Worth buying?

[peterl]

I have been looking for a spotting scope under the $500.00 mark. Local guy has two new Vortex Skyline 20-60 x80 scopes, one a ED model and one not.
The ED he wants $525.00 and the non ED he wants $400.00 Are these worth buying?

 

[KDX]

You should probably take them outside and have a look through them and compare them to others in the same price range if possible. Check places like Optics Planet for reviews or maybe some birding websites. Those people are crazy about glass.

 

[peterl]

I looked throught both outside, hard to tell just looking down the street. Has any one have or had one of these? What do you think worth the money? Are they asking to much?

 

[TheTooner]

I haven't even looked through anything Vortex but in the fairly short time they have been on the market they have impressed a lot of people (e.g. lots of Gunnutz) with their quality at various price points, especially the lower end. If you liked the ones you looked through, compare prices on the same models at other retailers.

 

[BCP]

I looked throught both outside, hard to tell just looking down the street. Has any one have or had one of these? What do you think worth the money? Are they asking to much?

Sorry, I don't have a Vortex nor have I looked through one.

When comparing scopes, don't just look down the street. Look at dark shaded areas, or even into a dark window down the street. The glass quality these days are best differentiated under low light conditions. Then turn up the magnification. After 45 power you should start seeing some differences.