New Hawke Optics Spotting Scope Proves Great Things Come in Small Packages
- Thread starter Hawke
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Only complaint I have with yodoyle is that he hasn’t contributed in showing his mug on that “whose not afraid to show your face tread”.
YoDoyle, if you’re out there- I challenge you to post your mug!! Ha ha!! Post it eating McNuggets
YoDoyle, if you’re out there- I challenge you to post your mug!! Ha ha!! Post it eating McNuggets
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Odoyle has always given me much needed help with gun repairs and straight up answers to all questions about guns, pros and cons. All my dealings with him have been spot on. He is a valuable asset to AGNATION! Thanks Odoyle!
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I actually bought one of these at the end of September, for a very low price on DVOR ($130). Let me say first, that I bought it because I was so impressed with their Frontier ED X Binoculars. They literally have a better view than my 20 year old Leica's which cost over $1K when I got them. I'm just saying, I am not a Hawke hater at all. Now, as far as this scope goes, I will say that it is worth what I paid. Its size calls for optical compromise; you won't mistake it for a large form factor scope in use. The field of view and eyebox is very tight, and the eye relief marginal. It is not as clear at full power as I think it should be. It is acceptable at 18-20x. Because of its handy size it is great for a range bag and checking targets. It is not so great for extended viewing or scanning or fast target acquisition. In optics you generally do get what you pay for and this spotter is no exception. [The Frontier ED X 8x42 bino is an exception where you get more than what you are paying for, which is extremely rare in the bino world. ] This is a niche product, it is not a do-all that will replace any standard scope. If you have a need for small and light, the price is right. It's always good to have a back-up.
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It sure looks like the Celestron Hummingbird 9-27x56mm, maybe they just rebranded it?
I bought the smaller version of the Hummingbird in 7-22x50mm ED, and I kind of like it... as in, when going for a hike in the mountain, that's what I'll grab from the optic shelf.
Some random thoughts
Size comparison of the 7-22x50 VS Minox 8x32
I bought the smaller version of the Hummingbird in 7-22x50mm ED, and I kind of like it... as in, when going for a hike in the mountain, that's what I'll grab from the optic shelf.
Some random thoughts
- Good range of "power"
- Small and light
- Accept 1.25" astro eyepiece
- FOV kind of narrow when compared to binoculars
- The soft-case that came with mine was kind of useless
Size comparison of the 7-22x50 VS Minox 8x32
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It sure looks like the Celestron Hummingbird 9-27x56mm, maybe they just rebranded it?
I bought the smaller version of the Hummingbird in 7-22x50mm ED, and I kind of like it... as in, when going for a hike in the mountain, that's what I'll grab from the optic shelf.
Some random thoughts
- Good range of "power"
- Small and light
- Accept 1.25" astro eyepiece
- FOV kind of narrow when compared to binoculars
- The soft-case that came with mine was kind of useless
Size comparison of the 7-22x50 VS Minox 8x32
Silly Mike,
It sure does look like the Celestron, doesn't it? I was planning on getting the Celestron when I found out about this one. How does yours look with it turned up all the way? If yours is clear all the way to 22x than it is the unit to have for its even smaller size. The huge difference between this Celestron and the Hawke is ED glass on the Celestron, which makes it significantly more expensive. I got the Hawke because they were a really good deal, even without ED glass, but that thinking was a mistake. I had the money to spend, I shouldn't have cheaped out and bought non-ED glass, especially since I knew how good the Hawke binoculars were with it. Hawke should actually offer this form factor with ED glass as well and let the market decide with their wallets. I wish that I could have compared them side by side but those days seem to have passed. I use to buy several different optics at a time from Eagle Optics and try them out. I don't want to deal with all the shipping back and forth anymore, and Eagle Optics is gone. I trusted them.
