I am going to be buying a new Swarovski spotting scope for this upcoming sheep season. Before I pull the trigger I am hoping to get a little advice and feedback from other Swarovski spotting scope users.

I am looking at the following:

The brand new 80ATM Scope

STS 80 HD

STS 80

Eyepiece: 20 x 60


What I am wanting feedback on is whether or not the value is there for the more expensive units. Is there enough difference to warrant buying the 80 HD over the standard STS80? For me there's only a $500 difference.


Any thoughts will be greatly appreciated.

I can't speak for the 80mm scopes, but I have a 65mm HD Swarovski and love it. Comparative to other scopes of similar power, it is lightweight, brilliantly clear and rugged. I've owned Bausch & Lomb and Leupold spotting scopes before this one, and prefer the 65HD leaps and bounds over the others.

Yeah, I am leaning heavily toward the ATS 80 HD. Have you tried the 80mm lenses? Or do you just prefer the 65mm? I would think the extra 15mm of field view would be nice. Thoughts?

I have Swarovski scopes on all of my guns, so I know and appreciate the high end quality, but for my spotting scope, I chose Carl Zeiss. If you have got your heart set on Swarovski, than this won't change your mind. I have a Zeiss Diascope 65T* FL 15-45. Took it sheep hunting last fall and it was great. It focuses easier than swarovski IMO. You can't go wrong with it, and if you want more power you can get it in the 85t* FL 20-60. It has better edge to edge clarity. The price in Cabelas is 2150.00 for the one I got and 2500.00 for the higher power. You can get them for much cheaper on ebay. Good luck.

quote:

Originally posted by alaskaguide:
Yeah, I am leaning heavily toward the ATS 80 HD. Have you tried the 80mm lenses? Or do you just prefer the 65mm? I would think the extra 15mm of field view would be nice. Thoughts?

I have not tried the 80mm. I was trying to go as light and packable as possible.

I have had almost all the premium spotting scopes and I can tell you with certainty that swarovski's HD is a waste of money. Anyone who says they can see a difference between swaros standard and hd scopes are full of bs. Even an honest swarovski rep will tell you to save your money unless you plan on digiscoping. In my opinion the feild of view isn't much better with the 80mm, but the bigger lens does help with heat waves. I like most zeiss products, but their spotting scopes are poor. Every one I have looked through has extremely fuzzy edges. I would also recommend an angled body unless you do all your hunting out of a pickup truck.

I hunt sheep here in Alaska, don't by the 80, go with lower power, even the 65 is a little much, most of the guides up here use the Leopold 45 power, and the reason why is because of the thermals.