except to seperate me from a lot of money, and if it's just a tool to an end.  Why?
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Son of Ed View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Son of Ed Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: August/30/2014 at 15:25
If you're just going to take a quick look through your scope to check out a bullet hole or to take a look at a target for a minute, an inexpensive scope will work.  But if you're going to be glassing for a long period of time trying to spot game out in the mountains, you are going to get eyestrain and headaches from using inferior glass.  You need something that is decent.  It doesn't have to cost a thousand dollars.   
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote timberbuck Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: September/01/2014 at 14:43
Go compare your spotter with a mid grade or better spotter in varying light conditions/atmospheric conditions and you will have the answer to your questions.

A cheap spotting scope or binoculars are a complete waste of $ IMO.
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Kickboxer View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Kickboxer Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: September/01/2014 at 15:27
Originally posted by timberbuck timberbuck wrote:

Go compare your spotter with a mid grade or better spotter in varying light conditions/atmospheric conditions and you will have the answer to your questions.

A cheap spotting scope or binoculars are a complete waste of $ IMO.
I, and many others, disagree.

I have both Alpha scopes and what others consider to be "junk" scopes.  Some low dollar items have performed poorly, but some have performed far above their price range.  The high dollar scopes perform like high dollar items are expected to.  However, I've not had any of the high dollar items that performed above their expected capabilities… 
It is true that with low cost scopes you sometimes throw your money away… sometimes, you get far more than you paid for.  With the "alphas", I generally get what I paid for… sometimes less.  
Opinion,untempered by fact,is ignorance.

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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote admacdo Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: September/04/2014 at 18:35
I totally agree with Kickboxer.
I have a wide range of Optics and the more I push their limits, the more I favour paying the money.
Until you have a range in optics costs, side by side and viewing the same things under the same conditions, it's hard to comprehend and understand the differences.
It's also beneficial to be aware of evaluation methods so that you can actually use these to more carefully evaluate differences.
 
Amongst my peers in my chosen activities, I tend to ruin people's opinions of their own gear when they play with some of mine.
Mine have also been ruined when I've checked out other people's toys.
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JGRaider View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote JGRaider Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: September/05/2014 at 08:52
I believe spotting scopes is one area where you do get what you pay for, not so much with binoculars these days. 
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