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Hard to know the exact power being used on the Celestron, as there are no markers... But from my personal-seat-of-the-pant, I'd say things are pretty good up to 20x or so... then the blurriness on the edge kind of bugs me. It's still OK, but I wouldn't spent 30min looking at a bird at 22.
Initially, I was looking at/for a Nikon ED50 angled... But I didn't like the idea of being locked-in to one provider for eyepiece.
- For years, I'd been using SpaceMaster spotting scopes for shooting They worked great, until the wife asked for EER eyepiece like I had on my pistol-box scope... and I realized that they weren't in production anymore and needed to scrounge fleabay to maybe find a used one... Long story short, The next spotting scope that came into the house was PF80, that accepts readily available 1.25" astronomical eyepiece.
It was kind of a impulse buy, got a notice from camelcamelcamel... and it somehow ended up in my amazon cart
Just thinking out loud: If $ was no object, I'd love to get my hands on a Kowa TSN-553... assuming I could find a lower power zoom/lens. 15x is about the max I can hold stead without a tripod.
Initially, I was looking at/for a Nikon ED50 angled... But I didn't like the idea of being locked-in to one provider for eyepiece.
- For years, I'd been using SpaceMaster spotting scopes for shooting They worked great, until the wife asked for EER eyepiece like I had on my pistol-box scope... and I realized that they weren't in production anymore and needed to scrounge fleabay to maybe find a used one... Long story short, The next spotting scope that came into the house was PF80, that accepts readily available 1.25" astronomical eyepiece.
It was kind of a impulse buy, got a notice from camelcamelcamel... and it somehow ended up in my amazon cart
Just thinking out loud: If $ was no object, I'd love to get my hands on a Kowa TSN-553... assuming I could find a lower power zoom/lens. 15x is about the max I can hold stead without a tripod.
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Yeah, but money always is an object! For 1/3 the price of the Kowa you could just get the PF80's little brother, the PF65. These are all still pretty big compared to a Hummingbird.
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For me, the appeal of the Hummingbird (or something like the Hawke) is it's size. It pack about the same as a pair of binocular, but offers more magnification. It comes in handy when hiking up the mountains, or as something to throw in the shooting bag.
Yup, the PF65 is another nice scope, it's slightly bigger than the old SpaceMaster.
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Getting back to the Nature Trek 9-27×56 spotter. It looks like the non-hd Humming bird, but the Hawke has a better eyerelief. (20mm vs 15mm)
Yup, the PF65 is another nice scope, it's slightly bigger than the old SpaceMaster.
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Getting back to the Nature Trek 9-27×56 spotter. It looks like the non-hd Humming bird, but the Hawke has a better eyerelief. (20mm vs 15mm)
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Going by my eye, which has seen eye reliefs from 8mm to 26mm, the Nature Trek eye relief is 15-16mm, NOT 20mm. No way. It has become extremely easy for me to tell because my glasses don't allow me to use less than 15mm of eye relief and I can barely use this scope wearing them. I have a pair of Fujinon binos with 21mm eye relief, and a pair of Leicas with 16mm, and this scope is just like the Leica and nothing like the Fujinon.
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Now Now fellas the hater actually got an anonymous +1 accuracy by an anonymous (for now) member agreeing with him that I am fill of crap and only mouth but it is just too bad you guys don't know who it was yet (I think I do though and can most certainly find out by tracking what member logged in under what account who posted that +1 on his feedback since everything's traceable here and I have personally witnessed accuracy being tracked and exactly who gave who accuracy + behind the scenes) but you guys will figure him out real soon just pay attention...
Back on topic NOT SURE if there's 2 versions of this promotional spotters...
Back on topic NOT SURE if there's 2 versions of this promotional spotters...
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Great news for Hawke's advertising announcement there's already so many views and likes so far good job!
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I think his post was out of the blue to be sure. But given your experience on here I would think you would recognize it's better to keep this topic on point and take the high road. Or take it to PMs if its absolutely something you think warrants more of your effort.
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