I really like it.....it has all of the acc's Straight and angled eyepiece modules and all the bits for video and still DSLR's, and last week I even brought the Iphone attachment....its an amazing scope.
I use a 20x Kowa wife has a 18-36 barska, they both struggle with 17cal holes at 200y, what the Kowa lacks in magnification it makes up for in clarity.
Don't know about iPhone attachments but have hand held the iPhone up to the Kowa and videoed rabbits exploding well past 300
I'm not sure what a Ventana goes for here in OZ, obviously you will be able to source one cheaper from the USA if you put your mind to it.
Some points I would make for you....
The bigger the objective the better the image - ALL ELSE BEING EQUAL. With great glass you will easily outperform a large piece of crap glass - but you already know that.
Angled / Straight is only an advantage if you intend to use it in FClass type competition. Otherwise it makes no real difference.
A magnification range of 15-45 or 20-60 is good enough for most use.
For the price, the Vortex and Sightron spotting scopes are hard to go past if you are buying new.
Lurk on eBay US for some very nice scopes being sold at cheap prices. Patience will reward you.
- A secondhand Leupold Golden Ring will cost about as much as those Ventana models and will spank them badly in performance.
- A Nikon ED Fieldscope 15-45x50 is a great scope and are often available secondhand for a very reasonable price.
FWIW I have a few different spotting scopes.
When I was in the Army I bought a couple of the cheap Russian 25x50 spyglasses that HPGS had on sale in the 1990's for $25 each. They were a good field glass and solidly built (and cheap enough I didn't care what happened to them). I still have both of them.
Later I bought a 15-45x60 Tasco World Class Plus for range use. This is a pretty good scope, one that is comparable with decent glass from the usual manufacturers and is probably equivalent to the Ventana of today. To buy something better I am stretching into the $1000+ bracket straight away for a minor improvement.
I bought a Leupold Sequoia for my father and it sits to this day on a tripod in their house down the coast. I think I'm the only one who uses it. An OK scope, it is not really as good as my Tasco.
I also bought a Leupold Golden Ring 25x50 for field use. Whilst not an ultra sharp spotting scope by todays standards, it is clear, crisp and incredibly small. This is perfect for backpacking and I've taken some very nice photos through it in the last couple of years. It has come in handy to classify stags across 500m+.
I have one of the cheaper Leupold spotters and it is shit,wouldnt waste my money on one,I am fussy and expected a bit..............no make that a fair bit from this thing and ,,,well was left feeling pretty well ripped off.I have looked through quite a few spotters and I like the Pentax ED something x something x80.............I have seen second hand ones for sale in the states for around $800 and if I get one thats what I will be getting.
