Celestron C70 Mini Mak Spotting Telescope

Rating:

Does exactly what I require as a spotting scope for archery. Nice clear view at 100 yds and more.

Rating:

I purchased this scope to use it for birdwatching and astronomy. The build quality is okay and the optics look fine. I have tried the zoom eyepiece which has a 25-75 X magnification. At the 25-50 x the image is clear and reasonably sharp, but I would not use it beyond that as the image dims and detail is lost. The overall image is decent in terms of colour with very little chromatic aberration (colour fringing) aside from the edge of the circle mainly and distortion free. The contrast could be better but that is a trait of this Mak type scope I think. I have not used the supplied table tripod as I prefer to use a good sturdy Manfrotto photo tripod and Benro fluid head which makes it rock solid. A great feature is that you can use any 1.25 inch eyepieces via the supplied adapter. I tried a Celestron 20mm Omni eyepiece for viewing the moon and it looked great-plenty of detail, contrast and sharpness (20mm is equivalent to 37.5X mag). The focus wheel is average, a little bit bumpy but acceptable. Overall, a decent all-round compact scope for this price point but don't expect Leica/Swarovski type quality!