[raab]

Wanted to give another update on my Celestron Ultima spotter now that Ive had it a few days. Ive been using this thing every night for a few hours looking for deer off the back deck.

Im pretty damn impressed with this little thing for 200 bucks. It has good detail, and now that Im getting used to it Im having a better time getting things into focus.

The biggest draw backs I've found so far are that above 35x magnification the image can distort a bit, you lose eye relief and you get CA. Mirage is also a factor when viewing things over 1k away. Im not sure if other spotters would have the same issue or not. Under 35x this spotter is very, very good. I'm able to easily see the rack on a buck at 1200m from my house. I dont think anyone could go wrong with it, as long as they dont expect to much given it's price point. It's definitely better then no spotter.

In saying that there's a sign about 2 miles from my place. I can easily see the sign with my binos, with the spotter I can tell that there's words on the sign, but can't read them. I think that by upgrading to a better spotter or eye piece I might be able to read those words. So I plan on getting the Hyperion Zoom at some point and will let you guys know if it's worth the upgrade. If you can afford a better spotter right off the bat, I'd definitely go that way. I know Im very very impressed with my Vortex DB binoculars, and if their spotter is as good, I dont think you can go wrong with it at less then 600. If you can't afford that right now, buying this Ultima and planning to upgrade the eyepiece is a good plan. Many reviewers say changing the eye piece on this spotter brings it up a level comparable to spotters twice the price as the overall investment. Whether or not that's true I dont know.

One other thing Id like to mention is budget for a good tripod. I spent over 100 on mine and feel it was as cheap as I'd want to go. Even the slightest vibration can distort your image at higher magnification. I got a Manfratto from London Drugs on the suggestion of the owner of the Wildbird General Store in Edmonton. If your looking for optics definitely go see them as I felt they had the best set up for checking out bino's and spotters.